Alterations in SAMD9, AHSG, FRG2C, and FGFR4 Genes in a Case of Late-Onset Massive Tumoral Calcinosis.

Background/Objective: Tumoral calcinosis (TC) is a rare, arcane, and debilitating disorder of phosphate metabolism manifesting as hard masses in soft tissues. Primary hyperphosphatemic TC has been shown to be caused by pathogenic variants in the genes encoding FGF23, GALNT3, and KLOTHO. We report a case of massive TC mechanistically associated with phosphatonin resistance associated with heterozygous alterations in the sterile alfa motif domain-containing protein-9 gene (SAMD9), alfa 2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein gene (AHSG), FSHD region gene 2-family member-C gene (FRG2C), and fibroblast growth factor receptor-4 gene (FGFR4). Case Report: A middle-aged Malay woman with systemic sclerosis presented with painful hard lumps of her axillae, lower limbs, and external genitalia. She was eucalcemic with mild hyperphosphatemia associated with reduced urinary phosphate excretion. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed calcified soft tissue masses. Paradoxically, the serum intact FGF23 level increased to 89.6 pg/mL, corroborated by Western blots, which also showed overexpression of sFRP4 and MEPE, consistent with phosphatonin resistance. Discussion: Whole genome sequencing identified 2 heterozygous alterations (p.A454T and p.T479M) in SAMD9, 2 heterozygous alterations (p.M248T and p.S256T) in AHSG, a frameshift alteration (p.Arg156fs) in FRG2C, and a heterozygous alteration (p.G388R) in FGFR4, all of which are associated with calcinosis. Nonsynonymous alterations of FRP4 and MEPE were also detected. Conclusion: This highlights that the simultaneous occurrence of alterations in several genes critical in phosphate homeostasis may trigger massive TC despite their heterozygosity. These findings should prompt functional studies in cell and animal models to reveal mechanistic insights in the pathogenesis of such crippling mineralization disorders.

Dual rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody positivity affects the manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) are used in the diagnosis and prognostication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We wanted to determine the specific contributions of RF and ACPA to the biological nature of RA and whether they act synergistically. Methods: We identified 731 patients from our prospective multi-ethnic RA cohort and categorised them into four groups: ACPA-positive, RF-positive, doubly positive and doubly negative. We compared the demographics, Disease Activity Score-28, Health Assessment Questionnaire score, quality of life using Short Form 36 and the use of prednisolone and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) of these patient groups. Results: Four hundred and ninety-one patients (67.2%) were ACPA+RF+, 54 (7.4%) were ACPA+RF-, 82 (11.2%) were ACPA-RF+ and 104 (14.2%) were ACPA-RF-. Mean disease duration before the study entry was not different in the four groups. Patients with older age of onset were less likely to be positive for RF and ACPA. Fewer ACPA+RF+ patients were in remission compared to those in the other groups (P < 0.05). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was higher at study entry in the ACPA+RF+ group (40.4 mm/h vs. 30.6-30.9 mm/h, P < 0.05). Prednisolone and number of DMARDs used were higher in the ACPA+RF+ group compared to the doubly negative group. There were no differences in the functional status and quality of life. Conclusions: RA patients who were positive for both ACPA and RF had lower remission rate, higher baseline ESR and required more corticosteroid and DMARD treatment compared to those who were singly positive or doubly negative. Being doubly positive confers a worse outcome to RA patients.

Robust SNP-based prediction of rheumatoid arthritis through machine-learning-optimized polygenic risk score.

