Effect of a 1-month methotrexate delay on pneumococcal vaccine immunogenicity and disease control in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (VACIMRA): an open-label randomised trial.

Background: Pneumococcal vaccination is recommended for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Because immunosuppressant therapies for rheumatoid arthritis hinder vaccine efficacy, vaccination should be administered before initiating immunosuppressive drugs. We aimed to compare humoral responses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving the pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13) before methotrexate initiation or simultaneously.

Early peripheral psoriatic arthritis: Baseline features of the first 186 patients in the French Nationwide APACHE Cohort.

Objectives: To describe the design and methodology of APACHE, a cohort of patients with early peripheral psoriatic arthritis (pPsA), and to assess the main baseline clinical characteristics of the first included patients.

Methods: APACHE is an ongoing prospective multicentre national cohort (NCT03768271) with a planned follow-up of 10years. Included patients have recent-onset (<12months) peripheral arthritis, a personal and/or family history of psoriasis, pPsA diagnosed by a rheumatologist, and no history of targeted disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy.

Predicting Clinical Response to Monoclonal TNF Inhibitors in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Transcriptomic Approach Based on Transmembrane TNF Reverse Signaling and Nrf2 Activation.

(1) : TNF inhibitors (TNFis) have revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, 30-40% of RA patients do not respond adequately to those biologics. In addition to neutralizing soluble TNF, TNFis have the ability to bind the transmembrane form of TNF, tmTNF.

Comparison of two strategies of glucocorticoid withdrawal in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in low disease activity (STAR): a randomised, placebo- controlled, double-blind trial.

Objectives: To compare two strategies-a hydrocortisone replacement strategy and a prednisone tapering strategy-for their success in glucocorticoid discontinuation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with low disease activity (LDA).

Methods: The Strategies for glucocorticoid TApering in Rheumatoid arthritis (STAR) study was a double- blind, double-placebo randomised controlled trial including patients with RA receiving a stable dose of glucocorticoid 5 mg/day for ≥3 months and were in LDA for ≥3 months. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either replace prednisone with 20 mg/day of hydrocortisone for 3 months, then reduce to 10 mg/day for 3 months before discontinuation or to taper prednisone by 1 mg/day every month until complete discontinuation, contingent on maintaining LDA.

Prevalence and Significance of the Presence of Anti-transglutaminase and Anti-endomysium Antibodies in Patients with Early Inflammatory Joint Disease.

Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) affects the small intestine, leading to a progressive disappearance of intestinal villi, and can be found in association with several other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and the clinical significance of anti-transglutaminase and anti-endomysium antibodies in patients diagnosed with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Methods: We measured anti-transglutaminase and anti-endomysium antibodies in biobanked serum samples at inclusion in two French prospective multicenter cohorts of patients with suspected early rheumatoid arthritis (ESPOIR, n = 713) and spondyloarthritis (DESIR, n = 709).

Two-year treatment persistence with subcutaneous abatacept in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the French cohort of the ASCORE study.

Objectives: While multiple studies have investigated treatment persistence rates with intravenous abatacept, limited information is available about real-world treatment continuation with the subcutaneous form. The international ASCORE study described the characteristics and treatment persistence of real-world patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving subcutaneous abatacept. This article presents the findings of the French cohort.

Diagnosis and treatment of Tropheryma whipplei infection in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease: Data from the French Tw-IRD registry.

Objectives: Tropheryma whipplei infection can manifest as inflammatory joint symptoms, which can lead to misdiagnosis of inflammatory rheumatic disease and the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. We investigated the impact of diagnosis and treatment of Tropheryma whipplei infection in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease.

Methods: We initiated a registry including patients with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs-treated inflammatory rheumatic disease who were subsequently diagnosed with Tropheryma whipplei infection.

Towards the Lowest Efficacious Dose: Results From a Multicenter Noninferiority Randomized Open-Label Controlled Trial Assessing Tocilizumab or Abatacept Injection Spacing in Rheumatoid Arthritis in Remission.

Objective: We assess the clinical and structural impact at two years of progressively spacing tocilizumab (TCZ) or abatacept (ABA) injections versus maintenance at full dose in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in sustained remission.

Methods: This multicenter open-label noninferiority (NI) randomized clinical trial included patients with established rheumatoid arthritis in sustained remission receiving ABA or TCZ at a stable dose. Patients were randomized to treatment maintenance (M) at full dose (M-arm) or progressive injection spacing (S) driven by the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints every 3 months up to biologics discontinuation (S-arm).

