Informal caregiver's socio demographic profile for community-dwelling women and men with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, compliance, and satisfaction to treatment: A post-hoc analysis of the AXEPT study.

In this post-hoc analysis of the AXEPT study, 855 patients were analyzed, 544 (63.6%) females. The mean (± SD) MMSE score in women vs men was 20.8 ± 2.6 vs. 21.2 ± 2.5; p = 0.0087, and women were more likely affected by psychiatric disorders (n = 76, 14.0% women vs. n = 21, 6.8% men; p = 0.0015). Men were mainly assisted by their wives (n = 207, 66.6%), women mainly by their daughters (n = 243, 44.7%) and only in a minority of cases by their husbands (n = 92, 16.9%). Women less frequently cohabited with their caregivers than men (n = 233, 43.1% vs. n = 240, 77.9%, p < 0.0001), and received less daily time of caregiving (mean (± SD): 10.0 ± 7.2 vs. 15.2 ± 8.2; p < 0.0001). No gender differences were highlighted in compliance to treatment and caregiver satisfaction, while gender differences in caregiving were found at disadvantage of women affected by more severe cognitive and psychiatric conditions.

Probiotics and Prebiotics Orally Assumed as Disease Modifiers for Stable Mild Atopic Dermatitis: An Italian Real-Life, Multicenter, Retrospective, Observational Study.

The role of the skin-gut axis in atopic dermatitis (AD) remains a subject of debate, limiting non-pharmacological interventions such as probiotics and prebiotics. To improve understanding of their potential as a monotherapy for stable mild cases, we conducted a real-life, multicenter, retrospective observational study in Italy. We administered three selected bacteria (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BS01, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LP14, and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus LR05) orally to patients with mild atopic dermatitis without a placebo control group, following up for 12 weeks. Clinical assessments using the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), and Three-Item Severity (TIS) score were conducted on 144 enrolled patients (average age: 25.1 ± 17.6 years). Notably, both pruritus and AD-related lesions (erythema, edema/papules, excoriation) exhibited significant clinical and statistical improvement (p < 0.001) after 12 weeks of exclusive probiotic and prebiotic use. These preliminary results suggest a potential link between the skin-gut microbiome and support the rationale for using specific probiotics and prebiotics in mild AD, even for maintenance, to reduce flares and dysbiosis.

Towards a validated definition of the clinical transition to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: A study from the Italian MS Register.

BACKGROUND: Definitions for reliable identification of transition from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) to secondary progressive (SP)MS in clinical cohorts are not available. OBJECTIVES: To compare diagnostic performances of two different data-driven SPMS definitions. METHODS: Data-driven SPMS definitions based on a version of Lorscheider's algorithm (DDA) and on the EXPAND trial inclusion criteria were compared, using the neurologist's definition (ND) as gold standard, in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), Akaike information criterion (AIC) and area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: A cohort of 10,240 MS patients with ⩾5 years of follow-up was extracted from the Italian MS Registry; 880 (8.5%) patients were classified as SPMS according to the neurologist definition, 1806 (17.6%) applying the DDA and 1134 (11.0%) with the EXPAND definition. The DDA showed greater discrimination power (AUC: 0.8 vs 0.6) and a higher sensitivity (77.1% vs 38.0%) than the EXPAND definition, with similar specificity (88.0% vs 91.5%). PPV and NPV were higher using the DDA than considering EXPAND definition (37.5% vs 29.5%; 97.6% vs 94.0%). CONCLUSION: Data-driven definitions demonstrated greater ability to capture SP transition than neurologist's definition and the global accuracy of DDA seems to be higher than the EXPAND definition.

Real-world evidence of biologic treatments in moderate-severe psoriasis in Italy: Results of the CANOVA (EffeCtiveness of biologic treAtmeNts for plaque psOriasis in Italy: An obserVAtional longitudinal study of real-life clinical practice) study.

