Uveitis in spondyloarthritis Rademacher, Judith; Poddubnyy, Denis; Pleyer, Uwe
Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease,
2020, Letnik:
12
Book Review, Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Uveitis is the most frequent extra-articular manifestation of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA), occurring in up to one-third of the patients. In the majority of patients, uveitis is acute, anterior and ...unilateral and presents with photosensitivity, sudden onset of pain and blurred vision. Topical steroids are an effective treatment; however, recurrent or refractory cases may need conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or biological treatment with monoclonal tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, thus also influencing treatment strategy of the underlying SpA.
Though the exact pathogenesis of SpA and uveitis remains unknown, both seem to result from the interaction of a specific, mostly shared genetical background (among other HLA-B27 positivity), external influences such as microbiome, bacterial infection or mechanical stress and activation of the immune system resulting in inflammation. Up to 40% of patients presenting with acute anterior uveitis (AAU) have an undiagnosed SpA. Therefore, an effective referral strategy for AAU patients is needed to shorten the diagnostic delay of SpA and enable an early effective treatment. Further, the risk for ophthalmological manifestations increases with the disease duration in SpA; and patients presenting with ocular symptoms should be referred to an ophthalmologist. Thus, a close collaboration between patient, rheumatologist and ophthalmologist is needed to optimally manage ocular inflammation in SpA.
Secukinumab, a fully human anti-interleukin-17A monoclonal antibody, exhibited promising activity in a proof-of-concept study when administered in intravenous (IV) doses to patients with active, ...chronic, noninfectious uveitis. This study compared the efficacy and safety of different IV and subcutaneous (SC) doses of secukinumab in patients with noninfectious uveitis.
Multicenter, randomized, double-masked, dose-ranging, phase 2 clinical trial.
Thirty-seven patients with active noninfectious intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, or panuveitis who required corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapy.
Patients were randomized to secukinumab 300 mg SC every 2 weeks for 4 doses, secukinumab 10 mg/kg IV every 2 weeks for 4 doses, or secukinumab 30 mg/kg IV every 4 weeks for 2 doses. Intravenous or SC saline was administered to maintain masking. Efficacy was assessed on day 57 (2-4 weeks after last dose).
Percentage of patients with treatment response, defined as (1) at least a 2-grade reduction in vitreous haze score or trace or absent vitreous haze in the study eye without an increase in corticosteroid dose and without uveitis worsening or (2) reduction in corticosteroid dosages to prespecified levels without uveitis worsening. Percentage of patients with remission, defined as anterior chamber cell and vitreous haze scores of 0 or 0.5+ in both eyes without corticosteroid therapy or uveitis worsening.
Secukinumab 30 mg/kg IV and 10 mg/kg IV, compared with the 300 mg SC dose, produced higher responder rates (72.7% and 61.5% vs. 33.3%, respectively) and remission rates (27.3% and 38.5% vs. 16.7%, respectively). Statistical and clinical superiority for the 30 mg/kg IV dose compared with the 300 mg SC dose was established in a Bayesian probability model. Other measures, including time to response onset, change in visual acuity, and change in vitreous haze score, showed numeric trends favoring IV dosing. Secukinumab, administered in IV or SC formulations, appeared safe and was well tolerated.
Intravenous secukinumab was effective and well tolerated in noninfectious uveitis requiring systemic corticosteroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapy. Greater activity with IV dosing suggests that patients may not receive sufficient drug with SC administration. High-dose IV secukinumab may be necessary to deliver secukinumab in therapeutic concentrations.
Birdshot Retinochoroiditis (BSRC) is a progressive non-infectious intraocular inflammation that affects choroid and retina. Inflammatory processes have adverse effects on vision by affecting ...photoreceptor-bearing cells that do not regenerate. This study aimed at characterizing inflammatory CD4
and CD8
T cell subsets in the peripheral blood of active and inactive BSRCs. Furthermore, we correlated phenotypical and functional immunological analyses with clinical data. We observed a slight increase of terminally differentiated effector memory CD8
T cells expressing CD45RA (T
) in blood of inactive, compared to active BSRCs. Moreover, we identified a trend for a decreased population of T
2 cells and increased T
1 frequencies in active BSRCs, a typical sign of ongoing autoimmune processes. Functional assays demonstrated severe and overall impairment of effector function of both, CD4
and CD8
inflammatory T cells, which might reflect T cell exhaustion. Although the eye is the main site of inflammation in BSRC, we observed altered T cell subset compositions in the peripheral blood, dependent on the disease status. Our results indicate that T cells may play a major role in BSRC pathology, although our cohort size is too limited for definitve conclusions. Future studies with larger BSRCs have to be performed.
The Diagnosis and Treatment of Sjögren's Syndrome Stefanski, Ana-Luisa; Tomiak, Christian; Pleyer, Uwe ...
