Metabolic and inflammatory profiles define phenotypes with clinical relevance in female knee osteoarthritis patients with joint effusion.

OBJECTIVES: Osteoarthritis has been the subject of abundant research in the last years with limited translation to the clinical practice, probably due to the disease's high heterogeneity. In this study, we aimed to identify different phenotypes in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients with joint effusion based on their metabolic and inflammatory profiles. METHODS: A non-supervised strategy based on statistical and machine learning methods was applied to 45 parameters measured on 168 female KOA patients with persistent joint effusion, consecutively recruited at our hospital after a monographic OA outpatient visit. Data comprised anthropometric and metabolic factors and a panel of systemic and local inflammatory markers. The resulting clusters were compared regarding their clinical, radiographic and ultrasound severity at baseline and their radiographic progression at two years. RESULTS: Our analyses identified four KOA inflammatory phenotypes (KOIP): a group characterized by metabolic syndrome, probably driven by body fat and obesity, and by high local and systemic inflammation (KOIP-1); a metabolically healthy phenotype with mild overall inflammation (KOIP-2); a non-metabolic phenotype with high inflammation levels (KOIP-3); and a metabolic phenotype with low inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors not associated with obesity (KOIP-4). Of interest, these groups exhibited differences regarding pain, functional disability and radiographic progression, pointing to a clinical relevance of the uncovered phenotypes. CONCLUSION: Our results support the existence of different KOA phenotypes with clinical relevance and differing pathways regarding their pathophysiology and disease evolution, which entails implications in patients' stratification, treatment tailoring and the search of novel and personalized therapies.

Social economic costs of ankylosing spondylitis in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a disease associated with a high number of comorbidities, chronic pain, functional disability, and resource consumption. The aim of this study was to estimate the burden of AS in Spain. METHODS: A questionnaire, designed for the development of the "Atlas of Axial Spondyloarthritis in Spain 2017" cross-sectional study, was distributed to patients in 2016. This questionnaire was used to collect relevant sociodemographic and clinical information on patients with AS, as well as to identify resource consumption and patient work productivity losses related to AS within the previous 12 months of survey completion. Subsequently, direct costs were estimated with the bottom-up method and work productivity losses with the human capital method. Economic burden was estimated by subgroups, taking into account the degree of disease activity and the psychological status. RESULTS: The study sample comprised 578 patients with AS: mean age was 46.0±11.0 years, 52.9% were males, and 35.8% had a university-level education. Mean disease duration and diagnostic delay were 13.4±11.3 and 8.4±7.6 years, respectively, and mean Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index was 5.4±2.1. The estimated median annual cost per patient with AS was 5,402.4, with an average annual cost per patient of 11,462.3 euros, of which 61.1% (6,999.8 euros) were attributed to direct health care costs, 5.3% (611.3 euros) to direct non-health care costs, and 33.6% (3,851.2 euros) to work productivity losses. CONCLUSIONS: AS poses a significant burden for the Spanish National Health System and society.

Risk of infection associated with Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitors and biological therapies in inflammatory intestinal disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Prevention strategies. / Riesgo de infección asociado a los inhibidores de las quinasas Janus (JAK) y las terapias biológicas en enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal y artritis reumatoide. Estrategias de prevención.

Patients with certain immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), have an increased risk of severe infectious diseases than the general population, which are mainly associated with the immunosuppressive treatments that they receive. These treatments act on the immune system through different mechanisms, causing different degrees of immunosuppression and a variable risk depending on whether the pathogen is a virus, bacteria or fungus. This article reviews the most relevant literature on the subject, which was selected and discussed by a panel of experts. The aim of this article is to review the risk of infections in patients with IBD and RA, and the potential preventive measures.

Multicentre, randomised, open-label, parallel-group study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ixekizumab versus adalimumab in patients with psoriatic arthritis naïve to biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug: final results by week 52.