EffeCtiveness of biologic treAtmeNts for plaque psOriasis in Italy: An obserVAtional (CANOVA) study was aimed at providing real-world evidence of the effectiveness of biologics in Italian patients with moderate-severe psoriasis. It was an observational, retro-prospective cohort study conducted in 17 Italian dermatology clinics. Adult patients with moderate-severe plaque psoriasis, who started a biologic treatment between 24 weeks and 24 months before enrolment, were included. With a follow-up visit at 6 months after enrolment, each patient had at least 12 months of observation. The primary objective was to describe the clinical response rates (PASI 75) after 16/24/52 weeks from biologic treatment start. Secondary outcomes were sustained response, quality of life, and treatment satisfaction. Of the 669 eligible patients (64% males), 52% were naïve to biologics, though a mean duration of psoriasis since first diagnosis of 18.6 years (SD 13.2). The most frequently prescribed biologics were secukinumab (41%), ustekinumab (25%), TNF-inhibitors (22%) and ixekizumab (12%). PASI 75 was achieved by 86% of patients (95% CI: 82%-89%) at 16 weeks, 90% (87%-93%) at 24 weeks, and 91% (89%-94%) at 52 weeks. Patients achieving PASI 90 and PASI 100 at 52 weeks were 75% (71%-79%) and 53% (49%-57%), respectively. Sustained PASI 75 response after 1 year from treatment start was achieved by 78% (74%-82%) of patients. Mean DLQI total score was 2.3 (SD 3.9) at enrollment and decreased at the final visit to 1.8 (3.6). A high level of treatment satisfaction was expressed by patients over the study period. This large real-world study confirms in the clinical practice the good effectiveness and acceptability of biologics in psoriasis patients.

A real-world economic analysis of biologic therapies for psoriatic arthritis in Italy: results of the CHRONOS observational longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, immune-mediated, spondyloarthropathy characterised by musculoskeletal signs and symptoms with associated joint pain and tenderness. The average worldwide PsA prevalence is 133/100,000, while in the Italian population is 90-420/100,000. Traditionally, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoid, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs have been used in the treatment of PsA. However, for those patients who are not adequately controlled with conventional therapies, the new biologics compounds represent a valid option. Biologic therapies have been shown to be more effective but also more expensive than conventional systemic treatments. Based on the CHRONOS study, the economic analyses presented in this paper aim to assess the annualised direct costs and the cost-per-responder of biologics in a real-world context assuming the Italian National Health System perspective. METHODS: The economic assessments were carried out on the overall cohort of patients, and on the tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (TNFi) and the secukinumab subgroup, the most prescribed biologic therapies within the CHRONOS study. RESULTS: The annual economic impact of PsA in the overall group was €12,622, €11,725 in the secukinumab subgroup, and €12,791 in the TNFi subgroup. Biologics absorbed the main expenditure costs in the treatment of PsA accounting for about the 93% of total costs. At 6 months, secukinumab performed better in all the considered outcomes: cost-per-responder according to EULAR DAS28 and ACR50 response criteria were €12,661- €28,975, respectively, while they were €13,356 - €33,368 in the overall cohort and €13,138 - €35,166 in the TNFi subgroup. At 12 months secukinumab remained the subgroup with the lowest cost-per-responder ratio in EULAR DAS28 and ACR50 response criteria, while TNFi subgroup was the lowest one considered the ACR20. CONCLUSION: Despite some potential methodological limitations, our cost-per-response analysis provides physicians and payers additional insights which can complement the traditional risk-benefit profile assessment and drive treatment decisions.

A real-world economic analysis of biologic therapies for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in Italy: results of the CANOVA observational longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease which can also involve joints. It is often associated with burdensome comorbidities which negatively impact prognosis and quality of life (QoL). Biologic agents have been shown to be effective in controlling disease progression, but their use is associated with higher costs compared with traditional systemic treatments. The economic analysis of the CANOVA (EffeCtiveness of biologic treAtmeNts for plaque psOriasis in Italy: an obserVAtional longitudinal study of real-life clinical practice) study aims to assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of biologics in a real-world context in Italy. METHODS: The annualised overall direct costs of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis management, the annualised cost of biologic drugs and the cost per responder in the Italian National Health System perspective were assessed. More specifically, the cost per response and cost per sustained response of the most prescribed biologic therapies for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis within the CANOVA study were assessed using the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) at several score levels (75, 90 and 100%). RESULTS: The most frequently used biologic therapies for plaque psoriasis were secukinumab, ustekinumab, adalimumab originator, and ixekizumab. Cost of biologics was the driver of expenditure, accounting for about 98% of total costs. Adalimumab originator was the biologic with the lowest cost per responder ratio (range: €7848 - €31,378), followed by secukinumab (range: €9015 - €33,419). Ustekinumab (range: €11,689 - €39,280) and ixekizumab (range: €11,092 - €34,289) ranked respectively third and fourth, in terms of cost-effectiveness ratio. As concerns the cost per sustained response analysis, secukinumab showed the lowest value observed (€21,375) over the other options, because of its high response rate (86% vs. 60-80%), which was achieved early in time. CONCLUSION: Biologic therapy is a valuable asset for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Concomitant assessment of treatment costs against the expected therapeutic response over time can provide physicians and payers additional insights which can complement the traditional risk-benefit profile assessment and drive treatment decisions.

