Integrating carotid doppler, grey scale ultrasound, and aortic oscillometry to evaluate macroangiopathy in myositides: the MYOCARD cohort.

Objectives: To evaluate the combination of novel colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS), greyscale ultrasound (GSUS), and oscillometric indices of macroangiopathy in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). Second, to explore the associations between these imaging markers and both patient-related and disease-related characteristics, as well as traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.

Methods: We conducted CDUS to evaluate arterial compliance markers, specifically the resistance (RI) and pulsatility (PI) indices, both in the common (CCA) and internal carotid arteries (ICA) of patients with IIM and healthy controls.

Heterogeneity in nomenclature and abbreviation usage for anti-synthetase syndrome: a scoping review.

Anti-synthetase syndrome constitutes a dynamically evolving subset of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy, however, the nomenclature and abbreviations for this syndrome are plagued by heterogeneity, leading to lack of consistency in literature. The objective of this study is to evaluate existing diversity in disease names and abbreviations, with a future goal to develop consensus on the nomenclature. A scoping review format was used for analysis.

Association between ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) and peripheral endothelial dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The identification of circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction (ED), a precursor to atherosclerosis, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) would facilitate early risk stratification and prevention strategies. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) has emerged as a potential biomarker of oxidative stress, ischemia, and ED. However, studies examining the relationship between IMA and ED in RA patients are lacking.

Arterial Stiffness as a Surrogate Marker of Cardiovascular Disease and Atherosclerosis in Patients with Vasculitides: A Literature Review.

Vasculitis, a group of systemic inflammatory diseases that affect the cardiovascular (CV) system, presents with a variety of clinical manifestations that depend on the size of the affected blood vessels. While some types of vasculitis reveal distinct symptoms, others are characterized by more diffuse and nonspecific presentations that can result in delayed diagnosis and treatment initiation. Interestingly, patients with vasculitides share a significant comorbidity: an elevated CV risk, contributing to increased rates of CV events and mortality.

Arterial Stiffness as a Surrogate Marker of Cardiovascular Disease and Atherosclerosis in Patients with Arthritides and Connective Tissue Diseases: A Literature Review.

The increased cardiovascular (CV) risk among patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as arthritides and connective tissue diseases, has been extensively documented. From a pathophysiological standpoint, systemic inflammation in the context of the disease can lead to endothelial dysfunction, accelerated atherosclerosis, and structural changes in vessel walls, which, in turn, are associated with exaggerated CV morbidity and mortality. In addition to these abnormalities, the increased prevalence of traditional CV risk factors, such as obesity, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension, and impaired glucose metabolism, can further worsen the status of and overall prognosis for CV in rheumatic patients.

Novel Surrogate Markers of Cardiovascular Risk in the Setting of Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases: Current Data and Implications for the Future.

Patients suffering from rheumatologic diseases are known to have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although the pathological mechanisms behind this excess risk have been increasingly better understood, there still seems to be a general lack of consensus in early detection and treatment of endothelial dysfunction and CVD risk in patients suffering from rheumatologic diseases and in particular in those who haven't yet shown symptoms of CVD. Traditional CVD prediction scores, such as Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), Framingham, or PROCAM Score have been proposed as valid assessment tools of CVD risk in the general population.

Targeted nanotherapy with everolimus reduces inflammation and fibrosis in scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease developed by PSGL-1 deficient mice.

Background And Purpose: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the main cause of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and current therapies available are of low efficacy or high toxicity. Thus, the identification of innovative less toxic and high efficacy therapeutic approaches to ILD treatment is an urgent need. The interaction of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) with P-selectin initiates leukocyte extravasation and deletion of the corresponding gene (Selplg) induces a SSc-like syndrome with high incidence of ILD in aged mice.

Evaluation of Interstitial Lung Disease in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies Through Semiquantitative and Quantitative Analysis of Lung Computed Tomography.

Purpose: To perform a semiquantitative and quantitative analysis of interstitial lung disease (ILD), through computed tomography (CT), in different serological subgroups of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) patients, to find radiologic and clinical differences of disease related to serology.

Materials And Methods: This was a prospective study, which included 98 IIM patients, divided into serological subgroups: anti-aminoacyl-transfer-RNA-synthetases (anti-ARS) positive and myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSA) negative.For each baseline CT the total semiquantitative score of Warrick (WS) and the automated software (Computer-Aided Lung Informatics for Pathology Evaluation and Rating) quantitative scores interstitial lung disease % (ILD%) and vascular-related structure % (VRS%) were calculated.