OBJECTIVES: SPIRIT head-to-head (H2H) is a 52-week (Wk) trial comparing ixekizumab (IXE) with adalimumab (ADA) for simultaneous American College of Rheumatology (ACR)50 and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)100 responses in 566 patients (distributed evenly across both groups) with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). IXE was superior to ADA for this primary end point at Wk24. We aimed to determine the final efficacy and safety results through Wk52 including a prespecified subgroup analysis of concomitant conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARD) use. METHODS: SPIRIT-H2H is a Wk52 multicentre, open-label, blinded-assessor study comparing IXE and ADA in bionaïve patients with PsA. Patients were randomised 1:1 to IXE or ADA with stratification by concomitant csDMARD use and presence of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Prespecified end points at Wk24 and Wk52 included musculoskeletal, psoriasis, quality-of life outcomes, subgroup analyses and safety. RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion of patients treated with IXE versus ADA simultaneously achieved ACR50 and PASI100 (39% vs 26%, p<0.001), PASI100 (64% vs 41%, p<0.001) at Wk52. Efficacy of IXE and ADA was similar at Wk52 for ACR50 (49.8% vs 49.8%, p=0.924), treat-to-target outcomes, enthesitis and dactylitis resolution. Responses to IXE were consistent irrespective of concomitant csDMARD use. Significantly more patients on IXE monotherapy versus ADA monotherapy had simultaneous ACR50 and PASI100 (38% vs 19%, p=0.007), and PASI100 responses (66% vs 35%, p<0.001) at Wk52. There were no new safety findings for IXE or ADA. CONCLUSIONS: IXE provided significantly greater simultaneous joint and skin improvement than ADA through Wk52 in bionaïve patients with PsA. IXE showed better efficacy on psoriasis and performed at least as well as ADA on musculoskeletal manifestations. IXE efficacy was consistent irrespective of concomitant csDMARD use. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03151551.

Does Belonging to a Patient Association Is of Help for Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis? Results from the Atlas Survey.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: International guidelines for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) suggest that patients benefit from becoming members of patient associations. However, the scientific evidence for this is limited and unconvincing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the differences in sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) between axSpA patients belonging to patient associations versus those who do not. RECENT FINDINGS: Out of 680 patients, 301 (44.3%) were members of a patient association. A significant proportion of association members were found to engage in physical activities considered appropriate to their condition (48.2% vs. 39.8%, p = 0.03), and smoked significantly less compared with their non-association counterparts (22.7% vs. 33.6%, p = 0.02). In addition, despite having longer disease duration, and receiving similar treatments, members of associations reported significantly lower disease activity (BASDAI 5.1 vs. 5.8; p < 0.001), less functional limitations (Functional Limitation Index 26.4 vs. 28.6; p < 0.05), and a lower risk of psychological distress (GHQ-12 4.9 vs. 6.5; p < 0.001). The results of this study suggest there are beneficial effects of belonging to a patient association for managing axSpA, since those member patients experience better lifestyle habits and PROs than those who do not so participate. Rheumatologists should encourage patients to enroll in patient associations for a holistic approach to managing their condition.

Genetic variation at the glycosaminoglycan metabolism pathway contributes to the risk of psoriatic arthritis but not psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis affecting up to 30% of patients with psoriasis (Ps). To date, most of the known risk loci for PsA are shared with Ps, and identifying disease-specific variation has proven very challenging. The objective of the present study was to identify genetic variation specific for PsA. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study in a cohort of 835 patients with PsA and 1558 controls from Spain. Genetic association was tested at the single marker level and at the pathway level. Meta-analysis was performed with a case-control cohort of 2847 individuals from North America. To confirm the specificity of the genetic associations with PsA, we tested the associated variation using a purely cutaneous psoriasis cohort (PsC, n=614) and a rheumatoid arthritis cohort (RA, n=1191). Using network and drug-repurposing analyses, we further investigated the potential of the PsA-specific associations to guide the development of new drugs in PsA. RESULTS: We identified a new PsA risk single-nucleotide polymorphism at B3GNT2 locus (p=1.10e-08). At the pathway level, we found 14 genetic pathways significantly associated with PsA (pFDR<0.05). From these, the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) metabolism pathway was confirmed to be disease-specific after comparing the PsA cohort with the cohorts of patients with PsC and RA. Finally, we identified candidate drug targets in the GAG metabolism pathway as well as new PsA indications for approved drugs. CONCLUSION: These findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms that are specific for PsA and could contribute to develop more effective therapies.

