Abstract
Objectives
To evaluate 3-year outcomes of following a treat-to-target (T2T) strategy targeting low disease activity for patients with elderly-onset RA (EORA) and to confirm safety profile of ...T2T.
Methods
Treatment was adjusted to target low disease activity with conventional synthetic DMARDs, followed by biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) in 197 MTX-naïve EORA patients (mean age 74.9 years) with moderate-to-high disease activity. Non-implementation of T2T was evaluated at week 12, 24, 36, 52, 76, 104 and 128. To evaluate risks of using MTX, bDMARDs and glucocorticoids, 2122 periods of 3 months each were analysed using Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression models.
Results
Of the patients, 84.7% received methotrexate, 34.0% glucocorticoids with DMARDs and 41.6% bDMARDs during the observation period. Sixty-nine of the 197 patients failed to adhere to T2T because of comorbidities or the patient’s own decision: 33 failed once, 19 twice, 10 three times and 6 four times or more. Simplified disease activity index (SDAI) remission and HAQ Disability Index (HAQ-DI) ≤0.5 at 3 years were achieved in 57.8% and 70.3% of the 128 patients adhering to T2T, and 34.8% and 43.5% of the 69 patients who did not adhere to T2T, respectively, and these were significantly different. Eighty-nine serious adverse events (SAEs) of any type were reported in 61 patients. MTX, bDMARDs and glucocorticoid were not associated with SAEs when adjusted for mean SDAI during the observation period and comorbidities at baseline.
Conclusion
T2T strategy for EORA by using MTX and bDMARDs was effective with an acceptable safety profile. Adhering to T2T led to better outcomes.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that involves multiple immune cell subsets. We analyzed immune cell subsets in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in order to ...identify the cells that are significantly associated with SLE disease activity and treatment. The frequencies of various subsets of CD4
T cells, B cells, monocytes and NK cells in PBMC were assessed in 30 healthy controls (HC), 30 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 26 SLE patients using flow cytometry. The correlations between subset frequencies in SLE and clinical traits including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) were examined. Changes in subset frequencies after the treatment in SLE patients were investigated. We focused on CD25
LAG3
T cells and investigated their characteristics, including cytokine secretion, mRNA expression and suppression capacity. We assessed correlations between CD25
LAG3
T cells and SLEDAI by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. CD25
LAG3
T cells were significantly increased in SLE whereas there were few in RA and HC groups. CD25
LAG3
T cell frequencies were significantly correlated with SLEDAI and were increased in patients with a high SLEDAI score (> 10). CD25
LAG3
T cells produced both IL-17 and FOXP3, expressed mRNA of both
and
and lacked suppressive capacity. CD25
LAG3
T cells were associated with disease activity of SLE. CD25
LAG3
T cells had features of both CD25
FOXP3
regulatory T cells (CD25
Treg) and Th17. CD25
LAG3
T cells could be associated with the inflammatory pathophysiology of SLE.
A 38-year-old woman with relapsing longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis and Sjogren's syndrome (SS) was admitted with lower extremity muscle weakness. Studies showed high serum titer of ...anti-aquaporin4 antibody and gadolinium-enhanced-MRI T1-weighted lesions within thoracic cord. Clinical findings suggested neuromyelitis optica-spectrum disorder (NMO-SD). High-dose corticosteroids, plasma exchange and cyclophosphamide were not effective. After starting tocilizumab, her neurological findings gradually improved. This report describes the first evidence to show tocilizumab could be effective for NMO-SD with SS.
Overlap syndrome refers to a group of conditions that have clinical features of more than one well-characterised rheumatic disease and meet the respective classification criteria. There are no ...typical renal histological findings in overlap syndrome. When patients with overlap syndrome develop renal dysfunction, various potential causes, including lupus nephritis (LN), renal crisis by systemic sclerosis, interstitial nephritis, and so on, need to be distinguished. Here, we report a 44-year-old woman with overlap syndrome involving systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma, and Sjogren's syndrome, who was also positive for anti-mitochondrial M2 antibody. She developed glomerular haematuria, proteinuria, and increase in creatinine appeared gradually. Suspecting LN, renal biopsy was performed. However, in the interstitium, mild infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells and very partial fibrosis were observed. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed predominant mesangial immunoglobulin M, C3, and λ light chain staining. Overall, LN was not diagnosed based on these findings. Renal dysfunction was normalised by glucocorticoid treatment for 3 months. This case suggests the importance of a renal diagnosis based on renal pathological findings, especially in a case of overlap syndrome including SLE.
IgG4-related disease Kubo, Kanae; Yamamoto, Kazuhiko
International journal of rheumatic diseases,
August 2016, Letnik:
19, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Immunoglobulin G4‐related disease (IgG4‐RD) is a regional or systemic fibro‐inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. It presents a distinctive histopathological appearance of dense lymphoplasmacytic ...infiltrates with abundant IgG4‐positive plasma cells, storiform fibrosis and obliterative phlebitis with the appearance of inflammatory swelling or tumefactive lesions. This new disease entity includes a wide variety of diseases such as Mikulicz disease, autoimmune pancreatitis, Riedel thyroiditis, interstitial nephritis and retroperitoneal fibrosis. Glucocorticoid therapy can resolve the clinical and pathological abnormalities and impaired organ function. IgG4‐RD was recognized internationally in 2011, and new evidence has accumulated regarding its pathogenesis, clinical features and treatment. In this review, we outline our present understanding of IgG4‐RD.
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a disease with significant ethnic differences. Reports on characteristics of Japanese granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) ...patients are limited, and this study was undertaken to determine the characteristics of Japanese GPA patients.
This was a retrospective chart study of 24 Japanese GPA patients. GPA was defined according to the European Medicines Agency algorithm.
The percentage of MPO-ANCA-positive patients was 33.3%, higher than the percentages reported in studies from Western countries. MPO-ANCA-positive GPA patients differed from PR3-ANCA-positive GPA patients in organs involved at diagnosis with MPO-ANCA-positive patients having nose and sinus involvement less frequently compared to PR3-ANCA-positive patients. Interstitial lung infiltrates were more common among MPO-ANCA-positive GPA patients compared to PR3-ANCA-positive GPA patients.
Among Japanese GPA patients, the proportion of MPO-ANCA-positive patients is higher compared to reports from Western countries, and those patients are often different from the classical picture of GPA.
We herein report the case of a 42-year-old man with a one-year history of ulcerative colitis who presented with exacerbated bloody diarrhea, a productive cough and increasing breathing difficulties. ...Colonoscopy revealed typical deep ulcers in the rectosigmoid colon and atypical multiple sucker-like ulcers in the transverse colon, and computed tomography of the chest demonstrated wall thickening of the trachea and bronchi. In addition, bronchoscopy showed ulcers in the trachea, and histopathology disclosed findings of necrosis and inflammation of the subepithelial tissue of the trachea. Based on these findings, the patient's respiratory symptoms were strongly suspected to be due to ulcerative colitis-related tracheobronchitis. Treatment with systemic corticosteroids subsequently resulted in a rapid clinical improvement.
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