Epidemiology and determinants of chronic migraine: A real-world cohort study, with nested case-control analysis, in primary care in Italy.

BACKGROUND: The proper identification of chronic migraine is one of the mainstays for general practitioners. This study therefore aims to assess the epidemiology and determinants of chronic migraine in primary care in Italy by testing five operational case definition algorithms. METHODS: Five case definition algorithms defining chronic migraine were developed to estimate the prevalence and incidence rate of chronic migraine in the Health Search database. For each algorithm, we conducted a nested case-control analysis to quantify the level of association between certain determinants and incident cases of chronic migraine. RESULTS: Considering a cohort of 1,091,032 patients (52% were females), the prevalence rate of chronic migraine increased from the first to the fifth case definition algorithm ranging from 0.03 to 0.28%. No 95% confidence interval overlapped the others, and every confidence interval reliably maintained 2% precision. Incidence rates showed a growing trend (0.008-0.056 per 100,000 person-years) as well. All case definition algorithms were able to capture sex (i.e. female) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) overuse as statistically significant determinants of incident cases of chronic migraine. Depression was associated with a statistically significant increase of incidence rate of chronic migraine only for two case definition algorithms. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that prevalence and incidence rate of chronic migraine are underestimated when compared with current literature. On the other hand, we found acceptable correctness of chronic migraine definition in the light of the association with well-known determinants.

Effectiveness of fingolimod in real-world relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis Italian patients: the GENIUS study.

BACKGROUND: Fingolimod is the first oral agent approved for treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). We aimed to evaluate fingolimod effectiveness in a real-world sample of RRMS patients. METHODS: A retrospective, multicentre study in patients treated with fingolimod, whom clinical and radiological data were collected in the 2 years preceding and following the initiation of fingolimod. RESULTS: Out of 414 patients, 56.8% received prior first-line injectable disease-modifying therapies, 25.4% were previously treated with natalizumab, 1.2% with immunosuppressant agents, and 16.7% were treatment naive. The annualized relapse rate decreased by 65% in the first year and by 70% after two years of treatment. Age ≤ 40 years, ≥ 1 relapse in the 24 months before fingolimod initiation and previous treatment with natalizumab were risk factors for relapses. Overall, 67.9% patients had no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) after 1 year and 54.6% after 2 years of treatment. A higher proportion of naïve (81.2% in 1 year and 66.7% after 2 years) or first-line injected patients (70.2% and 56.6%) achieved NEDA-3 than those previously treated with natalizumab (54.3% and 42.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Fingolimod appeared to be effective in naive patients and after first-line treatment failure in reducing risk of relapse and disease activity throughout the 2-year follow-up.

The SURF (Italian observational study for renal insufficiency evaluation in liver transplant recipients): a post-hoc between-sex analysis.