Ultrasound Assessment of Psoriatic Onychopathy: A Cross-sectional Study Comparing Psoriatic Onychopathy with Onychomycosis.

This cross-sectional study evaluated the usefulness of an ultrasound technique in assessment of nail changes in 35 patients with psoriatic onychopathy and 25 with nail dystrophy secondary to onychomycosis. All patients underwent 3 examinations: a complete clinical assessment; a nail ultrasound study; and fungal culture. Nails of patients with psoriatic onychopathy presented a thinner nail plate and nail bed, measured by ultrasound, than did those with onychomycosis. The percentage of patients with a power Doppler signal ?2 at nail bed was significantly higher in psoriatic onychopathy than in onychomycosis, and structural bone lesions were more frequent in psoriatic onychopathy than in onychomycosis. These results suggest that the presence of structural damage and high-power Doppler signal are the main ultrasound findings supporting a diagnosis of psoriatic onychopathy.

Treatment patterns, unmet need, and impact on patient-reported outcomes of psoriatic arthritis in the United States and Europe.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, inflammatory disease. The effects of PsA real-world treatment patterns on patient-reported outcomes in the US and 5 European countries (EU5; France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK) were evaluated. Respondents from the 2016 National Health and Wellness Survey received advanced therapies (e.g., biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs [DMARDs]), other therapies, (e.g., conventional synthetic DMARDs), or no treatment. Assessments included demographics, disease severity (patient-reported), comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index), health status (Short Form-36 Health Survey), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), work productivity (Work Productivity and Activity Index), and treatment adherence (Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8). Overall, 1037 respondents from the US and 947 respondents from the EU5 were included. Of these, 21.7% US and 7.3% EU5 respondents received advanced therapies; 16.6% and 28.5%, other therapies; and 61.7% and 64.2%, no treatment, respectively. During treatment with advanced or other therapies, 40.8-54.7% US and 57.7-58.9% EU5 respondents self-reported moderate or severe PsA. Respondents receiving advanced therapies had the highest Charlson Comorbidity Index score (US, 1.25; EU5, 1.42); the lowest scores were with no treatment (0.52 and 0.49, respectively). Employment was lowest with other therapies (US, 47.7%; EU5, 41.1%). Overall work impairment was reported by 57.9% US and 62.6% EU5 respondents receiving advanced therapies. Medication adherence was generally low in the US and medium in the EU5 (Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8: low, US 40.1-46.7%, EU5, 29.0-35.2%; medium, US 29.3-36.1%, EU5 37.8-49.3%; high, US 23.8-24.0%; EU5, 21.7-27.0%). Advanced and other therapies reduced PsA severity; however, > 40% of respondents reported moderate or severe PsA during treatment. Better management and adherence may reduce unmet need and disease burden. Further work is required to improve PsA diagnosis and time to treatment initiation.

