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J Clin Pharm Ther 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey.

What Is Known And Objective: Anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha (anti-TNF-α) therapy is known to raise the risk of granulomatous infections, leading to development of risk management strategies at national or global level. This study aimed to determine the relative risk (RR) of tuberculosis (TB) due to anti-TNF-α usage in patients with rheumatologic diseases (RDs) in a nationwide basis.

Method: This retrospective cohort study included patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that treated with or without anti-TNF-α agents, as registered in the national prescription information system between years 2013 and 2015. Read More

Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Musculoskeletal biology I, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

Objective: Observational data facilitate examination of treatment-effect heterogeneity, but the risk of bias is substantial. We highlight methodological considerations through an analysis of whether smoking affects response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi) in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Methods: We used longitudinal data from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Ankylosing Spondylitis. Read More

Turk J Med Sci 2019 Feb 11;49(1):27-32. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Background/aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate possible effects of anti-TNF alpha therapy on cardiorespiratory fitness and physical functional capacity of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight AS patients meeting the modified New York criteria with active disease state and an equivalent number of healthy individuals as the control were prospectively enrolled. Physical working capacity and aerobic exercise capacity of the participants were determined by using cardiopulmonary exercise tests, performed before and 4 months after initiation of anti-TNF alpha therapy. Read More

Clin Rheumatol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Division of Rheumatology, Marmara University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.

Vascular involvement, especially in young males, is seen in up to 40% of the patients with Behcet's disease (BD) and is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. In this study, we investigated vessel wall thickness (VWT) and dilatation in lower extremity veins with Doppler ultrasound (US) in male BD patients. Sixty-one male patients with BD, 37 healthy male controls (HC) and 27 male patients, with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), were included in the study. Read More

Scand J Rheumatol 2019 Feb 13:1-5. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

a Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine/Rheumatology , Umeå University , Umeå , Sweden.

Objective: The Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register has implemented an internet-based method (PER) for registering patient-recorded outcome measures. The aim of this study was to compare the agreement between visual analogue scales (VASs) reported via PER and clinic-based reporting using paper forms.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study (70 patients), the results of 79 registrations of VASs for global health, pain, and fatigue from PER were compared with corresponding clinic-based paper registrations. Read More

F1000Res 2019 28;8. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine (LIRMM), Leeds, UK.

The master pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), has been shown to modulate multiple signalling pathways, with wide-ranging downstream effects. TNF plays a vital role in the typical immune response through the regulation of a number of pathways encompassing an immediate inflammatory reaction with significant innate immune involvement as well as cellular activation with subsequent proliferation and programmed cell death or necrosis. As might be expected with such a broad spectrum of cellular effects and complex signalling pathways, TNF has also been implicated in a number of disease states, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and Crohn's disease. Read More

Clin Rheumatol 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, 126 Xiantai Street, Changchun, 130033, China.

Objectives: To investigate the effective serum level of etanercept biosimilar in Chinese patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who achieve AS Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP) < 2.1, and the effect of antidrug antibodies on drug levels and clinical efficacy.

Methods: Our study enrolled 60 patients with AS who were treated with etanercept biosimilar. Read More

Clin Rheumatol 2019 Feb 12. Epub 2019 Feb 12.

Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, No. 466 Xingangzhong Road, Guangzhou, 510317, China.

Objectives: Hip arthritis plays a critical role in the prognosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Dose reduction of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors preserves general improvement of AS, so this study attempted to examine the equivalence between Yisaipu® tapering and conventional therapy for hip arthritis in AS patients, using clinical parameters and magnetic resonance image (MRI).

Methods: AS patients received this etanercept-biosimilar injections (50 mg/week) in the first 12 weeks. Read More

Br J Sports Med 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

National Advisory Unit for Rehabilitation in Rheumatology, Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Background: Exercise is considered important in the management of patients with rheumatic diseases, but the effect of high intensity exercises on disease activity is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of high intensity exercises on disease activity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Method: Assessor blinded multicentre randomised controlled trial. Read More

Asian Spine J 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University & Rothman Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To evaluate surgical outcomes and complications of cervical spine fractures in ankylosing spondylitis (CAS) patients who were treated using either the posterior (P) or combined approach (C).