Rare clinical manifestations in systemic lupus erythematosus: a review on frequency and clinical presentation.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review the frequency and clinical presentation of the rarest clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: A list of 6 rare SLE manifestations were defined: gastrointestinal, liver, pulmonary, cardiac, ocular and neurological manifestations. Each topic was assigned to a pair of authors to perform a literature search and article review.

Anti-Ro52 antibodies positivity in antisynthetase syndrome: a single centre cohort study.

Objectives: Although antisynthetase antibodies (ARS) are the established markers of the so-called antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD), in these patients the concomitant positivity of anti-Ro52 antibodies, reported in up to the 50% of cases, is not rare. Several studies focused on the effect of different ARS specificities on the evolution of ASSD, the most recent showing no effects. On the contrary, the role of co-occurring anti-Ro52 antibodies in ASSD is still debated.

Clinical spectrum time course in non-Asian patients positive for anti-MDA5 antibodies.

Objectives: To define the clinical spectrum time-course and prognosis of non-Asian patients positive for anti-MDA5 antibodies.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, international, retrospective cohort study.

Results: 149 anti-MDA5 positive patients (median onset age 53 years, median disease duration 18 months), mainly females (100, 67%), were included.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: one year in review 2021.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a heterogeneous group of rare and complex connective tissue diseases, mainly characterised by inflammatory involvement of skeletal muscles. Several other organs may be affected, particularly lungs, heart, skin, gastrointestinal tract and joints, often determining the morbidity and mortality associated with these autoimmune disorders. The course is generally chronic and the onset subacute.

Efficacy and safety of abatacept in interstitial lung disease of rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic literature review.

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a serious complication that represents the second leading cause of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Treatment of RA-ILD remains controversial. The absence of randomized clinical trials and specific ACR or EULAR therapeutic guidelines makes it difficult to establish solid therapeutic recommendations on this issue.

Real life picture of the use of intravenous immunoglobulins in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: Results of a multicentric study.

Background: despite the absence of specific guidelines, the treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IvIg) is considered effective in patients with refractory idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). The aim of our study is to evaluate the effectiveness and the safety of IvIg and define the possible profile of IIM patients candidate to IvIg treatment.

Methods: we performed a retrospective study of IIM pts.

HLA association with the susceptibility to anti-synthetase syndrome.

Objective: To investigate the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) association with anti-synthetase syndrome (ASSD).

Methods: We conducted the largest immunogenetic HLA-DRB1 and HLA-B study to date in a homogeneous cohort of 168 Caucasian patients with ASSD and 486 ethnically matched healthy controls by sequencing-based-typing.

Results: A statistically significant increase of HLA-DRB1*03:01 and HLA-B*08:01 alleles in patients with ASSD compared to healthy controls was disclosed (26.

CT-guided biopsy in the differential diagnosis of Sjogren syndrome associated cystic lung disease: A case of lung nodular AL- amyloidosis.

Pulmonary involvement in Sjogren syndrome (SS) could manifest as cystic lung disease (CLD). CLD in SS includes lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP) and pulmonary amyloidosis. Differential diagnosis usually requires surgical lung biopsy, whereas CT-guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy (CT-FNAB) has not yet explored.

Functional Progression in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease Resulted Positive to Antisynthetase Antibodies: A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis.

Antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD) is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by serologic positivity for antisynthetase antibodies. Anti-Jo1 is the most frequent, followed by anti PL-7, anti PL-12, anti EJ, and anti OJ antibodies. The lung is the most frequently affected organ, usually manifesting with an interstitial lung disease (ILD), which is considered the main determinant of prognosis.

The Model for Early COvid-19 Recognition (MECOR) Score: A Proof-of-Concept for a Simple and Low-Cost Tool to Recognize a Possible Viral Etiology in Community-Acquired Pneumonia Patients during COVID-19 Outbreak.

This study aims to assess the peripheral blood cell count "signature" of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to discriminate promptly between COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We designed a retrospective case-control study, enrolling 525 patients (283 COVID-19 and 242 with CAP). All patients had a fever and at least one of the following signs: cough, chest pain, or dyspnea.

Which factors predict discordance between a patient and physician on a gout flare?

Objective: To investigate the factors associated with discordance between patient and physician on the presence of a gout flare.

Methods: Patients' self-reports of current gout flares were assessed with the question, 'Are you having a gout flare today?' which was then compared with a concurrent, blinded, physician's assessment. Based on agreement or disagreement with physicians on the presence of a gout flare, flares were divided into concordant and discordant groups, respectively.