Ultrasound Findings in Patients With Femoracetabular Impingement Without Radiographic Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess ultrasound (US) abnormalities in patients with clinical and radiographic features of femoracetabular impingement (FAI) without radiologic osteoarthritis. METHODS: This study included patients aged 50 years or younger with hip pain and clinical and radiographic signs suggestive of FAI but without radiographic hip osteoarthritis. Demographic characteristics, the symptom duration, and the radiologic type of FAI were recorded. Ultrasound examinations assessed for anterior labral abnormalities, osteophytes, bone cortex irregularities, capsular distension, and acetabulofemoral and femoral head-to-neck distances. A balanced group of healthy volunteers was used as control participants. RESULTS: Forty-four patients with FAI were evaluated. Ultrasound changes were found in 93.2% of patients, with 63.6% showing some kind of labral abnormality, 40.9% showing articular cartilage abnormalities, 38.6% showing bone contour irregularities, and 29.5% showing osteophytes. The cartilage width and symptom duration were inferior in patients with a damaged articular surface compared with those without (P = .005 and .012, respectively). Patients showing osteophytes on US examinations were slightly older (P = .048). Patients with cam-type FAI were more frequently male (P = .0001) and younger (P = .022) compared with those who had pincer-type FAI and also had a shorter symptom duration (P < .05). Patients with symptoms for 2 years or less had a shorter femoral cartilage width (P = .027). Femoral head-to-neck distances were shorter in patients compared with controls (P = .0005). Only 1 patient in the control group showed some US abnormality. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound showed detected abnormalities in a significant proportion of patients with symptomatic FAI in early phases of the disease. Additional longitudinal studies are warranted to establish the prognostic importance of these US changes.© 2018 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Should over-treatment of axial spondyloarthritis with biologics remain a concern after the issue of the new ASAS criteria? Data from REGISPONSERBIO (Spanish Register of Biological Therapy in Spondyloarthritides).

OBJECTIVES: To study whether disease status at treatment initiation has changed after the issue of the ASAS classification criteria. METHODS: REGISPONSERBIO registers patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) on biological treatment since 2013. It includes patients starting biological treatment (incident) or already on biological therapies (prevalent). Patients in both groups were compared in terms of: age at disease onset and at treatment start, disease duration, gender, HLA-B27, body mass index (BMI), BASDAI, BASFI, C-reactive protein, ESR, metrological data, ASQoL, WAPAI, extra-articular manifestations, comorbidities, radiological study, type of biological treatment and concomitant treatments. RESULTS: 256 patients were included, of whom 174 (65%) were already on biologic therapy. Compared to incident patients, prevalent patients started treatment with longer disease duration (15 vs. 8.6 years; p<0.001), a higher proportion of them were men (83% vs. 67%; p=0.01), a smaller proportion of them showed non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis (nr-axSpA)(17% vs. 32%; p<0.01), and a higher proportion had HLAB27 (85% vs. 73%; p=0.02). There were no statistically significant differences in terms of disease activity, degree of disability, quality of life, or prevalence of extra-articular manifestations. CONCLUSIONS: Data suggest that, after the issue of the new classification criteria for SpA, biological therapy is being administered earlier than previously in SpA patients and in a higher proportion of patients with nr-axSpA. However, this change in prescribing profile, apparently, has not caused an over-treatment, as patients do not seem to have a lower disease burden than prior to the issue of the criteria.

Standards of care and quality indicators for multidisciplinary care models for psoriatic arthritis in Spain.

To define and give priority to standards of care and quality indicators of multidisciplinary care for patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). A systematic literature review on PsA standards of care and quality indicators was performed. An expert panel of rheumatologists and dermatologists who provide multidisciplinary care was established. In a consensus meeting group, the experts discussed and developed the standards of care and quality indicators and graded their priority, agreement and also the feasibility (only for quality indicators) following qualitative methodology and a Delphi process. Afterwards, these results were discussed with 2 focus groups, 1 with patients, another with health managers. A descriptive analysis is presented. We obtained 25 standards of care (9 of structure, 9 of process, 7 of results) and 24 quality indicators (2 of structure, 5 of process, 17 of results). Standards of care include relevant aspects in the multidisciplinary care of PsA patients like an appropriate physical infrastructure and technical equipment, the access to nursing care, labs and imaging techniques, other health professionals and treatments, or the development of care plans. Regarding quality indicators, the definition of multidisciplinary care model objectives and referral criteria, the establishment of responsibilities and coordination among professionals and the active evaluation of patients and data collection were given a high priority. Patients considered all of them as important. This set of standards of care and quality indicators for the multidisciplinary care of patients with PsA should help improve quality of care in these patients.

Identification and management of comorbidity in psoriatic arthritis: evidence- and expert-based recommendations from a multidisciplinary panel from Spain.