Overview Of Literature: Ankylosing spondylitis typically causes progressive spinal stiffness that makes patients susceptible to spinal fractures. Read More

J Cutan Med Surg 2019 Feb 11:1203475418824565. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

12 University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Background:: The treat-to-target (T2T) strategy has become established in several medical specialties as a key guidance to optimal therapeutic decision making. T2T may be effective in the assessment of the biologic class of agents called interleukin (IL)-17 inhibitors, which are emerging as a safe and effective treatment option for autoimmune inflammatory conditions such as plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Objective:: The objective of this article is to use a T2T approach for the evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of IL-17 inhibitors in the management of patients with plaque psoriasis, PsA, and AS. Read More

Eur Spine J 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical Research Institute, Pusan National University School of Medicine, 1-10 Ami-Dong, Seo-Gu, Busan, 49241, Republic of Korea.

Purpose: Limited data are available on the relationship between treatment agents and sagittal balance in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). We investigated radiological features related to treatment agents and compared sagittal balance between patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (anti-TNF-α) and those treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and sulfasalazine (SSZ).

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 133 consecutive AS patients. Read More

Int J Rheum Dis 2019 Feb 10. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Connective Tissue Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Aim: To evaluate the association of ERAP1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the risk of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and their role in modulation of the inflammatory interleukin (IL)-17/IL-23 axis in the disease.

Methods: For genotyping, 190 AS cases and 190 healthy controls were enrolled. After DNA extraction, all the subjects were genotyped for rs17482078, rs469876, and rs27038 polymorphisms using single specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Read More

Int J Rheum Dis 2019 Feb 10. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Seoul, Korea.

Aim: This study investigated the use of fat fraction (FF) measurements in the sacroiliac (SI) joint to determine radiologic progression in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Method: A total of 138 patients who underwent pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between September 2014 and March 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. The FF based upon fat deposition (%) using fat signaling on T1 and T2 weighted images in the sacroiliac joint was quantified using a 6-echo variant of the modified Dixon technique. Read More

Front Immunol 2019 25;10:35. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

The frequency of HLA-B27 in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is over 85%. There are more than 170 recognized HLA-B27 alleles but the majority of them is not sufficiently represented for genetic association studies. So far only two alleles, the HLA-B2706 in Asia and the HLA-B2709 in Sardinia, have not been found to be associated with AS. Read More

Ann Rheum Dis 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT), can be life threatening. An increased frequency of VTE has been found in inflammatory conditions. To date, evidence assessing whether this risk is also greater in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is scarce. Read More

Clin Rheumatol 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, 226014, India.

Recently, an increase in CD163 macrophages in ileal biopsies from ankylosing spondylitis patients and an increase in intermediate monocytes in enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) have been reported. Thus, we studied sCD163 levels as M2 macrophage marker in serum and synovial fluid (SF) of ERA children and CD163 expression on monocyte subsets. Serum samples from ERA patients and healthy controls (HC) were assayed for sCD163 (ELISA). Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Feb 7;19(1):127. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Mirogojska 8, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.

Background: Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) antagonists, most of which are monoclonal antibodies, became a widespread treatment for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa and uveitis. Their use is based on the blockage of TNF-α, which plays an important role in granulomas formation, development of phagosomes, activation and differentiation of macrophages, immune response against viral pathogens. The multiple adverse effects of TNF-α inhibition have been identified, including a two-to four-fold increased risk of active tuberculosis and other granulomatous conditions and an increased occurrence of some other serious bacterial, fungal and certain viral infections. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Feb;98(6):e14421

Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital.

Food allergies can alter the gut microbiome composition, increasing the risk of conditions such as ankylosing spondylitis (AS).To identify the association between specific allergens and AS, we investigated the differences in the serum levels of 14 food antigen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G between AS patients and healthy participants. The association between the levels of these antibodies and disease activity was assessed by measuring the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP). Read More

Int J Rheum Dis 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Rheumatology, Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.

Objective: Serum microRNA (miR) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients has been rarely identified. The objective of this study was to find AS-specific miR in sera of patients with AS.

Methods: Total RNAs were isolated from whole sera of patients with AS, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and healthy controls (HC) using miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Kit. Read More

Int J Rheum Dis 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, Germany.

Aim: To calculate the prevalence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 in axial spondyloarthritis patients (axSpA) compared to blood donors (BD) in Lebanon, to identify the clinical and radiological findings associated with HLA-B27 and to estimate the proportion of patients fulfilling the clinical arm of the Assessment of the Spondyloarthritis International Association (ASAS) criteria.

