Validity of the Central Sensitization Inventory compared with traditional measures of disease severity in fibromyalgia.

Objective: The goal of this study was to explore additional evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) in a large sample of subjects with fibromyalgia (FM).

Methods: Patients were consecutively enrolled for a cross-sectional assessment comprehensive of three FM-specific measures (the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire [FIQR], the modified Fibromyalgia Assessment Status [modFAS], and the Polysymptomatic Distress Scale [PDS]) and of CSI. To test the convergent validity, the Spearman's rho was used to measure the degree of correlation between the variables CSI and the FM-specific measures.

Fibromyalgia severity according to age categories: results of a cross-sectional study from a large national database.

Objectives: The role of age in influencing the severity of fibromyalgia (FM) is still controversial. The aim of this study is to define the contribution of age in the severity of FM from data from a large national database.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adult patients with FM diagnosed according to the 2010/2011 American College of Rheumatology criteria.

Predicting Severe/Critical Outcomes in Patients With SARS-CoV2 Pneumonia: Development of the prediCtion seveRe/crItical ouTcome in COVID-19 (CRITIC) Model.

To create a prediction model of the risk of severe/critical disease in patients with Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Clinical, laboratory, and lung computed tomography (CT) severity score were collected from patients admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia and considered as independent variables for the risk of severe/critical disease in a logistic regression analysis. The discriminative properties of the variables were analyzed through the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and included in a prediction model based on Fagan's nomogram to calculate the post-test probability of severe/critical disease.

Rheumatoid Arthritis disease activity assessment in routine care: performance of the most widely used composite disease activity indices and patient-reported outcome measures.

Background And Aim: To evaluate the convergent and discriminative validity of many continuous composite disease activity indices and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In consecutive RA patients in moderate or high disease activity, according to the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) definition, were computed four additional composite disease activity indices, the 28-joint Disease Activity Score - erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR), the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), the Chronic Arthritis Systemic Index (CASI), and the Mean Overall Index for RA (MOI-RA), and five PROMs, the Patients' Activity Scale (PAS), the Rheumatoid Arthritis Impact of Disease (RAID), the 5-item RA Disease Activity Index (RADAI-5), the Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data (RAPID3), and the Clinical Arthritis Activity (PRO-CLARA). Spearman's rho correlation coefficients were determined to assess their convergent validity, and discriminative performance was calculated by the area under the receiver-operating curve (AUC-ROC).

The association between body mass index and fibromyalgia severity: data from a cross-sectional survey of 2339 patients.

Objective: Various studies have shown that overweight and obesity are central features of FM, but the real impact of a high BMI on clinical severity in patients with FM is still controversial. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between BMI categories and measures of symptom severity and functional impairment using data from a Web-based registry of patients with FM.

Methods: Adult patients with an ACR 2010/2011 diagnosis of FM underwent a complete physical examination and laboratory tests and were asked to complete a package of questionnaires covering their sociodemographic and treatment details, in addition to the following disease-specific questionnaires: the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), the modified Fibromyalgia Assessment Status questionnaire (ModFAS) and the Polysymptomatic Distress Scale (PDS).

Cannabis and Autoimmunity: Possible Mechanisms of Action.

Medical cannabis (MC) describes the usually inhaled or ingested use of a cannabis plant or cannabis extract for medicinal purposes. The action of whole cannabis plants is extremely complex because their large number of active compounds not only bind to a plethora of different receptors but also interact with each other both synergistically and otherwise. Renewed interest in the medicinal properties of cannabis has led to increasing research into the practical uses of cannabis derivatives, and it has been found that the endocannabinoid system (particularly CB2 receptor activation) is a possible target for the treatment of inflammatory and the autoimmune diseases related to immune cell activation.

Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with rheumatic diseases: doubts and perspectives.

Since January 2020, the whole world has been facing the worst epidemic for a century. SARS-CoV- 2 infection has so far caused more than one million deaths, with the only measures capable of containing the spread of the virus being social distancing, frequent hand washing, and the wearing of masks. Vaccine development was urgently needed and there are now more than 90 candidate vaccines being developed using different technologies.

The role of a chest computed tomography severity score in coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia.

The chest computed tomography (CT) characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are important for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate chest CT findings in COVID-19 patients in order to determine the optimal cut-off value of a CT severity score that can be considered a potential prognostic indicator of a severe/critical outcome.The CT findings were evaluated by means of a severity score that included the extent (0-4 grading scale) and nature (0-4 grading scale) of CT abnormalities.

Extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBDs), including the two main subtypes of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, not only affects the gastrointestinal system, but also has a wide range of extra-intestinal manifestations (EIMs) that are major sources of morbidity and disability, and therefore represent what can be considered a real syndrome. The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying these EIMs are unknown, but some may share a common pathogenesis with IBD and others may be due to IBD treatment. The aim of this review is to examine our current knowledge of IBD EIMs and their treatment.

Predictive validity of the 5-item Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology (CQR5) in detecting poor adherence of patients with rheumatoid arthritis to biological medication.

Background: Adherence is a key factor for therapeutic success in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to determine whether results from the 5-item Compliance Questionnaire for Rheumatology (CQR5) can predict future poor adherence to biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with RA, using medication possession ratio (MPR) as the gold standard comparator.

Methods: RA patients starting a bDMARD were prospectively followed for 12 months.

Chest CT features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia: key points for radiologists.

COVID-19 is an emerging infection caused by a novel coronavirus that is moving so rapidly that on 30 January 2020 the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and on 11 March 2020 as a pandemic. An early diagnosis of COVID-19 is crucial for disease treatment and control of the disease spread. Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) demonstrated a low sensibility; therefore chest computed tomography (CT) plays a pivotal role not only in the early detection and diagnosis, especially for false negative RT-PCR tests, but also in monitoring the clinical course and in evaluating the disease severity.

Biosimilars vs originators: Are they the same?

Biological drugs have revolutionised the treatment of rheumatic diseases, and the recent expiry of the patents for many biological agents has generated considerable interest among pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies, and led to the marketing of highly similar, low-cost versions known as biosimilars. The increasing trend of switching patients from effective but expensive drugs to their biosimilar counterparts will have a considerable economic impact in the coming years. However, although this will greatly extend patient access the latest treatments, clinicians, scientific societies and the patients themselves have expressed a number of concerns about their long-term efficacy and safety, as well as the consequences of potentially multiple switches being dictated by economic pressure rather than medical needs.

Failure of anti-TNF treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: The pros and cons of the early use of alternative biological agents.

The five TNF inhibitors currently approved for the treatment of RA are characterised by differences in their molecular structures, half-lives, administration routes, dosing intervals, immunogenicity, and use in women who wish to become pregnant. TNF inhibitors still represent the first biologic after conventional synthetic DMARD (csDMARD) in the majority of patients according to registry data. This was possibly because they were historically the first biological agents available (biological DMARDS with a different mechanism of action or targeted synthetic DMARDs did not become available until 2006s), and so switching from one to another was frequent in the case of an inadequate response and/or side effects.

Secondary rhinoplasty: analysis of the deformity and guidelines for management.

Secondary rhinoplasty aims at modifying the functional and cosmetic defects caused by an improperly performed a primary procedure. Correction follows a logical sequence from which there is no reason to deviate if one wishes to achieve sure results. The sequence includes analysis of the deformity, accurate photographic documentation, functional and diagnostic examination, consultation with the patient, and precise planning of the different steps of surgery.

Secondary unilateral cleft lip nose: the external approach.

No single procedure developed until now has given satisfactory results to provide an ideal surgical method for cleft lip nasal deformity correction. This paper emphasizes the concept that nasal surgery is the end result on an overall treatment program for secondary cleft lip. The first step is correcting skeletal deformities.

A genetic linkage study of schizophrenia to chromosome 5 markers in a northern Italian population.

Some recent findings report that the area 5q11.2-13.3 of chromosome 5 segregates with schizophrenia in an uncle-nephew pair (Bassett et al 1988).

Lymphocyte subsets in schizophrenic disorders. Relationship with clinical, neuromorphological and treatment variables.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and serum immunoglobulin levels were assessed in 42 patients and 37 healthy controls. 24 patients were free from neuroleptic medication and 15 had never been treated with neuroleptics. 31 patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM-III criteria) and 11 a diagnosis of a disorder of the schizophrenic spectrum.

Clinical and epidemiological aspects of Alzheimer's disease with presenile onset: a case control study.

Little is known regarding the pathogenetic factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We studied 63 AD patients in order to evaluate if there were clinical subtypes of AD and whether prior illnesses and life-styles were involved in the development of the disease. In our patients selected for onset of symptoms before age 65 we did not find any significant clinical heterogeneity.

Cortical atrophy in schizophrenia. Prevalence and associated features.

The degree of cortical atrophy as revealed by computed tomographic scans was assessed in 124 patients meeting the DSM III criteria for schizophrenia and in 45 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. 21 patients, i.e.