The objective is to establish recommendations, based on evidence and expert opinion, for the identification and management of comorbidities in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The following techniques were applied: discussion group, systematic review, and Delphi survey for agreement. A panel of professionals from four specialties defined the users, the sections of the document, possible recommendations, and what systematic reviews should be performed. A second discussion was held with the results of the systematic reviews. Recommendations were formulated in the second meeting and voted online from 1 (total disagreement) to 10 (total agreement). Agreement was considered if at least 70% voted ≥7. The level of evidence and grade of recommendation were assigned using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidance. The full document was critically appraised by the experts, and the project was supervised at all times by a methodologist. In a final step, the document was reviewed and commented by a patient and a health management specialist. Fourteen recommendations were produced, together with a checklist to facilitate the implementation. The items with the largest support from evidence were those related to cardiovascular disease and risk factors. The panel recommends paying special attention to obesity, smoking, and alcohol consumption, as they are all modifiable factors with an impact on treatment response or complications of PsA. Psychological and organizational aspects were also deemed important. We herein suggest practical recommendations for the management of comorbidities in PsA based on evidence and expert opinion.

Etoricoxib in ankylosing spondylitis: is there a role for active patients refractory to traditional NSAIDs?

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of etoricoxib in patients with axial ankylosing spondyloarthritis (AS) refractory to traditional NSAIDs. METHODS: This was an open label, multicentric, randomised, prospective (4 weeks with and open extension to 6 months), non-controlled study. Consecutive patients with axial AS refractory to traditional NSAID eligible for anti-TNF-α therapy were selected. The primary outcomes were the rate of patients with good clinical response (not eligible for anti-TNF-α therapy after etoricoxib) and the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society response criteria for biologic therapies (ASASBIO) response at 4 weeks. Secondary outcomes included: ASAS20 and 40 responses, ASDAS-CRP response, BASDAI, BASFI, back and night back pain, global patient and physician assessment of the disease, and biologic parameters like C-reactive protein (CRP) at 2, 4 weeks and 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 57 axial AS patients were recruited, 46 men, with mean age of 43 years. After 4 weeks of treatment, 26 patients (46%) achieved a good clinical response and 11 (20%) an ASASBIO response. These results at 24 weeks were 19 (33%) and 13 (23%) respectively. All individual clinical variables improved significantly after 4 weeks of treatment. CRP serum levels decreased after 4 weeks but reached no statistical significance, although 30% of patients showed a normalisation of CRP. CONCLUSIONS: Etoricoxib provided a clear clinical improvement in around a third of patients with axial AS refractory to traditional NSAIDs. Special care should be required when deciding to start anti-TNF-α therapy; it seems reasonable to keep in mind these results of etoricoxib treatment.

A deletion at ADAMTS9-MAGI1 locus is associated with psoriatic arthritis risk.

OBJECTIVE: Copy number variants (CNVs) have been associated with the risk to develop multiple autoimmune diseases. Our objective was to identify CNVs associated with the risk to develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using a genome-wide analysis approach. METHODS: A total of 835 patients with PsA and 1498 healthy controls were genotyped for CNVs using the Illumina HumanHap610 BeadChip genotyping platform. Genomic CNVs were characterised using CNstream analysis software and analysed for association using the χ(2) test. The most significant genomic CNV associations with PsA risk were independently tested in a validation sample of 1133 patients with PsA and 1831 healthy controls. In order to test for the specificity of the variants with PsA aetiology, we also analysed the association to a cohort of 822 patients with purely cutaneous psoriasis (PsC). RESULTS: A total of 165 common CNVs were identified in the genome-wide analysis. We found a highly significant association of an intergenic deletion between ADAMTS9 and MAGI1 genes on chromosome 3p14.1 (p=0.00014). Using the independent patient and control cohort, we validated the association between ADAMTS9-MAGI1 deletion and PsA risk (p=0.032). Using next-generation sequencing, we characterised the 26 kb associated deletion. Finally, analysing the PsC cohort we found a lower frequency of the deletion compared with the PsA cohort (p=0.0088) and a similar frequency to that of healthy controls (p>0.3). CONCLUSIONS: The present genome-wide scan for CNVs associated with PsA risk has identified a new deletion associated with disease risk and which is also differential from PsC risk.

