Vertebral fractures are increased in rheumatoid arthritis despite recent therapeutic advances: a case-control study.

Prevalence and risk factors of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal RA women were assessed in 323 patients and compared with 660 age-matched women. Of patients, 24.15% had at least one vertebral fracture vs.16.06% of controls. Age, glucocorticoids and falls were the main fracture risks. Vertebral fractures were associated with disease severity. INTRODUCTION: There is little quality data on the updated prevalence of fractures in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that may have changed due to advances in the therapeutic strategy in recent years. This study was aimed at analysing the prevalence and risk factors of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women with RA and comparing it with that of the general population. METHODS: We included 323 postmenopausal women diagnosed with RA from 19 Spanish Rheumatology Departments, randomly selected and recruited in 2018. Lateral radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine were obtained to evaluate morphometric vertebral fractures and the spinal deformity index. We analysed subject characteristics, factors related to RA, and fracture risk factors. The control group consisted of 660 age-matched Spanish postmenopausal women from the population-based Camargo cohort. RESULTS: Seventy-eight (24.15%) RA patients had at least one vertebral fracture. RA patients had increased fracture risk compared with controls (106 of 660, 16.06%) (p = 0.02). Logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 2.17; 95% CI 1.27-4.00), glucocorticoids (OR 3.83; 95% CI 1.32-14.09) and falls (OR 3.57; 95% CI 1.91-6.86) were the independent predictors of vertebral fractures in RA patients. The subgroup with vertebral fractures had higher disease activity (DAS28: 3.15 vs. 2.78, p = 0.038) and disability (HAQ: 0.96 vs. 0.63, p = 0.049), as compared with those without vertebral fractures. CONCLUSION: The risk of vertebral fracture in RA is still high in recent years, when compared with the general population. The key determinants of fracture risk are age, glucocorticoids and falls. Patients with vertebral fractures have a more severe RA.

Multiple vertebral fractures as the first manifestation of systemic mastocytosis.

Systemic mastocytosis is a clonal disease of the mast cell progenitors of the bone marrow. The clinical picture varies from asymptomatic (indolent) to highly aggressive (mast cell leukemia). Up to one-third of patients with SM have osteoporosis and fractures. The following is an analysis of the case of a young patient with multiple fractures as the first manifestation of SM.

Two-year adherence to treatment and associated factors in a fracture liaison service in Spain.

UNLABELLED: A fracture liaison service in Spain is able to maintain 73 % of the patients on antiresorptive 2 years after the fracture. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 2-year effectiveness of a program for the secondary prevention of fractures. METHODS: Fragility fractures in patients over 50 attending the emergency room in our centre are captured by the recruitment system of a secondary prevention program. The unit is attended by a nurse, coordinated by two rheumatologists and with the collaboration of primary care consisted of a training program and annual meetings. The outcome of the program was analysed 2 years after implementation, including: (1) percentage of attendees/eligible; (2) percentage of attendees who start treatment with antiresorptive; (3) percentage of patients who retain treatment after 6, 12, 18 and 24 months; and (4) factors associated to adherence. RESULTS: After 2 years of implementation, the program detected 1674 patients with fracture, of whom 759 finally entered the program (57 % of eligible). After 3 months, 82 % of patients prescribed an antiresorptive started treatment. After a year, 52 % of the patients in the program, 72 % of those of a prescribed treatment, were taking antiresorptives. Adherence at 24 months among those who had prescribed anti-fracture drugs was 73 %. Factors associated with adherence at 12 months were female sex (76 vs 45 %; p = 0.01) and previous treatment with antiresorptive (86 vs 68 %; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In Spain, a program designed to prevent secondary fragility fractures based on the collaboration between primary care and rheumatology seems effective in terms of recruitment of patients and adherence to treatment in the mid/long-term.

Secondary prevention program for osteoporotic fractures and long-term adherence to bisphosphonates.