Ten-year radiographic and functional outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis patients in remission compared to patients in low disease activity.

Background: To compare the 10-year structural and functional prognosis between patients in sustained remission versus patients in sustained low disease activity (LDA) in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We included 256 patients from the ESPOIR cohort who fulfilled the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for RA and who were in sustained remission using the Simple Disease Activity Index (SDAI) score (n = 48), in sustained LDA (n = 139) or in sustained moderate to high disease activity (MDA or HDA, n = 69) over 10 years. The mTSSs progression over 10 years and the 10-year HAQ-DI scores were compared between the 3 groups.

Can efficacy and safety data from clinical trials of rituximab in RA be extrapolated? Insights from 1984 patients from the AIR-PR Registry.

Objectives: To investigate whether the efficacy and safety data from drug-registration trials can be extrapolated to real-life RA patients receiving RTX.

Methods: The 'AutoImmunity and Rituximab' (AIR-PR) registry is a French multicentre, prospective cohort of RA patients treated with RTX in a real-life setting. We compared treatment responses at 12 months and serious adverse events (AEs) between eligible and non-eligible patients, by retrieving the eligibility criteria of the three rituximab-registration trials.

Infectious risk when prescribing rituximab in patients with hypogammaglobulinemia acquired in the setting of autoimmune diseases.

We conducted a single-centre retrospective cohort study in a French University Hospital between 2010 and 2018 to describe the risk of severe infectious event (SIE) within 2 years after the date of first rituximab infusion (T0) prescribed after the evidence of acquired hypogammaglobulinemia (gamma globulins [GG] ≤ 6 g/L) in the setting of autoimmune diseases (AID) other than rheumatoid arthritis. SIE occurred in 26 out of 121 included patients. Two years cumulative incidence rates were 12.

A prospective survey on therapeutic inertia in psoriatic arthritis (OPTI'PsA).

Objectives: Clinical inertia, or therapeutic inertia (TI), is the medical behaviour of not initiating or intensifying treatment when recommended by clinical recommendations. To our knowledge, our survey is the first to assess TI around psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: Eight hundred and twenty-five French rheumatologists were contacted via email between January and March 2021 and invited to complete an online questionnaire consisting of seven clinical vignettes: five cases ('oligoarthritis', 'enthesitis', 'polyarthritis', 'neoplastic history', 'cardiovascular risk') requiring treatment OPTImization, and two 'control' cases (distal interphalangeal arthritis, atypical axial involvement) not requiring any change of treatment-according to the most recent PsA recommendations.

Efficacy of subcutaneous vs intravenous infliximab in rheumatoid arthritis: a post-hoc analysis of a randomized phase III trial.

Objectives: The primary endpoint of the pivotal phase III study of infliximab (IFX) s.c. demonstrated non-inferiority of s.

Pleuropulmonary Manifestations of Vacuoles, E1 Enzyme, X-Linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic (VEXAS) Syndrome.

Background: The vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic (VEXAS) syndrome is a newly identified autoinflammatory disorder related to somatic UBA1 mutations. Up to 72% of patients may show lung involvement.

Research Question: What are the pleuropulmonary manifestations in VEXAS syndrome?

Study Design And Methods: One hundred fourteen patients were included in the French cohort of VEXAS syndrome between November 2020 and May 2021.

Clinical significance of a self-reported familial occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis among patients with recent-onset arthritis: data from the ESPOIR cohort.

Objectives: To assess, in patients with recent-onset arthritis, whether a self-reported familial occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a clinical presentation of the disease, final diagnosis, long-term outcome and treatment decisions.

Methods: The study was conducted from data of patients included between 2002 and 2005 in the early arthritis ESPOIR cohort. Patients were recruited on the basis of having at least two swollen joints for >6 weeks and <6 months, no other diagnosis than RA and no previous exposure to glucocorticoids or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

Factors associated with drug-free remission at 5-year in early onset axial spondyloarthritis patients: Data from the DESIR cohort.

Objectives: To assess the frequency of patients in drug-free remission at 5 years in a cohort of early axial SpA, and the factors associated with this remission.

Methods: Patients: patients included in the DESIR (DEvenir des Spondyloarthropathies Indifférenciées Récentes) cohort undergoing the 5-year visit were selected for this analysis. Definition of 5-year drug-free remission: (1) all patients in ASAS partial remission and/or ASDAS<1.