Risk variants for psoriasis vulgaris in a large case-control collection and association with clinical subphenotypes.

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified >20 new loci associated with the susceptibility to psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) risk. We investigated the association of PsV and its main clinical subphenotypes with 32 loci having previous genome-wide evidence of association with PsV (P < 5e-8) or strong GWAS evidence (P < 5e-5 in discovery and P < 0.05 in replication sample) in a large cohort of PsV patients (n = 2005) and controls (n = 1497). We provide the first independent replication for COG6 (P = 0.00079) and SERPINB8 (P = 0.048) loci with PsV. In those patients having developed psoriatic arthritis (n = 955), we found, for the first time, a strong association with IFIH1 (P = 0.013). Analyses of clinically relevant PsV subtypes yielded a significant association of severity of cutaneous disease with variation at LCE3D locus (P = 0.0005) in PsV and nail involvement with IL1RN in purely cutaneous psoriasis (PsC, P = 0.007). In an exploratory analysis of epistasis, we replicated the previously described HLA-C-ERAP1 interaction with PsC. Our findings show that common genetic variants associated with a complex phenotype like PsV influence different subphenotypes of high clinical relevance.

Standards of care for patients with spondyloarthritis.

To define and give priory to standards of care in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA). A systematic literature review on SpA standards of care and a specific search in relevant and related sources was performed. An expert panel was established who developed the standards of care and graded their priority (high, mild, low, or no priority) following qualitative methodology and Delphi process. An electronic survey was sent to a representative sample of 167 rheumatologists all around the country, who also gave priority to the standards of care (same scale). A descriptive analysis is presented. The systematic literature review retrieved no article specifically related to SpA patients. A total of 38 standards of care were obtained-12 related to structure, 20 to process, and 6 to result. Access to care, treatment, and safety standards of care were given a high priority by most of rheumatologists. Standards not directly connected to daily practice were not given such priority, as standards which included a time framework. The standards generated for the performance evaluation (including patient and professionals satisfaction) were not considered especially important in general. This set of standards of care should help improve the quality of care in SpA patients.

Sex differential impact of comorbidities in spondyloarthritis: data from COMOSPA study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare the prevalence of comorbidities in female and male patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and to assess whether comorbidities had a different impact on disease outcomes in male and female patients. METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis of the COMOrbidities in SPondyloArthritis study. Differences in comorbidities regarding sex were assessed using logistic regression models. Comorbidities were evaluated for their impact on disease outcomes (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, European health-related quality of life questionnaire) with linear models, which included sex and comorbidity as explanatory variables and their interaction. Age and treatment with biological synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were included as confounders. RESULTS: We included 3982 patients with SpA (65% male, mean age 43.6 years). Male and female patients with SpA exhibited similar comorbidity profiles, except for a low prevalence of fibromyalgia in males and a higher prevalence of certain cardiovascular risk factors in males (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, renal impairment and ischaemic heart disease). Comorbidities, especially fibromyalgia, correlated with higher disease activity, decreased physical function and reduced health-related quality of life in both sexes. Some comorbidities exhibited sex-specific associations with disease outcomes. Peptic ulcers and high waist circumference had a greater impact on disease activity in females (with a higher impact in BASDAI than in ASDAS). In contrast, osteoporosis had a more pronounced effect on physical function in male patients. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidities exert distinct influences on disease activity, physical function and health-related quality of life in male and female patients with SpA. Understanding these sex-specific effects is crucial for improving SpA management, emphasising the importance of assessing disease activity using ASDAS when comorbidities are present to mitigate sex-related disparities in disease assessment.

