Co-Occurrence of Anti-Synthetase Syndrome and Sjögren Disease: A Case-Based Review.

: Anti-synthetase Syndrome (ASyS) is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy characterized by muscle weakness and inflammatory infiltrates in muscles. Sjogren's disease (SD) is an autoimmune condition primarily affecting exocrine glands. Both these conditions may present lung involvement.

Hopelessness is associated to severity of both digital vasculopathy and lung disease in systemic sclerosis patients: a prospective one-year study.

Objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune fibrosing disease with multi-organ involvement, significantly impacting quality of life. This study assessed the burden of hopelessness and its clinical and psychosocial correlates in SSc patients.

Methods: 76 SSc patients were followed prospectively over one year.

Specialized pro-resolving mediators and autoimmunity: Recent insights and future perspectives.

Inflammation is a response to injuries involving multiple cellular and molecular mechanisms. Different stimuli, such as trauma or microbial invasion, trigger an acute inflammatory response consisting, at least in principle, of two phases: initiation and resolution. Although the acute phase of inflammatory response represents a protective and usually self-limited mechanism, it can sometimes persist and evolve into chronic inflammation, a key driver in the development of many rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.

Type II diabetes in systemic sclerosis patients: insights from an observational, multicenter study of GIRRCS (Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca in Reumatologia Clinica e Sperimentale).

Objective: To assess the contribution of Systemic sclerosis (SSc)-specific features on type II diabetes mellitus (T2D) in a large cohort of Italian SSc patients.

Methods: A total of 613 SSc patients from 11 tertiary Rheumatology Units across Italy were included. All patients underwent full history taking, clinical examination, and relevant laboratory and radiological evaluations.

Mediterranean diet and its low-antigenic and anti-inflammatory properties on fibromyalgia: a systematic review.

Objectives: The Mediterranean diet is known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and low-antigen properties. The rationale is that this diet can modulate fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms for patients, but it has not been reviewed focusing on its low-antigen and anti-inflammatory properties. The objective of this review is to understand whether these properties of the Mediterranean diet can potentially alleviate symptoms of FM.

Evaluation of sexual dysfunction among women with primary Sjögren's syndrome using a Female Sexual Function Index: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Only a few studies have assessed sexual dysfunction in women with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Aim: We aimed to confirm the higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction in these women and identify the most impaired domain of sexual function and the risk factors associated with it.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the risk of sexual dysfunction in women with pSS according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Clinical and serological features of systemic sclerosis patients, according to different geographic areas: insights from an observational, cross-sectional study of two independent cohorts.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical, and serological features and treatments in two independent cohorts of Italian and Egyptian systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, according to geographic areas.

Methods: 3 Italian and 5 Egyptian centres participated in patient recruitment in 2017. The demographic, clinical, and serological data were collected and defined according to the previously developed severity score and activity index.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis and comorbid metabolic syndrome show a difficult-to-treat phenotype: another mosaic tile in the definition of a still undefined subset of patients.

Objective: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory condition associated with psoriasis and characterised by heterogeneous clinical manifestations, including peripheral and axial arthritis, enthesitis and dactylitis. A subset of patients exhibits a 'difficult-to-treat' (D2T) phenotype, necessitating complex therapeutic strategies. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly prevalent in PsA patients and has been implicated in increased disease activity.

From pain catastrophising to multidimensional psychological distress: unravelling the complexity of difficult-to-treat psoriatic arthritis.

Objectives: Pain catastrophising (PC), a maladaptive cognitive response to pain, has been implicated in poor outcomes in inflammatory arthritis, but its relationship with psoriatic arthritis difficult-to-treat (D2T) remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate how the D2T phenotype impacts pain catastrophising (PC) and its domains (helplessness, rumination, magnification), along with other psychosocial and functional dimensions in PsA patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a cohort of 182 PsA patients.

Association Between the Use of Oral Contraceptives and the Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease that significantly impacts quality of life, particularly among women. Previous studies have suggested that oral contraceptive (OC) use may influence RA risk, but conflicting findings from earlier meta-analyses necessitate an updated analysis incorporating more recent data. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies on OC use and RA risk by searching MedLine (via PubMed), Scopus, and Cochrane Databases up to September 2024.

Clinical targeted treatment in Sjogren's disease: A systematic literature review for an evidence-based medicine approach.

Sjögren's disease is a systemic autoimmune disease that primarily affects the exocrine glands, causing the main symptoms of xerostomia and xerophthalmia. In about half of the patients, it also causes systemic symptoms, which can potentially involve any organ or system. To date, the management of these patients is particularly complex due to the lack of recognized and approved therapies for the disease, except for medications used as symptomatic treatment for dryness.

Primary versus systemic sclerosis-associated Raynaud's phenomenon: relationship with clinical and environmental factors.

Objectives: Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) can be induced by stress and environmental factors, occurring as a primary disease (pRP) or associated with connective tissue disease. RP is seen in more than 95% of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and may precede its diagnosis by several years. Accordingly, there is a clear need to identify those patients with RP who will eventually develop connective tissue disease, including SSc.

The Relationship Between Metabolic Syndrome and Pain Catastrophizing in Psoriatic Arthritis.

Introduction: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a complex inflammatory disease often associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). It has been demonstrated that pain catastrophizing (PC), characterized by an exaggerated negative cognitive and emotional response to actual or anticipated pain, impacts the achievement of remission and therapy discontinuation in patients with PsA. In this study, we evaluate the potential role of MetS, the most prevalent comorbidity in PsA, in influencing PC in patients with PsA.

