Publications by authors named "Valeria Caggiano"
Objectives: To detect factors capable of predicting the development of macular edema (ME) throughout the disease course in patients affected by non-infectious uveitis (NIU).
Methods: Predictive factors leading to the development of ME were analyzed through regression analysis. The functional impact of ME on best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was also examined.
Background: The study objective was to compare the effectiveness of adalimumab (ADA) in monotherapy and in combination with methotrexate (MTX) for paediatric noninfectious uveitis (NIU).
Methods: Registry-based observational study. Children receiving ADA for active uveitis were divided into the ADA monotherapy group (group 1) and the ADA plus MTX combination group (group 2).
Objectives: Proteinuria, amyloidosis and kidney failure are the main long-term renal complications of FMF. This study assesses their risk factors, independent of ethnicity or residence.
Methods: Patients' data were drawn from the International AIDA Network registry for monogenic autoinflammatory diseases.
Background: VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is an adult-onset autoinflammatory condition resulting in severe, often treatment-refractory inflammation. Currently, there are no established treatment guidelines for VEXAS syndrome.
Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs) in a cohort of VEXAS patients.
Background: VEXAS syndrome, a recently identified systemic autoinflammatory disorder, poses new diagnostic and management challenges. Based on experience with other autoinflammatory diseases, anti-interleukin (IL)-1, anti-IL-6, anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) biotechnological agents, and Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) have been widely employed in VEXAS patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the global effectiveness and safety of biotechnological agents and JAKis using data from the real-world context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopment and implementation of the international AIDA network spondylarthritis registry.
Front Med (Lausanne)
February 2025
During the last decade, spondyloarthritis (SpA) has increasingly been considered a disease at the crossroads between autoimmunity and autoinflammation. Some patients may even present with autoinflammatory-related manifestations, including fever, hidradenitis suppurativa, other neutrophilic dermatoses, and an unusually high increase in inflammatory markers. Therefore, a subgroup of SpA patients may be identified, and specific details about this cluster need to be investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: 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.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to explore gender differences in the phenotypical expression of Behçet's disease (BD) using data from the International AIDA Network Registry, focusing on damage index, disease manifestations, and cardiovascular risk.
- A total of 1024 patients (567 males and 457 females) were examined, revealing that males had a significantly higher overall damage index and more frequent occurrences of uveitis and vascular involvement, while females showed higher instances of arthralgia, arthritis, and CNS involvement.
- Key factors associated with major organ involvement included male gender, treatment with biologic agents, origin from endemic regions, and longer disease duration, indicating a more severe course of BD in males compared to females.
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.
Article Synopsis
- Dry eye disease (DED) may be associated with axial spondylarthritis (axial-SpA), as this study aims to investigate the correlation between the two conditions and identify related variables.
- Out of 71 axial-SpA patients, 64.8% reported DED symptoms compared to only 15.8% of 19 healthy controls, suggesting a significantly higher prevalence of DED in axial-SpA patients.
- Various ocular tests revealed that axial-SpA patients exhibited poorer tear production and ocular surface health, indicated by lower Schirmer test scores, shorter tear break-up times, and higher staining levels, reinforcing the link between axial-SpA and DED.
Article Synopsis
- The article discusses corrections to research findings initially published.
- It emphasizes the importance of accuracy in scientific communication.
- This correction aims to ensure that readers are aware of any significant changes to the original data and conclusions.
Systemic auto-inflammatory manifestations in patients with spondyloarthritis.
Joint Bone Spine
December 2024
Objectives: (1) characterizing a group of spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients with systemic auto-inflammatory symptoms (S-SpA); (2) comparing SpA features with and without auto-inflammatory symptoms; (3) comparing the auto-inflammatory features of S-SpA and Still's disease (SD).
Methods: Retrospective observational study. Clinical data of adult and pediatric patients with S-SpA, SD or SpA were collected retrospectively and analyzed.
Article Synopsis
- Non-infectious inflammatory ocular diseases can be challenging to diagnose and manage, often requiring systemic immunosuppressive therapy; JAK inhibitors may offer a new treatment approach.
- A study with 12 patients showed that systemic diseases were present in 67% of cases, and various JAK inhibitors were administered, with an average treatment duration of 8.6 months.
- Results indicated complete ocular disease control in all patients after treatment, with a significant reduction in the incidence of ocular flares, confirming the efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors for these conditions.
Emotional states are fundamentally related to cognitive processes such as attention, perception, memory and learning, and they play a very important role in helping to assess daily challenges. Thus, we need tools that measure emotions in the context of Physical Education. In this study, we adapted and tested the factor structure of the Achievement Emotion Questionnaire - Short Version (AEQ-SV) in the Italian physical education context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), a severe inflammatory condition, and the risk of cancer development compared to other diseases like fibromyalgia, Still's disease, and Behçet's disease.