Biological and glucocorticoids treatment impair the medium-term immunogenicity to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess the sustained immunological response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD) undergoing different treatment regimens. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study involving 157 AIRD patients without prior COVID-19 infection. Treatment regimens included non-treatment or glucocorticoid-only (not-treated/GCs), non-biological drugs, biological therapy, and JAK inhibitors. All participants completed the two-dose vaccine schedule, and 110 of them received an additional booster dose. Serum samples were collected approximately 3-6 months after the second and third vaccine doses to measure antibodies against the Spike protein (antiS-AB) and neutralizing antibodies (nAB) targeting six SARS-CoV-2 variants. RESULTS: Following the third dose, all patients exhibited a significant increase in antiS-AB (FC = 15, p < 0.0001). Patients under biological therapy had lower titres compared to the non-biological (66% decrease, p = 0.038) and the not-treated/GCs group (62% decrease, p = 0.0132), with the latter persisting after the booster dose (86% decrease, p = 0.0027). GC use was associated with lower antiS-AB levels in the biological group (87% decrease, p = 0.0124), although not statistically significant after confounders adjustment. nABs showed the highest positivity rates for the wild-type strain before (50%) and after the booster dose (93%), while the Omicron variant exhibited the lowest rates (11% and 55%, respectively). All variants demonstrated similar positivity patterns and good concordance with antiS-AB (AUCs from 0.896 to 0.997). CONCLUSIONS: The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster strategy effectively elicited a sustained antibody immune response in AIRD patients. However, patients under biological therapies exhibited a reduced response to the booster dose, particularly when combined with GCs.

Specific-cytokine associations with outcomes in knee osteoarthritis subgroups: breaking down disease heterogeneity with phenotyping.

BACKGROUND: Despite existing extensive literature, a comprehensive and clinically relevant classification system for osteoarthritis (OA) has yet to be established. In this study, we aimed to further characterize four knee OA (KOA) inflammatory phenotypes (KOIP) recently proposed by our group, by identifying the inflammatory factors associated with KOA severity and progression in a phenotype-specific manner. METHODS: We performed an analysis within each of the previously defined four KOIP groups, to assess the association between KOA severity and progression and a panel of 13 cytokines evaluated in the plasma and synovial fluid of our cohort's patients. The cohort included 168 symptomatic female KOA patients with persistent joint effusion. RESULTS: Overall, our analyses showed that associations with KOA outcomes were of higher magnitude within the KOIP groups than for the overall patient series (all p-values < 1.30e-16) and that several of the cytokines showed a KOIP-specific behaviour regarding their associations with KOA outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our study adds further evidence supporting KOA as a multifaceted syndrome composed of multiple phenotypes with differing pathophysiological pathways, providing an explanation for inconsistencies between previous studies focussed on the role of cytokines in OA and the lack of translational results to date. Our findings also highlight the potential clinical benefits of accurately phenotyping KOA patients, including improved patient stratification, tailored therapies, and the discovery of novel treatments.

Outcome of an education and home-based exercise programme for patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a nationwide randomized study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the impact of a structured education and home exercise programme in daily practice patients with ankylosing spondylitis. METHODS: A total of 756 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (72% males, mean age 45 years) participated in a 6-month prospective multicentre controlled study, 381 of whom were randomised to an education intervention (a 2-hour informative session about the disease and the implementation of a non-supervised physical activity programme at home) and 375 to standard care (controls). Main outcome measures included Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity and Functional Index (BASDAI, BASFI). Secondary outcome measures were 0-10 cm visual analog scale (VAS) for total pain, nocturnal pain and global disease activity and quality of life (ASQoL), knowledge of disease (self-evaluation ordinal scale) and daily exercise (diary card). RESULTS: At 6 months, the adjusted mean difference between control and educational groups for BASDAI was 0.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10-0.54, p=0.005, and for BASFI 0.31, 95%CI 0.12-0.51, p=0.002. Significant differences were found also in VAS for total pain, patient´s global assessment and in ASQoL. Patients in the education group increased their knowledge about the disease and its treatments significantly (p<0.001) and practised more regular exercise than controls (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A structured education and home exercise programme for patients with ankylosing spondylitis in daily practice was feasible and helped to increase knowledge and exercise. Although statistically significant, the magnitudes of the clinical benefits in terms of disease activity and physical function were poor.