Method: Consecutive Lebanese adult axSpA patients fulfilling the ASAS classification criteria were included from 12 rheumatology clinics across Lebanon. BD served as controls. Read More

J Int Med Res 2019 Feb 7:300060518811486. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

2 Department of Orthopaedics, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital (301 Hospital), Beijing, PR China.

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the correlation between pulmonary dysfunction patterns and diaphragmatic sagittal rotation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis accompanied by kyphosis.

Methods: Thirty patients (27 male, 3 female) with kyphotic deformity secondary to ankylosing spondylitis underwent pedicle subtraction osteotomy and were retrospectively reviewed. All patients had undergone preoperative computed tomography with three-dimensional reconstruction, full-length spine radiographs, and pulmonary function tests. Read More

PLoS One 2019 6;14(2):e0211835. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital; Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Objectives: There are limited studies describing the association between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and osteoporosis. We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study to investigate this epidemiologic evidence.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Read More

J Dermatolog Treat 2019 Feb 6:1-14. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

a 1st Department of Dermatology "Andreas Syggros" Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , Athens , Greece.

Although anti-TNFα agents have revolutionized the treatment of many inflammatory diseases, various concerns have been reported regarding the risks of cancer development, as well as acceleration of the progression of subclinical, pre-existing malignancies. In this case series we investigated the provocative effect of anti-TNFα drugs in the development of cutaneous mycosis fungoides (MF)-like lymphoproliferative reactions. We describe 5 patients aged between 25-63 diagnosed with autoimmune disorders (psoriatic arthritis- one patient, Crohn's disease- one patient and ankylosing spondylitis- three patients) who received anti-TNFα agents before the development of a cutaneous lymphoproliferative reaction. Read More

Radiology 2019 Feb 5:180960. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

From the Department of Radiology, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Rd, Hong Kong, HKSAR (K.H.L., V.W.H.L.); Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine (H.Y.C., C.S.L.), and Department of Diagnostic Radiology (X.X.), University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, HKSAR.

Background A quantifiable imaging measure to gauge the intensity of individual inflammatory lesions in axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) has not been well established. Previous studies have shown that diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI reflects disease activity in axial SpA. Purpose To determine the association between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) at MRI of discovertebral lesions and disease activity in individuals with axial SpA. Read More

Arthritis Res Ther 2019 Feb 4;21(1):46. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

INSERM U1173, UFR Simone Veil, Versailles-Saint-Quentin University, 2 avenue de la source de la Bièvre, 78190, Montigny le Bretonneux, France.

Background: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting primarily axial and peripheral joints and sometimes also extra-articular organs, such as the gut. Rats transgenic for HLA-B27 and human β2-microglobulin (B27-Tg rat) develop clinical manifestations resembling human disease. In this model, it has been shown that CD103 conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) exhibited altered functions, likely promoting SpA development. Read More

Pain Physician 2019 Jan;22(1S):S1-S74

Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Background: Interventional pain management involves diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. This specialty utilizes minimally invasive procedures to target therapeutics to the central nervous system and the spinal column. A subset of patients encountered in interventional pain are medicated using anticoagulant or antithrombotic drugs to mitigate thrombosis risk. Read More

RMD Open 2019 11;5(1):e000808. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Pfizer Inc, Groton, Connecticut, USA.

Objectives: Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were evaluated in patients with PsA with inadequate responses to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR) in a 6-month, phase III randomised controlled trial (OPAL Beyond [NCT01882439]).

Methods: Patients (N=394) received tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily or placebo (advancing to tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily at month 3). Read More

RMD Open 2019 11;5(1):e000806. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Pfizer Inc, Groton, Connecticut, USA.

Objectives: Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). We evaluated patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with PsA refractory to ≥1 conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD-IR) and tumour necrosis factor inhibitor-naïve in a 12-month, phase III randomised controlled trial (OPAL Broaden [NCT01877668]).

Methods: Patients (N=422) received tofacitinib 5 mg or 10 mg twice daily, adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every 2 weeks or placebo advancing to tofacitinib 5 mg or 10 mg twice daily at month 3. Read More

RMD Open 2019 11;5(1):e000802. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center, Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Amsterdam UMC University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Objective: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) can encompass axial, peripheral and extra-articular disease manifestations. Patients are classified as axial or peripheral SpA depending on the presence or absence of current back pain, independently of the other disease manifestations. Therefore, we aimed to assess the percentage of patients with axial SpA with peripheral disease and how this peripheral disease contributes to the overall disease activity. Read More

RMD Open 2019 11;5(1):e000585. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, London, UK.