BACKGROUND: Female sex has been reported as an independent predictor of severe post-liver transplantation (LT) chronic kidney disease. We performed a by sex post-hoc analysis of the SURF study, that investigated the prevalence of renal impairment following LT, aimed at exploring possible differences between sexes in the prevalence and course of post-LT renal damage. METHODS: All patients enrolled in the SURF study were considered evaluable for this sex-based analysis, whose primary objective was to evaluate by sex the proportion of patients with estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) < 60 ml/min/1.73m2 at inclusion and follow-up visit. RESULTS: Seven hundred thirty-eight patients were included in our analysis, 76% males. The proportion of patients with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was significantly higher in females at initial study visit (33.3 vs 22.8%; p = 0.005), but also before, at time of transplantation (22.9 vs 14.7%; p = 0.0159), as analyzed retrospectively. At follow-up, such proportion increased more in males than in females (33.9 vs 26.0%, p = 0.04). Mean eGFR values decreased over the study in both sexes, with no significant differences. Statistically significant M/F differences in patient distribution by O'Riordan eGFR levels were observed at time of transplant and study initial visit (p = 0.0005 and 0.0299 respectively), but not at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Though the limitation of being performed post-hoc, this analysis suggests potential sex differences in the prevalence of renal impairment before and after LT, encouraging further clinical research to explore such differences more in depth.

Perimenopause vasomotor symptoms, coronary atherosclerosis and risk of myocardial infarction during menopause: the cardiologist's perspective.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is rare in pre-menopausal women, and in most cases has a gender-specific pathogenesis. After menopause, MI incidence increases gradually to equalize men's rate in the eighth decade of age, with similar pathogenesis. This epidemiological observation has raised a number of hypotheses on the protective effect of estrogen against atherosclerosis and its related diseases. However, MI has a multifactorial pathogenesis with variable contributions of inflammation, eroded or ruptured atherosclerotic plaques, vasoconstriction and thrombosis. Whether perimenopausal vasomotor symptoms are associated with a better, worse or neutral effect on the risk of myocardial infarction has long been disputed. The recent finding of the LADIES ACS study that women reporting transitional vasomotor symptoms have earlier onset myocardial infarction, as compared to women without symptoms, despite similar risk factors and extent of coronary angiographic disease, supports the hypothesis that endothelial dysfunction, or other vasoconstrictive mechanisms, may play a key role in precipitating an acute coronary syndrome at an earlier age. These factors, rather than other atherosclerotic markers, should be specifically investigated in order to elucidate the so far elusive link between vasomotor symptoms and risk of MI.

Literature review of gender differences in respiratory conditions: a focus on asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

BACKGROUND: Gender differences are evident in many common health conditions, especially respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this review was to identify published studies describing gender differences in asthma and COPD, in particular regarding pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment, with a focus on Italian data. METHODS: a literature review was performed from April to November 2015, using the PubMed scientific database and the following ??eywords: "gender differences" and "asthma" for the asthma review and "gender differences" and "COPD" for the COPD review. RESULTS: Gender differences in asthma are related to age groups. In the female population, asthma is generally more severe and disabling, and presents higher mortality rates with respect to same-age males. COPD prevalence is growing and is underestimated in women, because it tends to be diagnosed with difficulty and at a delayed stage. The same findings were observed when restricting the review to Italian data. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should collaborate to develop a more gender-oriented approach towards diagnosis and treatment of asthma and COPD. In Italy, this would also facilitate measures to improve compliance, particularly among women.

The "gender factor" in wearing-off among patients with Parkinson's disease: a post hoc analysis of DEEP study.

BACKGROUND: The early detection of wearing-off in Parkinson disease (DEEP) observational study demonstrated that women with Parkinson's disease (PD) carry an increased risk (80.1%) for wearing-off (WO). This post hoc analysis of DEEP study evaluates gender differences on WO and associated phenomena. METHODS: Patients on dopaminergic treatment for ≥ 1 year were included in this multicenter observational cross-sectional study. In a single visit, WO was diagnosed based on neurologist assessment as well as the use of the 19-item wearing-off questionnaire (WOQ-19); WO was defined for scores ≥ 2. Post hoc analyses were conducted to investigate gender difference for demographic and clinical features with respect to WO. RESULTS: Of 617 patients enrolled, 236 were women and 381 were men. Prevalence of WO was higher among women, according to both neurologists' judgment (61.9% versus 53.8%, P = 0.045) and the WOQ-19 analysis (72.5% versus 64.0%, P = 0.034). In patients with WO (WOQ-19), women experienced ≥ 1 motor symptom in 72.5% versus 64.0% in men and ≥ 1 nonmotor symptom in 44.5% versus 36.7%, in men. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest WO as more common among women, for both motor and nonmotor symptoms. Prospective studies are warranted to investigate this potential gender-effect.

