A History of Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine Immune Interactions in Rheumatic Diseases.

Background: All active scientists stand on the shoulders of giants and many other more anonymous scientists, and this is not different in our field of psycho-neuro-endocrine immunology in rheumatic diseases. Too often, the modern world of publishing forgets about the collective enterprise of scientists. Some journals advise the authors to present only literature from the last decade, and it has become a natural attitude of many scientists to present only the latest publications.

Microvascular damage in autoimmune connective tissue diseases: a capillaroscopic analysis from 20 years of experience in a EULAR training and research referral centre for imaging.

Objective: Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) allows the detection of microvascular damage in autoimmune connective tissue diseases (CTDs). The prevalence of the morphological capillary findings was retrospectively evaluated in a wide cohort of patients with Raynaud's phenomenon secondary to a CTD at the time of the first single NVC, independently from their current treatment, autoantibody profile and comorbidities.

Methods: One-thousand-one-hundred-eighty-one patients affected by CTDs were included from 2001 to 2021.

Understanding the value of non-specific abnormal capillary dilations in presence of Raynaud's phenomenon: a detailed capillaroscopic analysis.

Background: Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) non-specific abnormalities may be present in subjects with isolated Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) before the potential transition to systemic sclerosis (SSc) specific microvascular alterations ('scleroderma pattern'). This study aims to investigate NVC non-specific abnormalities, notably capillary dilations, in RP patients, as possible forerunners of the 'scleroderma pattern'.

Methods: A 10-year retrospective NVC-based investigation evaluated 55 RP patients sorted into 3 sex-matched and age-matched groups according to clinical evolution: 18 later developing SSc (cases), 19 later developing other connective tissue disease and 18 maintaining primary RP at long-term follow-up (controls).

Nutrition and Diet in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are chronic systemic immune/inflammatory conditions characterized by the interaction between gene predisposition, autoimmunity and environmental factors [...

Full longitudinal nailfold videocapillaroscopy analysis of microvascular changes during normal pregnancy.

Background: Microvascular remodeling is one major responsible for vascular adaptation in pregnancy, still it is not routinely evaluated in the obstetric field. This pilot study aimed to explore the role of nailfold capillaroscopy (NCV) in detecting microvascular changes during normal pregnancy.

Methods: A population of 30 healthy pregnant women was longitudinally followed performing clinical assessment and NVC evaluation at each trimester and post-partum.

Pharmacological treatments for SSc-ILD: Systematic review and critical appraisal of the evidence.

Many therapies have been investigated for systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), including immunosuppressive therapies, antifibrotic agents, immunomodulators and monoclonal antibodies. There is a high unmet medical need to better understand the current evidence for treatment efficacy and safety. This systematic review aims to present the existing literature on different drug treatments investigated for SSc-ILD and to critically assess the level of evidence for these drugs.

Long-term Outcome of Children Born to Women with Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases: A Multicentre, Nationwide Study on 299 Randomly Selected Individuals.

The concern about the offspring's health is one of the reasons for a reduced family size of women with rheumatic diseases (RD). Increased risk of autoimmune diseases (AD) and neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) has been reported in children born to patients with RD. Within a nationwide survey about reproductive issues of women with RD, we aimed at exploring the long-term outcome of their children.

Beverages in Rheumatoid Arthritis: What to Prefer or to Avoid.

Background: The role of nutrition in the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), has gained increasing attention in recent years. A growing number of studies have focussed on the diverse nutritional contents of beverages, and their possible role in the development and progression of RA. Main body: We aimed to summarise the current knowledge on the role of a range of beverages in the context of RA.

Sex steroids and autoimmune rheumatic diseases: state of the art.

In autoimmune rheumatic diseases, oestrogens can stimulate certain immune responses (including effects on B cells and innate immunity), but can also have dose-related anti-inflammatory effects on T cells, macrophages and other immune cells. By contrast, androgens and progesterone have predominantly immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory effects. Hormone replacement therapies and oral contraception (and also pregnancy) enhance or decrease the severity of autoimmune rheumatic diseases at a genetic or epigenetic level.

Consensus-based evaluation of dermatoscopy versus nailfold videocapillaroscopy in Raynaud's phenomenon linking USA and Europe: a European League against Rheumatism study group on microcirculation in rheumatic diseases project.

Objectives: Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) is the current gold standard for detection and quantification of capillary abnormalities in Raynaud's phenomenon (RP). The objective of this study is to evaluate the role of dermatoscopy as a further screening tool in RP.

Methods: Nailfold capillaries of RP patients were examined by a hand-held non-contact polarised dermatoscope connected to the digital camera (D1) and connected to an iPad (D2).

Circadian rhythms and rheumatoid arthritis.

Circadian rhythms (Nobel prize for Medicine 2017) regulate, under action of biological clocks located both at the level of central nervous system and inside peripheral cells, several daily activities, embracing sleep, feeding times, energy metabolism, endocrine and immune functions with related pathological conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In RA the circadian rhythms impact on cellular functions, involving night synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, cell migration to inflamed tissues, phagocytosis, proliferative cell response and all are peaking at late night. In chronic inflammatory conditions such as RA, the amplitude of the circadian rhythm of the anti-inflammatory endogenous cortisol availability is not increased as expected and requested, which indicate a reduced night cortisol secretion under the adrenal chronic stress induced by the disease.

Psychoneuroimmunology-developments in stress research.

Links between the central nervous stress system and peripheral immune cells in lymphoid organs have been detailed through 50 years of intensive research. The brain can interfere with the immune system, where chronic psychological stress inhibits many functions of the immune system. On the other hand, chronic peripheral inflammation-whether mild (during aging and psychological stress) or severe (chronic inflammatory diseases)-clearly interferes with brain function, leading to disease sequelae like fatigue but also to overt psychiatric illness.

Glucocorticoids and chronic inflammation.

Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that once bound to their receptor interact with the DNA binding domain. Almost 1000-2000 genes are sensitive to their effects, including immune/inflammatory response genes. However, their role in pathophysiology and therapy is still debated.

CTLA-4 blockade in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: an update.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by chronic joint inflammation as well as by extra-articular involvement. The immunopathology of RA is polygenic and involves different cell populations. Patients with an inadequate response to non-biologic disease- modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) should integrate their therapy with biologic DMARDs.

Hydroxylated estrogen metabolites influence the proliferation of cultured human monocytes: possible role in synovial tissue hyperplasia.

Introduction: 17Beta-estradiol, estrone, and several of their hydroxylated metabolites, have been found to be significantly increased in synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. In this study, we investigated whether the estrogen metabolites are able to exert direct effects on monocyte cell proliferation, which is important in RA synovial tissue activation and growth.

Methods: Human monocytes (THP-1) were treated with the following estrogen metabolites at different concentrations (from 10-8M, 10-9M, 10-10M to 10-11M) for 24, 48 and 72 hours: 16-hydroxyestrone (16OH-E1), 16-hydroxyestradiol (16OH-E2), 4-hydroxyestrone (4OH-E1), 4-hydroxyestradiol (4OH-E2), 2-hydroxyestrone (2OH-E1) and 2-hydroxyestradiol (2OH-E2).