Objective: This analysis explored the association of treatment adherence with beliefs about medication, patient demographic and disease characteristics and medication types in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS) to develop adherence prediction models.

Methods: The population was a subset from ALIGN, a multicountry, cross-sectional, self-administered survey study in adult patients (n=7328) with six immune-mediated inflammatory diseases who were routinely receiving systemic therapy. Instruments included Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) and 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-4), which was used to define adherence. Read More

RMD Open 2018 5;4(2):e000825. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Department of Medicine and Rheumatology, Klinikum Bielefeld Rosenhöhe, Bielefeld, Germany, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany, and Gent University, Gent, Belgium.

Objective: Inflammatory back pain (IBP), the key symptom of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), including ankylosing spondylitis, has been proposed as a screening test for patients presenting with chronic back pain in primary care. The diagnostic accuracy of IBP in the rheumatology setting is unknown.

Methods: Six rheumatology centres, representing secondary and tertiary rheumatology care, included routinely referred patients with consecutive chronic back pain with suspicion of axSpA. Read More

Ann Rheum Dis 2019 Feb 2. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Swedish Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

To develop a comprehensive listing of the greatest unmet scientific and clinical needs in rheumatology. The 20th annual international Targeted Therapies meeting brought more than 100 leading basic scientists and clinical researchers in rheumatology, immunology, epidemiology, molecular biology and other specialties. During the meeting, breakout sessions were convened, consisting of five disease-specific groups with 20-30 experts assigned to each group based on expertise. Read More

Bone 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Bone Metabolism Laboratory, Rheumatology Division, Hospital das Clinicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address:

Objectives: To compare bone quality using the trabecular bone score (TBS) and bone microarchitecture in the distal tibia using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and TBS (TBS iNsight software) were evaluated using DXA (Hologic, QDR 4500); while volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and bone microarchitecture were analyzed in the distal tibia using HR-pQCT (Scanco) in 73 male patients with AS and 52 age-matched HC.

Results: AS patients were a mean 41. Read More

Radiographics 2019 Feb 1:180039. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

From the Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115.

The biomechanical stability of the spine is altered in patients with a rigid spine, rendering it vulnerable to fracture even from relatively minor impact. The rigid spine entities are ankylosing spondylitis (AS), diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, degenerative spondylosis, and a surgically fused spine. The most common mechanism of injury resulting in fracture is hyperextension, which often leads to unstable injury in patients with a rigid spine per the recent AOSpine classification system. Read More

Reumatol Clin 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Departamento de Reumatología, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica (IBIMA), Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, España.

Objectives: To describe the therapeutic management of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) in patients initiating treatment with biological agents.

Materials And Methods: Observational, retrospective, longitudinal study in 33 Spanish hospitals. Patients with RA, PsA and AS starting treatment with biological agents between September 2009 and August 2010 and a follow-up longer than 3 years were included. Read More

Zhonghua Nei Ke Za Zhi 2019 Feb;58(2):85-88

Department of Rheumatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.

PLoS One 2019 31;14(1):e0210335. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Orthopedics, Korea University Hospital, Ansan, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

Among a variety of comorbidities of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), the association between dementia and AS by using an extensive dataset from the Korean National Health Insurance System was evaluated in this study. We extracted 15,547 newly diagnosed AS subjects among the entire Korean population and excluded wash-out patients (n = 162) and patients that were inappropriate for cohort match (n = 1192). Finally, 14,193 subjects were chosen as the AS group, and through 1:5 age- and sex-stratified matching, 70,965 subjects were chosen as the control group. Read More

Ter Arkh 2018 Aug;90(8):101-106

A.B. Zborovsky Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, Volgograd, Russia.

Rheumatic diseases (RD), such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, vasculitis, gout are associated with increase in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The main causes of increased cardiovascular risk are inflammatory heart and vascular lesions, accelerated progression of atherosclerosis and side effects of drug therapy. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used in clinical practice and are on the list of the most prescribed medications. Read More

Ter Arkh 2018 Dec;90(12):90-95

V.I. Razumovsky Saratov State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Saratov, Russia.

Aim: The evaluation the occurrence of comorbidities in patients with inflammatory diseases of the spine and joints and the assessment of the general changes in comorbidities at the beginning of the XXI century compared to previous period.