BACKGROUND: The popular statistics-based Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have provided deep insights into the field of complex disorder genetics. However, its clinical applicability to predict disease/trait outcomes remains unclear as statistical models are not designed to make predictions. This study employs statistics-free machine-learning (ML)-optimized polygenic risk score (PRS) to complement existing GWAS and bring the prediction of disease/trait outcomes closer to clinical application. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) was selected as a model disease to demonstrate the robustness of ML in disease prediction as RA is a prevalent chronic inflammatory joint disease with high mortality rates, affecting adults at the economic prime. Early identification of at-risk individuals may facilitate measures to mitigate the effects of the disease. METHODS: This study employs a robust ML feature selection algorithm to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that can predict RA from a set of training data comprising RA patients and population control samples. Thereafter, selected SNPs were evaluated for their predictive performances across 3 independent, unseen test datasets. The selected SNPs were subsequently used to generate PRS which was also evaluated for its predictive capacity as a sole feature. RESULTS: Through robust ML feature selection, 9 SNPs were found to be the minimum number of features for excellent predictive performance (AUC > 0.9) in 3 independent, unseen test datasets. PRS based on these 9 SNPs was significantly associated with (P < 1 × 10-16) and predictive (AUC > 0.9) of RA in the 3 unseen datasets. A RA ML-PRS calculator of these 9 SNPs was developed ( https://xistance.shinyapps.io/prs-ra/ ) to facilitate individualized clinical applicability. The majority of the predictive SNPs are protective, reside in non-coding regions, and are either predicted to be potentially functional SNPs (pfSNPs) or in high linkage disequilibrium (r2 > 0.8) with un-interrogated pfSNPs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the promise of this ML strategy to identify useful genetic features that can robustly predict disease and amenable to translation for clinical application.

Montreal cognitive assessment as a screening instrument for cognitive impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations.

OBJECTIVES: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is an increasingly used screening tool for cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to examine how MoCA performed in identifying cognitive impairment (CI) domains in SLE patients compared with formal standardized neuropsychological testing (NPT). Factors related to SLE disease, immunologic and psychological state associated with CI were also explored. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 50 SLE patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations from April 2017 to May 2018. The patients were evaluated with MoCA, formal NPT and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS) 42-item self-report questionnaire. Values of sensitivity and specificity were computed for different cut-offs of MoCA within each cognitive domain of NPT and descriptive analysis was used to identify the factors affecting cognitive function. RESULTS: The median score for MoCA was 27.5 (range 22-30). Using a MoCA cutoff of <26, 18 (36%) were identified to have CI using NPT compared to 8 (16%) using MoCA. The most frequently affected cognitive domain was executive functioning with 15 affected patients. Sensitivities and specificities of the MoCA range from 50% to 100% and 5.7% to 16.7%, respectively, across cognitive domains. A lower MoCA cutoff of <25 improve sensitivity of identifying impairment in executive functioning from 60% to 80%. In univariate analysis, DASS scores, disease activity, presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, presence of concurrent autoimmune disease, current, and cumulative corticosteroid therapy did not predict cognitive performance. CONCLUSION: MoCA may be a useful screening tool to identify the most frequently affected cognitive domain which is executive functioning using a lower cutoff of <25 in SLE patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations.

Machine learning using genetic and clinical data identifies a signature that robustly predicts methotrexate response in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a hypothesis-free model that best predicts response to MTX drug in RA patients utilizing biologically meaningful genetic feature selection of potentially functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (pfSNPs) through robust machine learning (ML) feature selection methods. METHODS: MTX-treated RA patients with known response were divided in a 4:1 ratio into training and test sets. From the patients' exomes, potential features for classifier prediction were identified from pfSNPs and non-genetic factors through ML using recursive feature elimination with cross-validation incorporating the random forest classifier. Feature selection was repeated on random subsets of the training cohort, and consensus features were assembled into the final feature set. This feature set was evaluated for predictive potential using six ML classifiers, first by cross-validation within the training set, and finally by analysing its performance with the unseen test set. RESULTS: The final feature set contains 56 pfSNPs and five non-genetic factors. The majority of these pfSNPs are located in pathways related to RA pathogenesis or MTX action and are predicted to modulate gene expression. When used for training in six ML classifiers, performance was good in both the training set (area under the curve: 0.855-0.916; sensitivity: 0.715-0.892; and specificity: 0.733-0.862) and the unseen test set (area under the curve: 0.751-0.826; sensitivity: 0.581-0.839; and specificity: 0.641-0.923). CONCLUSION: Sensitive and specific predictors of MTX response in RA patients were identified in this study through a novel strategy combining biologically meaningful and machine learning feature selection and training. These predictors may facilitate better treatment decision-making in RA management.

Functional coding haplotypes and machine-learning feature elimination identifies predictors of Methotrexate Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients.