- Results show that FMF patients have a significantly lower risk for malignancies compared to fibromyalgia patients, with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.26; however, this risk is less clear when comparing with the other conditions.
- Factors influencing cancer risk in FMF patients include age at onset and diagnosis, frequency of disease attacks, and treatment with specific biotechnological agents.
Purpose: The clinical relevance of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) subtypes such as HLA-B51 on Behçet's disease (BD)-related uveitis and non-infectious uveitis (NIU) unrelated to BD remains largely unknown.
Methods: Data were prospectively collected from the International AIDA Network Registry for BD and for NIU. We assessed differences between groups (NIU unrelated to BD and positive for HLA-B51, BD-related uveitis positive for HLA-B51 and BD-related uveitis negative for HLA-B51) in terms of long-term ocular complications, visual acuity (VA) measured by best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anatomical pattern, occurrence of retinal vasculitis (RV) and macular edema over time.
Introduction: This study aims to characterize ocular manifestations of juvenile Behçet's disease (jBD).
Methods: This was a registry-based observational prospective study. All subjects with jBD from the Autoinflammatory Diseases Alliance (AIDA) Network BD Registry showing ocular manifestations before 18 years were enrolled.
Article Synopsis
- - VEXAS syndrome is a new autoinflammatory disease that often affects various organs, with noticeable inflammatory issues in the eyes and orbits.
- - In a study of 59 VEXAS patients, 45.8% exhibited orbital/ocular problems, with periorbital edema and episcleritis being the most common conditions observed.
- - There is a significant link between relapsing polychondritis and eye involvement in VEXAS, and patients with eye issues showed higher mortality rates, indicating the need for closer monitoring by healthcare providers.
Article Synopsis
- This study evaluated the effectiveness of a systemic score in predicting severe outcomes in patients with Still disease, including the risk of mortality and severe complications like macrophage activation syndrome.
- Involving 597 patients, the study found that a higher systemic score significantly correlated with life-threatening outcomes, with scores of 7 or above indicating a greater risk.
- Key components that were most predictive of severe outcomes included liver and lung involvement, emphasizing the importance of these factors in managing Still disease.
Correction: Clinical and laboratory features associated with macrophage activation syndrome in Still's disease: data from the international AIDA Network Still's Disease Registry.
Intern Emerg Med
January 2024
Introduction: The effectiveness of canakinumab may change according to the different times it is used after Still's disease onset. This study aimed to investigate whether canakinumab (CAN) shows differences in short- and long-term therapeutic outcomes, according to its use as different lines of biologic treatment.
Methods: Patients included in this study were retrospectively enrolled from the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry dedicated to Still's disease.
Article Synopsis
- - This study investigates whether pediatric-onset, adult-onset, and elderly-onset Still's disease are the same condition or different diseases by comparing demographic, clinical, and treatment response data across these age groups.
- - Out of 411 patients surveyed, most were adults (76.4%), while 15.8% were pediatric and 7.8% were elderly, with significant differences found in symptoms like skin rash and arthritis being more prevalent in children, and pleuritis in the elderly.
- - Overall, while some minor differences in symptoms and lab results were noted among the age groups, the study concludes that Still's disease has similar demographic and treatment characteristics across pediatric, adult, and elderly patients.
The objectives of this research were to establish the differences between Spain and Italy regarding the presence of bullying in primary and secondary schools, as well as to determine whether there are differences between experiencing or perpetrating bullying and gender and age in the practice of school bullying. To assess the EBIPQ scores in terms of country and gender, the chi-squared test was used, and ANOVA was applied for age. A total of 1536 students from primary and secondary schools in Spain and Italy participated in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Different patient clusters were preliminarily suggested to dissect the clinical heterogeneity in Still's disease. Thus, we aimed at deriving and validating disease clusters in a multicentre, observational, prospective study to stratify these patients.
Methods: Patients included in GIRRCS AOSD-study group and AIDA Network Still Disease Registry were assessed if variables for cluster analysis were available (age, systemic score, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin).
Clinical and laboratory features associated with macrophage activation syndrome in Still's disease: data from the international AIDA Network Still's Disease Registry.
Intern Emerg Med
November 2023
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on patients with Still's disease to identify clinical and laboratory signs associated with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), a serious complication.
- Out of 414 patients examined, 39 (9.4%) developed MAS, with several significant variables like liver involvement and high ferritin levels linked to its occurrence.
- Multivariate analysis revealed that having hepatomegaly and monoarthritis were directly associated with MAS, while factors like a normal platelet count were protective against its development.