The clinical assessment of lung involvement in patients with Still's disease, results from the multicentre international AIDA Network Still's Disease Registry.

Objectives: To assess the lung involvement in patients with Still's disease, an inflammatory disease assessing both children and adults. To exploit possible associated factors for parenchymal lung involvement in these patients.

Methods: A multicentre observational study was arranged assessing consecutive patients with Still's disease characterized by the lung involvement among those included in the AIDA (AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance) Network Still's Disease Registry.

Evaluation of Myocarditis in Patients With Still Disease: Clinical Findings From the Multicenter International AIDA Network Still Disease Registry.

Objective: We aimed to (1) evaluate the cardiac involvement, with a focus on myocarditis, in patients with Still disease included in the multicenter Autoinflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) Network Still disease registry; and (2) assess the predictive factors for myocarditis by deriving a clinical risk patient profile for this severe manifestation.

Methods: A multicenter observational study was established, in which consecutive patients with Still disease in the AIDA Network Still disease registry were characterized by cardiac involvement. Cardiac involvement was defined according to the presence of pericarditis, tamponade, myocarditis, and/or aseptic endocarditis.

The evaluation of type I interferon score in dermatomyositis, a systematic review and a meta-analysis.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare autoimmune systemic disorder manifesting with typical skin rashes and proximal muscle weakness. A specific clinical DM subset is characterized by the presence of the anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) autoantibodies. These patients are usually burdened by a severe clinical phenotype exhibiting a poor prognosis.

Diminished expression of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in early treatment-naïve patients with rheumatoid arthritis and concomitant type 2 diabetes may be linked to IL-1 pathway hyper-activity; results from PEAC cohort.

Objective: Based on the recent evidence of IL-1 inhibition in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and concomitant type 2 diabetes (T2D), we evaluated the synovial tissue expression of IL-1 related genes in relationship to the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the effects of insulin on ubiquitinated proteins in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs).

Methods: The synovial expression of IL-1 pathway genes was compared in early (< 1 year) treatment-naïve RA patients with T2D (RA/T2D n = 16) and age- and sex-matched RA patients without T2D (n = 16), enrolled in the Pathobiology of Early Arthritis Cohort (PEAC). The synovial expression of ubiquitin in macrophages and synovial lining fibroblasts was also assessed by Immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence and correlated with synovial pathotypes.

Pain catastrophizing negatively impacts drug retention rate in patients with Psoriatic Arthritis and axial Spondyloarthritis: results from a 2-years perspective multicenter GIRRCS (Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca in Reumatologia Clinica) study.

Background: Chronic pain and inflammation are common features of rheumatic conditions such as Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA), often needing prolonged medication treatment for effective management. Maintaining drug retention is essential for both achieving disease control and improving patients' quality of life. This study investigates the influence of pain catastrophizing, a psychological response to pain, on the drug retention rates of PsA and axSpA patients.

Clinical and subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with systemic sclerosis: an observational, multicentre study of GIRRCS (Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca in Reumatologia Clinica e Sperimentale).

Objectives: Conflicting results about clinical and subclinical atherosclerosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and the associated risk factors have been reported. Hence, we aimed to determine the prevalence of clinical and subclinical atherosclerosis in a large number of Italian SSc patients and the associated risk factors.

Methods: This study included 613 SSc patients from 11 Italian tertiary Rheumatologic Units.

Tailoring the treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases by a better stratification and characterization of the clinical patient heterogeneity. Findings from a systematic literature review and experts' consensus.

Inflammatory rheumatic diseases are different pathologic conditions associated with a deregulated immune response, codified along a spectrum of disorders, with autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases as two-end phenotypes of this continuum. Despite pathogenic differences, inflammatory rheumatic diseases are commonly managed with a limited number of immunosuppressive drugs, sometimes with partial evidence or transferring physicians' knowledge in different patients. In addition, several randomized clinical trials, enrolling these patients, did not meet the primary pre-established outcomes and these findings could be linked to the underlying molecular diversities along the spectrum of inflammatory rheumatic disorders.

Bosentan effect on echocardiographic systolic pulmonary arterial pressure in systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary hypertension: a systematic review and metanalysis.

Objectives: Bosentan is a dual endothelin receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of SSc digital ulcers (DU) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP) is a relevant parameter for the follow-up and prognosis of SSc-PAH. The therapeutic magnitude of bosentan in SSc-PAH is not fully understood, thus we aim to establish the degree of sPAP reduction in bosentan treated SSc-PAH patients.

Increased Prevalence of Headaches and Migraine in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis and Axial Spondyloarthritis: Insights from an Italian Cohort Study.

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) are inflammatory diseases with shared genetic backgrounds and clinical comorbidities. Headache, a common global health issue, affects over 50% of adults and encompasses various types, including migraine, tension-type, and cluster headaches. Migraine, the most prevalent, recurrent, and disabling type, is often associated with other medical conditions such as depression, epilepsy, and psoriasis, but little is known about the relationship between autoimmune disease and the risk of migraine.

Idiopathic and connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH): Similarities, differences and the role of autoimmunity.

Pre-capillary pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is hemodynamically characterized by a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) ≥ 20 mmHg, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PAWP) ≤15 mmHg and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) > 2. PAH is classified in six clinical subgroups, including idiopathic PAH (IPAH) and PAH associated to connective tissue diseases (CTD-PAH), that will be the main object of this review. The aim is to compare these two PAH subgroups in terms of epidemiology, histological and pathogenic findings in an attempt to define disease-specific features, including autoimmunity, that may explain the heterogeneity of response to therapy between IPAH and CTD-PAH.