BACKGROUND: Major challenges in large scale genetic association studies include not only the identification of causative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), but also accounting for SNP-SNP interactions. This study thus proposes a novel feature engineering approach integrating potentially functional coding haplotypes (pfcHap) with machine-learning (ML) feature selection to identify biologically meaningful, possibly causative genetic factors, that take into consideration potential SNP-SNP interactions within the pfcHap, to best predict for methotrexate (MTX) response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS: Exome sequencing from 349 RA patients were analysed, of which they were split into training and unseen test set. Inferred pfcHaps were combined with 30 non-genetic features to undergo ML recursive feature elimination with cross-validation using the training set. Predictive capacity and robustness of the selected features were assessed using six popular machine learning models through a train set cross-validation and evaluated in an unseen test set. FINDINGS: Significantly, 100 features (95 pfcHaps, 5 non-genetic factors) were identified to have good predictive performance (AUC: 0.776-0.828; Sensitivity: 0.656-0.813; Specificity: 0.684-0.868) across all six ML models in an unseen test dataset for the prediction of MTX response in RA patients. INTERPRETATION: Majority of the predictive pfcHap SNPs were predicted to be potentially functional and some of the genes in which the pfcHap resides in were identified to be associated with previously reported MTX/RA pathways. FUNDING: Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council (NMRC) [NMRC/CBRG/0095/2015; CG12Aug17; CGAug16M012; NMRC/CG/017/2013]; National Cancer Center Research Fund and block funding Duke-NUS Medical School.; Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2 grant MOE2019-T2-1-138.

Metabolic syndrome and its effect on the outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis in a multi-ethnic cohort in Singapore.

INTRODUCTION: Over-expression of common inflammatory mediators in the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may lead to mutually adverse outcomes. AIM: We investigate the prevalence of MetS in a multi-ethnic population of RA patients and its effect on clinical and patient-reported outcomes. METHOD: Six hundred sixty RA (561 women) patients from a public-sector specialist clinic in a hospital in Singapore were assessed for MetS according to the 2009 Joint Consensus (JC) and the 2004 National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) definitions. Univariable and multivariable regression modelling were used to investigate the associations between patients' demographics with MetS and MetS with RA outcomes. RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS in our RA cohort was 49.4% and 44.9% according to the JC and NCEP ATP III definitions, respectively. The diagnosis of MetS was largely due to hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, and obesity. MetS was associated with older age (OR 1.06 [95% CI 1.04-1.08]), Malay ethnicity (OR 1.78 [95% CI 1.02-3.09]), or Indian ethnicity (OR 3.07 [95% CI 1.68-5.59]). No significant associations between MetS and RA outcomes were observed. RA patients with MetS are more likely to suffer from stroke and ischemic heart disease. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MetS in RA patients in Singapore was almost double that in the general population. MetS does not adversely affect RA outcomes but raises the risks of stroke and heart disease. RA patients, especially those older and of Indian and Malay ethnicities, should be routinely screened for MetS. Any MetS-defining condition should be actively controlled. Key Points • Approximately half of the RA sample from the Singapore RA population can be diagnosed with MetS. • Older patients, and patients of Malay and Indian ethnicities have higher odds of MetS. • MetS does not adversely affect RA outcomes but raises the risks of stroke and heart disease.

The impact of diabetes mellitus on treatment and outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis at 5-year follow-up: results from a multi-ethnic Asian cohort.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on RA treatment and outcomes in a longitudinal RA cohort. METHODS: We analysed data collected in the period 2001-2013 involving 583 RA patients, including demographics, diabetes diagnosis, clinical features, treatment, ACR functional class, HAQ, and quality-of-life measurement using the Short-Form 36. RESULTS: Seventy-seven (13.2%) of the RA patients had T2DM. DAS28 was not different in patients with T2DM at 5 years post-RA diagnosis. Fewer T2DM patients received MTX than those without T2DM (51% vs 80%, P < 0.001). Using univariate analysis, T2DM patients were more likely to experience poorer outcomes in terms of ACR functional status (P = 0.009), joint surgery (P = 0.007), knee arthroplasty (P < 0.001) and hospital admissions (P = 0.006). Multivariate regression analyses showed more knee arthroplasty (P = 0.047) in patients with T2DM. CONCLUSION: Fewer patients with T2DM received MTX compared with those without T2DM. Patients with RA and T2DM were at higher risk of knee arthroplasty than RA patients without T2DM.

