Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology guidelines for the treatment of giant cell arteritis.

Considerable variability exists in the way that health-care providers treat patients with giant cell arteritis in Latin America, with patients commonly exposed to excessive amounts of glucocorticoids. In addition, large health disparities prevail in this region due to socioeconomic factors, which influence access to care, including biological treatments. For these reasons, the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology developed the first evidence-based giant cell arteritis treatment guidelines tailored for Latin America. A panel of vasculitis experts from Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Argentina generated clinically meaningful questions related to the treatment of giant cell arteritis in the population, intervention, comparator, and outcome (PICO) format. Following the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation methodology, a team of methodologists did a systematic literature search, extracted and summarised the effects of the interventions, and graded the quality of the evidence. The panel of vasculitis experts voted on each PICO question and made recommendations, which required at least 70% agreement among the voting members to be included in the guidelines. Nine recommendations and one expert opinion statement for the treatment of giant cell arteritis were developed considering the most up-to-date evidence and the socioeconomic characteristics of Latin America. These recommendations include guidance for the use of glucocorticoids, tocilizumab, methotrexate, and aspirin for patients with giant cell arteritis.

Relación entre fibromialgia y sarcopenia: el papel del abordaje nutricional / Fibromyalgia and sarcopenia relation: the role of nutritional approach

Introducción: la fibromialgia (FM) es un síndrome caracterizado por la presencia de dolor musculoesquelético crónico y generalizado, de origen no articular, que puede llegar a ser invalidante y afectar la esfera biológica, psicológica y social del paciente. Estado del arte: no se han publicado recomendaciones nutricionales específicas para las personas con FM y también existe un vago conocimiento acerca de los parámetros relacionados con la evaluación de la composición corporal (masa musculoesquelética, masa grasa, agua corporal, etc.) y la alteración en la fuerza muscular (p. ej., dinapenia, por dinamometría de mano, flexión de la rodilla, entre otras), así como la evaluación en términos de sarcopenia. Discusión: pocos estudios publicados hasta el momento describen en profundidad la composición corporal de las personas con FM. La mayoría se centran casi exclusivamente en la descripción del peso y el índice de masa corporal (IMC), por lo que existe poco conocimiento acerca de otros parámetros de relevancia, como por ejemplo aquellos relacionados con masa y fuerza muscular o masa grasa. La alimentación se menciona en varias publicaciones, pero no existen guías o pautas específicas de recomendaciones nutricionales para esta población. Algunos pacientes adoptan diversas dietas, estrategias o planes alimentarios sin ningún tipo de orientación de los profesionales de la salud, e incluso a veces, siguiendo fuentes de información no fiables, poniendo en riesgo su salud. Las publicaciones científicas no evalúan la asociación o el impacto del estado nutricional y la inadecuada alimentación en la calidad de vida. Conclusiones: en las personas con FM, conocer el estado nutricional, más allá del peso, determinando la composición corporal y la prevalencia de dinapenia o sarcopenia o ambas permitiría realizar un abordaje nutricional más adecuado. Este conocimiento podría ser coadyuvante en la terapéutica, logrando una mejoría en su desempeño físico y una mejor calidad de vida. (AU)

Introduction: fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome charcaterized by the presence of chronic, and generalized musculoskeletal pain, not articular in origin, which can become disabling and affect the biological, psychological, and social sphere of the patient. State of the art: no specific nutritional recommendations have been published for people with FM and there is also a vague knowledge regarding parameters related to body composition assessment (skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, water, etc.) and loss of muscle strength (for example, dynapenia, by handgrip, knee flexion, among others), as well as assessment in terms of sarcopenia. Discussion: there are few studies published so far that completely describe the body composition in people with FM. Most of them focus almost exclusively on weight and body mass index (BMI), so there is a lack of knowledge about other descriptive parameters, such as those related to muscle mass and strength or fat mass. Diet is mentioned in several publications, but there are no specific guidelines for nutritional recommendations for this population. Some patients follow several diets, strategies or eating plans without health care professionals' guidance, and sometimes even following unreliable sources of information, putting themselves at risk. Scientific publications do not evaluate the association or impact of nutritional status and inadequate nutrition on quality of life in FM. Conclusions: in people with FM, knowledge of the nutritional status, beyond weight, determining body composition and the prevalence of dynapenia and/or sarcopenia would allow a more accurate nutritional approach. This knowledge could be helpful for the treatment, achieving an improvement in their physical performance and a better quality of life. (AU)