Materials And Methods: Comorbidity was analyzed in 245 patients with spondyloarthritis who participated in the scientific program PROGRESS. Validated comorbidity assessment indices were used in the study. Read More

Patient Prefer Adherence 2019 18;13:157-163. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Medical Affairs, Janssen Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada,

Background: The aim of the study was to compare drug survival rate of subcutaneous tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis patients in Hungary.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis using data collected from 5,647 patients over a period of 10 years who were treated with any of the following drugs: adalimumab (ADA), etanercept, certolizumab pegol (CZP), and golimumab (GLM). National Health Insurance Fund's hospital, drug reimbursement, and special reimbursement registry data have been used in this study. Read More

Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been a mainstay of treatment for advanced prostate cancer (PCa), but limited studies have been performed to investigate the association between ADT and autoimmune diseases.

Methods: We conducted a population-based nationwide cohort study of 17,168 patients newly diagnosed with PCa between 1996 and 2013 using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan. Cox proportional hazards models with 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis were used to investigate the association between ADT use and the risk of autoimmune diseases. Read More

J Bone Miner Res 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Dep Rheumatology, Amsterdam Rheumatology and immunology Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Objectives The aim of this cohort study was to evaluate the long term effects of TNF-inhibitors (TNFi) on Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and the incidence of Vertebral Fractures (VFx) in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Method Consecutive patients with active AS with a TNFi treatment duration up to 4 years, with available DXA scans and spine X-rays, were included. BMD (classified according to the WHO criteria for osteoporosis) of hip and lumbar spine, the VFx (classified as a Genant-score > 1/> 20% height loss) and radiological progression (modified stoke ankylosing spondylitis spinal score; mSASSS) scores were performed at baseline and 4 years of TNFi treatment. Read More

Immunol Invest 2019 Jan 28:1-15. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health , Anhui Medical University , Hefei , Anhui , China.

Objectives: To investigate the role of osteoprotegerin (OPG), receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand (RANKL), and RANKL/OPG ratio in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: Studies that compared serum levels of OPG, RANKL, and RANKL/OPG ratio between AS patients and healthy controls were gathered. Pooled standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by the random-effects model. Read More

Klin Lab Diagn 2018 ;63(5):297-301

The Federal State Budget Educational Institution "The V.A. Almazov Federal Medical Research Center" of Minzdrav of Russia, 197341, St. Petersburg, Russia.

The modern diagnostic approaches permit to diagnose axial spondylarthrosis (axSpA) at roentgenologic stage corresponding to ankylosing spondylitis (AS). While early diagnostic of non-roentgenologic axSpA (nr-axSpA) is still complicated. This situation conditions a need in searching new laboratory biomarkers for early diagnostic of spondylarthrosis, including auto-antibodies to antigen CD74 described recently. Read More

Front Immunol 2018 10;9:3132. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Translational Research Institute, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is polygenic with more than 100 genes identified to date. These include and the aminopeptidases (, and ), which are involved in antigen processing and presentation to T-cells, and several genes (, and ) involved in IL23 driven pathways of inflammation. AS is also strongly associated with polymorphisms in two transcription factors, RUNX3 and T-bet (encoded by ), which are important in T-cell development and function. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2019 Jan 24. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

a Infection Disease and Clinical Microbiology Department , University of Health Sciences, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital , Ankara , Turkey.

In patients undergoing immunotherapy, the quality of the immune response is reduced, which may negatively affect the efficacy of vaccination. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine in patients using immunomodulators. Seronegative patients for HBV who were using biological agents, were included in the study. Read More

Ann Rheum Dis 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Rheumatology, Maastricht University Medical Center and Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Objective: To explore the independent contribution of individual-level and country level socioeconomic status (SES) determinants to disease activity and physical function in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Methods: Data from the cross-sectional, multinational (n=22 countries worldwide) COMOSPA (COMOrbidities in SpA) study were used. Contribution of individual SES factors (gender, education) and country of residence to Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) was explored in multilevel regression models, adjusting for clinical and demographic confounders. Read More

Ann Rheum Dis 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland.

Objectives: Here, we present the reported incidence rates of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients receiving treatment with secukinumab for psoriasis (PsO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS), in a pooled analysis of 21 clinical trials.

Methods: Data from all patients who had received at least one dose of secukinumab were included. Safety analyses were conducted to evaluate cumulative IBD rates as well as per-year rates, by indication. Read More