Linguistic, psychometric validation and diagnostic ability assessment of an Italian version of a 19-item wearing-off questionnaire for wearing-off detection in Parkinson's disease.

A patient self-rated 19-item wearing-off questionnaire (WOQ-19) was shown to be a potent screening tool for wearing-off (WO) in patients with Parkinson's disease. As part of the early detection of wearing-off in Parkinson's disease study, we preliminarily performed a linguistic and a psychometric validation of an Italian version of the WOQ-19. Moreover, we assessed the sensitivity and specificity of the WOQ-19 in the office-based settings. The psychometric validation study included assessment of discriminant ability, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Cronbach's Alpha were assessed. The WOQ-19 sensitivity and specificity were calculated in respect to the physician assessment of WO, taken as the gold standard. The Italian version of WOQ-19 was found easy to understand by ≥ 80% of the patients. The number of WO-related symptoms detected by WOQ-19 was 7.5 ± 3.2 in patients with WO and 1.6 ± 2.6 in patients without WO (p < 0.0001). Cronbach's alpha was equal to 0.868 for the total number of WO symptoms. The ICC value was equal to 0.858 for WO-related symptoms as a whole. The diagnostic ability study recruited 207 patients: for a WOQ-19 cut-off ≥ 2, the sensitivity was equal to 0.881 and the specificity was 0.674. This is the first validation of WOQ-19 in Italian, with excellent linguistic validity and psychometric properties. WOQ-19 was confirmed to be reliable in WO detection.

Secukinumab Loss of Efficacy Is Perfectly Counteracted by the Introduction of Combination Therapy (Rescue Therapy): Data from a Multicenter Real-Life Study in a Cohort of Italian Psoriatic Patients That Avoided Secukinumab Switching.

Since psoriasis (PsO) is a chronic inflammatory disease, patients may experience a drug failure also with very effective drugs (i.e., secukinumab) and, consequently, dermatologists have two therapeutic options: switching or perform a combination therapy (rescue therapy) to save the drug that had decreased its efficacy. At the moment no studies focused on combination/rescue therapy of secukinumab, so we performed a 52-weeks multicenter retrospective observational study that involved 40 subjects with plaque psoriasis that experienced a secondary failure and were treated with combination therapy (ciclosporin (n = 11), MTX (n = 15), NB-UVB (n = 7) and apremilast (n = 7)). After 16 weeks of rescue/combination therapy, PASI and a DLQI varied respectively from 8 [7.0-9.0] and 13 [12.0-15.0], to 3 [2.8-4.0] and 3 [2.0-3.3]), suggesting a significant improvement of daily functionality and quality of life. Results were maintained at 52 weeks. No side effects were experienced during the study. Secukinumab remains a safety and effective drug for PsO patients also in the IL-23 and JAK inhibitors era. The rescue therapy is a valid therapeutic option in case of secukinumab secondary failure.

The CANOVA Study Real-World Evidence of Biologic Treatments in Moderate-Severe Psoriasis in Italy: A Gender Perspective.

Background: In psoriasis, several studies have indicated sex differences in clinical characteristics, type of treatment, and outcomes. A higher impact of psoriasis on quality of life (QoL) and a lower treatment satisfaction have been reported in women by different authors. Objectives: This article reports the results of a post hoc gender analysis of CANOVA study, aimed at assessing 16/24/52-week effectiveness of biologics in patients with moderate-severe plaque psoriasis. Materials and Methods: CANOVA was a real-world, multicenter, noninterventional, retro-prospective study conducted in 17 Italian hospital dermatology clinics. Results: Of the 669 eligible patients, 63.8% were men. Demographic and baseline characteristics and duration of disease were rather homogeneous between sexes. Slightly more women had been treated with biologics (50.4% vs. 46.5%) and had received ≥2 biologic treatment lines (17.2% vs. 12.4%) before study treatment. The most frequently used biologics were secukinumab, ustekinumab, adalimumab, and ixekizumab in both sexes. At 6 months, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) 75/90/100 responders were 90.8%/72.3%/45.3% of men and 89.2%/76.6%/48.2% of women. Sustained PASI responders were 79.5% of men and 75.9% of women. Treatment satisfaction was significantly lower in women at enrolment for all subscales, and was still lower at 6 months, no longer significantly. Gender distribution in Dermatology Life Quality Index total score classes showed a significantly greater effect of psoriasis on QoL in women, both at enrolment and at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: In conclusion, this gender analysis confirms in both genders the efficacy of biologics in psoriasis. However, women reported a greater impact of the disease on QoL and lower treatment satisfaction.

