Association between perceived level of stress, clinical characteristics and psychopathological symptoms in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: To evaluate psychopathological status and stress level from a sample with SLE; compare mental functioning and stress levels between women with SLE and healthy women; determine whether disease duration, disease activity, cumulative organ damage and stress have an influence on psychopathological symptoms in SLE patients; and evaluate whether perception of stress is related to SLE severity.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 425 participants; 202 women with SLE, with an average age (SD) of 36.61 (10.

Cardiorespiratory fitness and age-related arterial stiffness in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: The aim of this study was twofold: (i) to examine the association of cardiorespiratory fitness with arterial stiffness in women with systemic lupus erythematosus; (ii) to assess the potential interaction of cardiorespiratory fitness with age on arterial stiffness in this population.

Materials And Methods: A total of 49 women with systemic lupus erythematosus (mean age 41.3 [standard deviation 13.

Potentially inappropriate prescribing according to STOPP-2 criteria among patients discharged from Internal Medicine: prevalence, involved drugs and economic cost.

Aim: This study aims to determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) among patients discharged from Internal Medicine, the drugs and factors associated and economic cost of PIP.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional, single-center study included participants aged ≥65 years consecutively discharged from the Internal Medicine Unit in a tertiary hospital of Southern Spain. PIP was defined by the Screening Tool for Older Persons Prescriptions (STOPP-2) criteria version 2 (2015 update).

Effect of ethnicity on clinical presentation and risk of antiphospholipid syndrome in Roma and Caucasian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Aim: To determine if there are ethnic differences in the prevalence of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), clinical presentation and autoantibody profile between Roma and Caucasian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted including data from Roma and Caucasian SLE patients consecutively attending six hospitals in Spain. Socio-demographic characteristics, prevalence of APS, clinical and analytical features of SLE and APS were compared between ethnic groups.

Off-label use of rituximab for systemic lupus erythematosus in Europe.

Objectives: Rituximab (RTX) is a biological treatment used off-label in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This survey aimed to investigate the off-label use of RTX in Europe and compare the characteristics of patients receiving RTX with those receiving conventional therapy.

Methods: Data on patients with SLE receiving RTX were taken from the International Registry for Biologics in SLE retrospective registry and complemented with data on patients with SLE treated with conventional therapy.

Relationship between QT Interval Length and Arterial Stiffness in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): A Cross-Sectional Case-Control Study.

Introduction And Objectives: The QT interval on the electrocardiogram has been shown to be longer in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) compared to that of the general population. The clinical significance of this finding is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between QT interval and subclinical atherosclerosis, measured by carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity.

Cumulated organ damage is associated with arterial stiffness in women with systemic lupus erythematosus irrespective of renal function.

Objectives: To determine whether there is an association between cumulated organ damage and arterial stiffness in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with normal renal function and without renal damage.

Methods: Eighty-eight SLE women with normal renal function and without renal damage, and 102 sex- and age-matched controls with no history of coronary heart disease or peripheral arterial disease were studied. Cumulated organ damage and arterial stiffness were measured using the SLICC/ACR Damage Index (SDI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), respectively.

Nighttime Blood Pressure Patterns and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: To compare 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) values and patterns in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with those of a matched control group and their relationship with the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Methods: ABPM was assessed in 70 women with SLE and in 65 sex- and age-matched controls without a history of clinic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), which is a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and a predictor of future CVD, was measured.

Prevalence of and factors associated with increased arterial stiffness in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To compare the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis measured by means of pulse wave velocity (PWV) in women with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) versus a healthy age- and sex-matched control group, and to identify factors independently associated with PWV in primary SS.

Methods: Forty-four women with primary SS and 78 age-matched healthy women without overt cardiovascular (CV) diseases were assessed for traditional and nontraditional CV risk factors. PWV was also performed.

Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: T.SPOT.TB versus tuberculin skin test.

Unlabelled: Early studies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) reported increased incidence of tuberculosis. The tuberculin skin test (TST) is the technique of choice to detect latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) but has several limitations.

Objectives: We compared TST and the newer T.

[Immunomodulatory properties of stem mesenchymal cells in autoimmune diseases].

Autoimmune diseases are a cluster of disorders characterized by a failure of the immune tolerance and a hyperactivation of the immune system that leads to a chronic inflammation state and the damage of several organs. The medications currently used to treat these diseases usually consist of immunosuppressive drugs that have significant systemic toxic effects and are associated with an increased risk of opportunistic infections. Recently, several studies have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells have immunomodulatory properties, a feature that make them candidates to be used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Influence of psychological stress on headache in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To compare the prevalence and disability of headache in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with the general population and to assess the role of chronic psychological stress (CPS) in headache development.

Methods: One hundred seventy patients with SLE and 102 control subjects matched for age, sex, and level of education were included in this multicenter, cross-sectional study. CPS, headache-related disability, and chronic analgesic intake (CAI) were evaluated in all participants.

Health-related internet use by lupus patients in southern Spain.

Internet has become a widely used tool by patients seeking information on different diseases. The information regarding lupus patients' Internet use is scarce. This study aims to explore the attitudes and practices of lupus patients in southern Spain, regarding Internet use to find health-related information.

Erythema nodosum as azathioprine hypersensitivity reaction in a patient with bullous pemphigoid.

A 65-year-old woman with bullous pemphigoid presented with fever and several red-purple nodular subcutaneous lesions on both lower legs 1 week after starting treatment with azathioprine (AZA). Biopsy of a skin nodule was compatible with erythema nodosum (EN) and hypersensitivity reaction to AZA was suspected. AZA was subsequently discontinued, observing complete remission of fever and EN within 2 weeks.