UNLABELLED: Our purpose was to assess the impact of a secondary prevention program for osteoporotic fractures in patients with fragility fracture and to determine its effect on long-term compliance with bisphosphonate treatment. Persistence with bisphosphonate use was 71%. Attending follow-up visits was the only variable significantly associated with adherence to bisphosphonates. INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to assess the impact a secondary prevention program for osteoporotic fractures in a prospective cohort of patients with at least one fragility fracture and to determine the effect of this intervention on long-term compliance with bisphosphonate treatment. METHODS: All patients older than 50 years with a fragility fracture attended at the emergency department over a 2-year period were appointed for a clinical visit through a telephone call. Two follow-up controls at 4 and 12 months were scheduled. After a mean of 4 years, a telephone survey was conducted to assess compliance with treatment. RESULTS: Of 683 eligible patients, 380 (55.6%) were visited at the hospital. Previous treatment with bisphosphonates was recorded in 17.9% of patients. DXA scan was considered normal in 61 patients and revealed osteopenia in 184 and osteoporosis in 135. Pharmacological treatment was indicated in 90% of patients (alendronate in 76%). Among 241 patients who participated in the survey, eight patients had new fractures (four were on treatment with bisphosphonates and four had discontinued treatment). Of 187 patients in which bisphosphonates were prescribed at the initial visit, 133 (71.1%) continued using bisphosphonates. Attendance of scheduled visits was associated with adherence to bisphosphonates (odds ratio, 3.33; 95% confidence interval, 2.99-3.67). CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy of the program to recruit patients was 55%. In patients visited at the hospital, treatment with bisphosphonates increased from 17.9% to 76%. Persistence with bisphosphonate use after a mean of 4 years was 71%. Attending follow-up visits was significantly associated with adherence to bisphosphonates.

Interleukin-10 promoter polymorphisms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus from the Canary Islands.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether several allelic variants in the polymorphic interleukin (IL)-10 promoter region were related with an increased risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Spanish patients from Canary Islands. Microsatellites (MS) at positions -4000 and -1200 (IL10R and IL10G, respectively) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (MS) at positions -1082G/A, -819C/T and -592C/A of the IL-10 promoter were analysed in patients with SLE and healthy controls from Canary Islands (Spain). We found that SNPs but not MS were associated with SLE. The GCC haplotype frequency was significantly higher in SLE patients (0.43) than in healthy donors (0.33) [P = 0.02; OR = 1.50 (95% CI = 1.06-2.14)], whereas the ACC haplotype was less represented in patients (0.28 vs. 0.37) [P = 0.02; OR = 0.64 (95% CI = 0.44-0.92)]. To assess the functional role of genotypes, serum IL-10 levels from patients and controls were quantified by ELISA. Also, the lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-10 secretion by monocytes from healthy controls was evaluated in vitro. Serum IL-10 levels were higher in patients [median (interquartile range) = 2.8 pg/mL (1.8-4.2)] than in controls [0.9 pg/mL (0-3.5)] (P = 0.02), but no association was observed between serum IL-10 levels or lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-10 secretion and the IL-10 promoter haplotypes. These data suggest that the IL-10 promoter haplotype that produces higher levels of cytokine is associated with SLE in patients from Canary Islands.

[High titers of rheumatoid factor: clinical significance]. / Factor reumatoide a títulos elevados: significado clínico.

UNLABELLED: Rheumatoid factor (RF) is one of the most characteristic laboratory parameters in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and its specificity for this disease increases when the titer is high. We investigated the diagnoses associated with high titers of RF and whether they are associated with a poor prognosis of RA. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with RF titers higher than 300 IU/ml were studied (nephelometry) during a three-year period in a general hospital. Patients with RA were compared with other group of patients with RA and RF lower than 300 IU/ml regarding functional capacity, presence of nodules, HLA-DR4 and radiologic status, in a retrospective cohort study. RESULTS: RF was quantitated in 2,181 patients and was higher than 300 IU/ml in 79 cases; 63 among patients in this group (80%) had RA, and the remaining patients inflammatory diseases of the connective tissue (four patients), palindromic rheumatism (two), liver disease (two), infection (one) and neoplasm (one). In two cases the diagnosis was arthrosis and in one case arthralgia of unknown origin. RA with RF higher than 300 IU/ml had a higher frequency of rheumatoid nodules than RA with RF lower than 300 IU/ml (p = 0.01; RR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.18-4.35). The index of functional capacity and rate of HLA-DR4 and erosions was similar in both RA groups. CONCLUSIONS: In a patient with a high RF titer, RA should be first ruled out, followed by other inflammatory diseases, collagenosis and liver diseases. The likelihood of finding a healthy patient with arthrosis or soft tissue rheumatism was very low. In RA, rheumatoid nodules were significantly associated with RF with titers higher than 300 IU/ml.

[Fibromyalgia syndrome]. / Síndrome de fibromialgia.

The Fibromialgia Syndrome (FS) is a common clinical entity which may produce symtoms and signs related to multiple fields of Medicine. Typical clinical characteristics of FS include extensive pain, presence of sensitive points during exploration, morning stiffness, asthenia and non-refresing sleep. Frequently, associated rheumatologic diseases are observed, as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthrosis and vertebral disorders. In FS, complementary tests are usually normal. The most widely accepted hypothesis suggests that this is a disorder affecting modulation of pain sensitivity.