Deutsches Ärzteblatt international,
2017-May-26, Letnik:
114, Številka:
20
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Sjögren's syndrome is one of the more common inflammatory rheumatological diseases, with a prevalence of at least 0.4% in Germany.
This review is based on pertinent articles retrieved by a selective ...search in PubMed. Special attention is drawn to updated classification criteria and current treatment recommendations.
Sjögren's syndrome has a wide variety of presentations, ranging from the local involvement of exocrine glands with keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia (the leading signs of the disease) to the systemic, extraglandular involvement of multiple organs. Fatigue also markedly worsens the patients' quality of life. Serologic testing reveals antinuclear auto-antibodies (anti-Ro/ SSA and anti-La/SSB) as well as rheumatoid factors. The histological hallmark of the disease is focal lymphocytic infiltration in otherwise normal-appearing glandular acini. The disease also markedly elevates the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the B-cell series, which arises in about 5% of patients. Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) differs from the secondary form (sSS), which appears in the setting of another autoimmune disease, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus (15-36%), rheumatoid arthritis (20-32%), and limited or progressive systemic sclerosis (11-24%). Disease-modifying therapy is reserved for patients with systemic involvement; there is limited evidence for its efficacy. Because of the complexity of this disease, some of its clinical manifestations may require interdisciplinary treatment.
The main considerations in the interdisciplinary care of patients with Sjögren's disease are measures to improve quality of life, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments to keep disease activity in check, and management of the risk of lymphoma. Future therapeutic approaches must take the heterogeneity of the disease into account.
Human corneal transplantation (keratoplasty) is typically considered to have superior short- and long-term outcomes and lower requirement for immunosuppression compared to solid organ transplants ...because of the inherent immune privilege and tolerogenic mechanisms associated with the anterior segment of the eye. However, in a substantial proportion of corneal transplants, the rates of acute rejection and/or graft failure are comparable to or greater than those of the commonly transplanted solid organs. Critically, while registry data and observational studies have helped to identify factors that are associated with increased risk of corneal transplant failure, the extent to which these risk factors operate through enhancing immune-mediated rejection is less clear. In this overview, we summarize a range of important recent clinical and basic insights related to high-risk corneal transplantation, the factors associated with graft failure, and the immunological basis of corneal allograft rejection. We highlight critical research areas from which continued progress is likely to drive improvements in the long-term survival of high-risk corneal transplants. These include further development and clinical testing of predictive risk scores and assays; greater use of multicenter clinical trials to optimize immunosuppressive therapy in high-risk recipients and robust clinical translation of novel, mechanistically-targeted immunomodulatory and regenerative therapies that are emerging from basic science laboratories. We also emphasize the relative lack of knowledge regarding transplant outcomes for infection-related corneal diseases that are common in the developing world and the potential for greater cross-pollination and synergy between corneal and solid organ transplant research communities.
Introduction
Noninfectious inflammation of the posterior eye segment represents an important cause of visual impairment. It often affects relatively young people and causes a significant personal and ...social impact. Although steroids and nonbiologic-
Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (nbDMARDs) are effective both in acute and long- lasting diseases, however they are increasingly being replaced by biologic (DMARDs). bDMARD. This article therefore aims to identify recent advances in the therapy of noninfectious posterior segment uveitis.
Methods
A Medline-search was conducted using the terms: nbDMARD, bDMARD, posterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, treatment, corticosteroid. In addition, clinical studies were included as registered at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Results
Currently two major lines of treatments can be identified: (1) the intraocular application of anti-inflammatory agents and (2) the introduction of new agents, e.g., (bDMARDs) and small-molecule-inhibitors. Whereas intravitreal treatments have the advantage to avoid systemic side effects, new systemic agents are progressively earning credit on the basis of their therapeutic effects.
Conclusion
Even when current treatment strategies are still hampered by the limited number of randomized controlled trials, promising progress and continuous efforts are seen.
Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic infection contracted through Toxoplasma gondii–contaminated food, soil, or water. Seroprevalence in Germany is high, but estimates of disease incidence are scarce. We ...investigated incidences for various toxoplasmosis manifestations using anonymized healthcare claims data from Germany for 2011–2016. Patients with a toxoplasmosis diagnosis during the annual observational period were considered incident. The estimated incidence was adjusted to the general population age/sex distribution. We estimated an annual average of 8,047 toxoplasmosis patients in Germany. The average incidence of non–pregnancy-associated toxoplasmosis patients was 9.6/100,000 population. The incidence was highest in 2011, at 10.6 (95% CI 9.4–12.6)/100,000 population, and lowest in 2016, at 8.0 (95% CI 7.0–9.4)/100,000 population. The average incidence of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy was 40.3/100,000 pregnancies. We demonstrate a substantial toxoplasmosis disease burden in Germany. Public health and food safety authorities should implement toxoplasmosis-specific prevention programs.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Posner-Schlossman-Syndrome (PSS) is clinically characterized by acute, recurrent, mild, unilateral uveitis anterior accompanied by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Fuchs´ Uveitis (FU) is a ...chronic, low-grade-inflammatory disorder, involving anterior uvea and vitreous. The clinical findings show remarkable similarities as well as differences. In our study, we determine the composition of immune mediators in aqueous humor of patients with PSS and FU and evaluate if immune mediators play a crucial role in specific viral intraocular inflammation and IOP rises. Aqueous humor samples from 81 uveitis patients (= eyes) presenting with either PSS or FU were collected at one time point. Local intraocular antibody synthesis to rubella virus was confirmed in 65 patients, whereas 16 were tested positively for human cytomegalovirus. Thirteen patients with PSS and 10 patients with FU were treated with glaucoma medications. Additionally, 11 cataract patients acted as control group. Immune mediator concentrations were measured by Bio-Plex Pro assay. We observed in both PSS (IFN-γ: 174.9 pg/mL; TNF-α: 25.1 pg/mL) and FU (IFN-γ: 25.4 pg/mL; TNF-α: 27.2 pg/mL) groups a significantly increased level of T-helper 1 immune mediators compared to controls (IFN-γ, TNF-α: 0 pg/mL) median. Notably, PSS patients (IL-1RA: 73.4 pg/mL; IL-8: 199.4 pg/mL; IL-10: 33.4 pg/mL; IP-10: 126350 pg/mL) showed a stronger and more active ocular inflammatory response, than FU patients (IL-1RA: 4.3 pg/mL; IL-8: 72.4 pg/mL; IL-10: 1.6 pg/mL; IP-10: 57400 pg/mL). Furthermore, a negative correlation between mediators and IOP was seen in the PSS group, potentially caused by acetazolamide-treatment. Our findings show that immune mediators play a crucial role in specific viral intraocular inflammation and influence IOP levels. Remarkable similarities but also significant differences of immune mediator concentrations are apparent in PSS compared to FU. High concentrations of IL-1RA, IL-8, IL-10, and IP-10 correlate with active inflammation in PSS, while FU may trigger chronic inflammation. Our data also substantiated a very similar composition of cytokines in those patients from the PSS group suffering from ocular hypertension and thus offers a potential explanation model for a negative correlation between mediators and IOP.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To evaluate the impact of Birdshot-Retinochoroidopathy (BSRC) and Serpiginous Choroiditis (SC) on depression, anxiety, and vision-related quality of life. 72 individuals (BSRC: n = 28, SC: n = 8; ...healthy control group (HC): n = 36) completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25). Multivariate linear regression models were used to analyze different subscales of the PHQ-9, the GAD-7 and the VFQ-25. The results showed that the mean of PHQ-9 was significantly higher while the mean of the VFQ-25 and its' subscales were consistently lower in the disease group compared to HC. The mean of GAD-7 was not significantly lower in the disease group compared to HC. Stratification for different disease severity stages and duration of disease did not reveal any differences in sum scores of PHQ-9, GAD-7, and VFQ-25, whereas there were significant differences in some subscales of the VFQ-25. We conclude that BSRC and SC patients show higher levels of depression and a reduced visual quality of life due to imminent loss of vision. Because depression and quality of life are adversely affected by lack of social contacts and functioning, psychological treatment should enable patients to maintain their independence and ability to social interaction. Psychosomatic care should be taken in account for the treatment of BSRC and SC.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Tear film hyperosmolarity induces dry eye syndrome (DES) through transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) activation. L-carnitine is a viable therapeutic agent since it protects against ...this hypertonicity-induced response. Here, we investigated whether L-carnitine inhibits TRPV1 activation by blocking heat- or capsaicin-induced increases in Ca
influx or hyperosmotic stress-induced cell volume shrinkage in a human corneal epithelial cell line (HCE-T). Single-cell fluorescence imaging of calcein/AM-loaded cells or fura-2/AM-labeled cells was used to evaluate cell volume changes and intracellular calcium levels, respectively. Planar patch-clamp technique was used to measure whole-cell currents. TRPV1 activation via either capsaicin (20 µmol/L), hyperosmolarity (≈450 mosmol/L) or an increase in ambient bath temperature to 43 °C induced intracellular calcium transients and augmented whole-cell currents, whereas hypertonicity induced cell volume shrinkage. In contrast, either capsazepine (10 µmol/L) or L-carnitine (1-3 mmol/L) reduced all these responses. Taken together, L-carnitine and capsazepine suppress hypertonicity-induced TRPV1 activation by blocking cell volume shrinkage.