Real-world evidence of biologic treatments in psoriatic arthritis in Italy: results of the CHRONOS (EffeCtiveness of biologic treatments for psoriatic artHRitis in Italy: an ObservatioNal lOngitudinal Study of real-life clinical practice) observational longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Biologics have demonstrated efficacy in PsA in randomized clinical trials. More evidence is needed on their effectiveness under real clinical practice conditions. The aim of the present work is to provide real-world evidence of the effectiveness of biologics for PsA in the daily clinical practice. METHODS: CHRONOS was a multicenter, non-interventional, cohort study conducted in 20 Italian hospital rheumatology clinics. RESULTS: 399 patients were eligible (56.9% females, mean (SD) age: 52.4 (11.6) years). The mean (SD) duration of PsA and psoriasis was 7.2 (6.9) and 15.3 (12.2) years, respectively. The mean (SD) duration of the biologic treatment under analysis was 18.6 (6.5) months. The most frequently prescribed biologic was secukinumab (40.4%), followed by adalimumab (17.8%) and etanercept (16.5%). The proportion of overall responders according to EULAR DAS28 criteria was 71.8% (95% CI: 66.7-76.8%) out of 308 patients at 6 months and 68.0% (95% CI: 62.7-73.3%) out of 297 patients at 1 year. Overall, ACR20/50/70 responses at 6 months were 41.2% (80/194), 29.4% (57/194), 17.1% (34/199) and at 1-year were 34.9% (66/189), 26.7% (51/191), 18.4% (36/196), respectively. Secondary outcome measures improved rapidly already at 6 months: mean (SD) PASI, available for 87 patients, decreased from 3.2 (5.1) to 0.6 (1.3), the proportion of patients with dactylitis from 23.6% (35/148) to 3.5% (5/142) and those with enthesitis from 33.3% (49/147) to 9.0% (12/133). CONCLUSIONS: The CHRONOS study provides real-world evidence of the effectiveness of biologics in PsA in the Italian rheumatological practice, confirming the efficacy reported in RCTs across various outcome measures.

The CHRONOS Real-World Evidence of Biologic Treatments in Psoriatic Arthritis in Italy: A Post Hoc Gender Analysis.

Background: Phenotypic features and outcome differences between sexes have been reported in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, little is known about sex differences in effectiveness of biologics in clinical practice. Methods: Post hoc gender analysis of the CHRONOS, a multicenter, noninterventional, retroprospective Italian real-world study assessing 6-month and 1-year effectiveness of biologics for PsA. Results: Eligible patients were 399, 43.1% men. Sociodemographic characteristics, type of arthritis, baseline Disease Activity Score 28 joints (DAS28), and duration of biologic treatment were rather homogeneous. More men were overweight/obese and naive to biologics. The most frequently used biologics were TNF-inhibitors and secukinumab in both sexes. DAS28 responders were 72.7% (women) and 70.5% (men) at 6 months, and 68.0% in both sexes at 1 year. American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response showed a trend for men versus women to achieve more frequently ACR50 (32.6% vs. 26.5% at 6 months; 34.9% vs. 20.0% at 1 year) and ACR70 (22.3% vs. 12.4% at 6 months and 25.0% vs. 13.0% at 1 year). Global satisfaction with treatment at enrollment and after 6 months was slightly higher among men [mean (standard deviation) Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication-9 (TSQM-9) score: 68.6 (18.6) and 69.9 (18.2), respectively] than women [65.3 (18.2), 66.2 (18.5)]. Conclusions: Overall response to biologics for PsA was rather favorable. With similar baseline disease severity, men appear to have a somewhat earlier and better response with higher treatment satisfaction.

