Oral or pulse glucocorticoid use at the onset of giant cell arteritis and its influence on the risk of relapse: a retrospective study.

The objective is to investigate whether initial therapy with intravenous methylprednisolone pulses (ivMTP) or oral glucocorticoid (OG) influences the relapse rate in giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients. This is a retrospective observational study of patients with GCA from 2004 to 2021. Demographics, clinical and laboratory variables, cumulative glucocorticoid dose and relapse rate at 6-month follow-up defined according to EULAR recommendations were recorded. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine possible risk factors for relapse. A total of 74 GCA patients were included for analysis (54 (73%) female, mean (SD) age 77.2 (7.4) years). Overall, 47 (63.5%) patients received ivMTP at disease onset and 27 (36.5%) OG. Mean (SD) cumulative prednisone dose (mg) at 6-month follow-up was 3790.7 (1832.7) for patients with ivMTP vs 4298.1 (2930.6) for the OG group, p = 0.37. A total of 15 (20.3%) relapses occurred at 6-month follow-up. Relapse rates did not differ according to the initial therapy (19.1 vs 22.2%, respectively, p = 0.75). In the multivariate analysis, fever at disease onset (OR 4.837; CI 1.1-21.6) and dyslipidemia (OR 5.651; CI 1.1-28.4) were independent predictors for relapse. Initial therapy with ivMTP or OG does not influence the relapse rate of GCA patients. Fever at disease onset and dyslipidemia are independent predictors of disease relapse.

The role of ultrasound and FDG-PET/CT to detect extracranial artery involvement in patients with suspected large vessel vasculitis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of ultrasound (US) versus fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) to identify extracranial involvement in large vessel vasculitis (LVV). METHODS: A retrospective observational study of patients with suspected LVV. All patients underwent US exam within 24 h per protocol. FDG-PET/CT was performed according to clinician criteria. The gold standard for LVV diagnosis was clinical confirmation after 6 months. RESULTS: Of the 113 patients included (74.3% female, mean age 74 years), 37 (32.7%) were diagnosed with LVV after 6 months. The sensitivity and specificity of US were 86.5% and 96.1%, respectively. Only 12 (42.9%) of 28 patients undergoing a FDG-PET/CT per clinician criteria showed positive findings. The sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET/CT for LVV were 61.1% and 90%, respectively. Taking FDG-PET/CT as the reference, US showed extracranial inflammation in 10/12 (83.3%) and detected 2 (12.5%) additional cases of extracranial involvement with negative FDG-PET/CT. Conversely, FDG-PET/CT was positive in two patients with negative US (one isolated aortitis and one aortoiliac involvement). CONCLUSIONS: US and FDG-PET/CT are both valid tools to detect extracranial involvement. The presence of US extracranial artery inflammation is consistent with FDG-PET/CT examination, although a negative US scan does not rule out extracranial involvement.

Aspectos mnésicos del envejecimiento / Mnesic aspects of aging

Los cambios cognitivos, tanto funcionales como estructurales presentes en el envejecimiento, son complejos y variados. En un sentido general, se ha encontrado asociado a esta etapa del ciclo vital un declive de gran parte de las funciones cerebrales; en relación a ello un estudio realizado por Román y Sánchez (1998) demostró que no sólo se produce un deterioro, sino que también se mantienen o se potencializan otros procesos cognitivos. Aunque las alteraciones se presentan en la mayoría de las funciones, es de especial interés exponer aquí, aquellas que se involucran con los procesos mnésicos; teniendo en cuenta que se ven afectados en el adulto mayor.

The cognitive changes, both functional and structural, present in aging are complex and varied. In a general sense, a decline in a large part of brain functions has been found associated with this stage of the life cycle; In relation to this, a study carried out by Román and Sánchez (1998) showed that not only deterioration occurs, but also that other cognitive processes are maintained or enhanced. Although the alterations are present in most of the functions, it is of special interest to expose here, those that are involved with the mnesic processes; taking into account that they are affected in the elderly.