Association of Sex with Outcome in Elderly Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Worse outcomes have been reported for women, compared with men, after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Whether this difference persists in elderly patients undergoing similar invasive treatment has not been studied. We investigated sex-related differences in 1-year outcome of elderly acute coronary syndrome patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: Patients 75 years and older successfully treated with PCI were selected among those enrolled in 3 Italian multicenter studies. Cox regression analysis was used to assess the independent predictive value of sex on outcome at 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 2035 patients (44% women) were included. Women were older and most likely to present with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), diabetes, hypertension, and renal dysfunction; men were more frequently overweight, with multivessel coronary disease, prior myocardial infarction, and revascularizations. Overall, no sex disparity was found about all-cause (8.3% vs 7%, P = .305) and cardiovascular mortality (5.7% vs 4.1%, P = .113). Higher cardiovascular mortality was observed in women after STEMI (8.8%) vs 5%, P = .041), but not after non ST-elevation-ACS (3.5% vs 3.7%, P = .999). A sensitivity analysis excluding patients with prior coronary events (N = 1324, 48% women) showed a significantly higher cardiovascular death in women (5.4% vs 2.9%, P = .025). After adjustment for baseline clinical variables, female sex did not predict adverse outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly men and women with ACS show different clinical presentation and baseline risk profile. After successful PCI, unadjusted 1-year cardiovascular mortality was significantly higher in women with STEMI and in those with a first coronary event. However, female sex did not predict cardiovascular mortality after adjustment for the different baseline variables.

Gastrointestinal symptoms impair quality of life in Italian renal transplant recipients but are under-recognized by physicians.

We assessed patient- and physician-reported prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and their impact on quality of life (QOL) in Italian renal transplant recipients with stable graft function. Patients ≥18years with a renal allograft functioning for ≥6months and stable serum creatinine levels of <2.5mg/dl were enrolled. Physicians and patients completed an Italian translation of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) questionnaires. The average time since transplantation (n=1130) was 5.9years. Forty-two immunosuppressant drug regimens were reported. The top three regimens (cyclosporine/mycophenolate mofetil/steroids; tacrolimus/mycophenolate mofetil/steroids; cyclosporine/steroids) accounted for approximately 40% of patients. In the physician interview, 39.2% of patients had ≥1 gastrointestinal symptom vs. 88.3% of patients in the self-administered questionnaire. The prevalence of GSRS symptoms was similar for each of the most frequently prescribed immunosuppressant drug regimens. GIQLI total score was significantly poorer in patients with versus those without gastrointestinal symptoms (121.8±17.6 vs. 138.4±3.7; P<0.0001), and there was a strong inverse correlation between GIQLI and patient-reported GSRS scores (Pearson's correlation coefficient -0.816; P<0.0001). Gastrointestinal symptoms are frequent in renal transplant patients, are under-evaluated by physicians and may adversely impact on patient QOL.

Pharmaco-utilization of biologic drugs in patients affected by psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in an Italian real-world setting.

BACKGROUND: As primary aim the study evaluated the monthly average dose for biologic drugs used for psoriasis (PSO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in real-world settings. METHODS: This retrospective analysis was based on administrative databases of Italian Entities. Adult patients diagnosed PSO, PsA or AS with ≥1 prescription of biologic drugs indicated for these diseases were included during 01/01/2011 - 30/06/2017. Monthly average dose and persistence were evaluated during 6-months after inclusion (follow-up). RESULTS: Overall, 6,179 patients prescribed biologic drugs were included: 2,373 represented the 1.1% of PSO-patients, 2,756 the 37.4% of PsA-patients, 1,050 the 17.8% of AS-patients. Monthly average dose was: 69 mg (PSO), 73 mg (PsA), 70 mg (AS) for adalimumab; 152 mg (PSO), 155 mg (PsA), 147 mg (AS) for etanercept; 140 mg (PSO), 133 mg (PsA), 166 mg (AS) for infliximab; 255 mg (PSO), 183 mg (PsA), 154 mg (AS) for secukinumab. Persistance to adalimumab was 76%(PSO), 78%(PsA), 74%(AS); with etanercept 77% in each disease-cohort; with infliximab 67%(PSO), 71%(PsA), 88%(AS); with secukinumab 91%(PSO) and 85%(PsA). CONCLUSION: The study described real-world dosing patterns of biologics indicated for PSO, PsA, or AS, suggesting a trend of monthly average dose generally lower than the dosage indicated in the datasheet.