DUBStepR is a scalable correlation-based feature selection method for accurately clustering single-cell data.

Feature selection (marker gene selection) is widely believed to improve clustering accuracy, and is thus a key component of single cell clustering pipelines. Existing feature selection methods perform inconsistently across datasets, occasionally even resulting in poorer clustering accuracy than without feature selection. Moreover, existing methods ignore information contained in gene-gene correlations. Here, we introduce DUBStepR (Determining the Underlying Basis using Stepwise Regression), a feature selection algorithm that leverages gene-gene correlations with a novel measure of inhomogeneity in feature space, termed the Density Index (DI). Despite selecting a relatively small number of genes, DUBStepR substantially outperformed existing single-cell feature selection methods across diverse clustering benchmarks. Additionally, DUBStepR was the only method to robustly deconvolve T and NK heterogeneity by identifying disease-associated common and rare cell types and subtypes in PBMCs from rheumatoid arthritis patients. DUBStepR is scalable to over a million cells, and can be straightforwardly applied to other data types such as single-cell ATAC-seq. We propose DUBStepR as a general-purpose feature selection solution for accurately clustering single-cell data.

Missense variant in interleukin-6 signal transducer identified as susceptibility locus for rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese patients.

Objectives: This study aims to uncover variants of large effect size and allele frequency below 5% by sequencing all extant genes associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a homogeneous patient cohort. Patients and methods: This retrospective study was conducted between January 2001 and December 2017. We selected Chinese RA patients positive for anti-citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA). All the 128 known candidate genes identified through genome-wide association studies were sequenced in 48 RA patients (15 males, 33 females; mean age 53.32±8.98 years; range, 32 to 75 years) and 45 controls (11 males, 34 females; mean age 32.18±9.54; range, 21 to 57 years). The exonic regions of these genes were sequenced. The resultant data were analyzed for association using single variant association and pathway-based association enrichment tests. The genetic burden due to low-frequency variants was assessed with the C-alpha test. The candidate variants that showed significant association were validated in a larger cohort of 500 RA cases (71 males, 429 females; mean age 48.6±12.2 years; range, 24 to 92 years) and 500 controls (66 males, 434 females; mean age 32.3±10.1 years; range, 21 to 73 years). Results: Thirty-nine variants in 21 genes were identified using single variant association analysis and C-alpha test, with stepwise filtering. Among these, the missense variant in interleukin-6 signal transducer (IL-6ST) 5:55260065 (p.Cys47Phe) was significantly associated with RA in Chinese patients in Singapore. Conclusion: Our results suggest that a mutation in IL-6ST (5:55260065) confers risk of RA in Chinese patients in Singapore.

Conversion among the 28-joint count activity indices for rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Disease activity indices for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are important in clinical practice and research. Although they are closely correlated, they are not in good agreement. We derived formulae to convert values from one of the four 28-joint count indices (disease activity score using erythrocyte sedimentation rate [DAS28-ESR], disease activity score using C-reactive protein [DAS28-CRP], clinical disease activity index [CDAI], and simple disease activity index [SDAI]) to any of the others. METHODS: We obtained data from 175 patients from our RA registry with concurrent CRP and ESR and established the nature of relationships between the indices using these data. Subsequently, we developed empiric conversion formulae. Furthermore, we developed new cutoff values for classifying disease activity to minimize the disparity among indices, using an iterative method. RESULTS: The relationships between DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP and between SDAI and CDAI were approximately linear; the others were quadratic. Quadratic equations approximated the relationship between DAS, SDAI, and CDAI, whereas natural logarithms function approximated the relationship between DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP. Patients are frequently categorized into inconsistent disease activity states with any two indices, with the disparity ranging from 9.7% to 40.6%. The new cutoff values were developed to minimize the discrepant activity state categorization, reducing the disparity range to 6.3%-32.6%. CONCLUSION: We derived empiric formulae that connect DAS28-ESR, DAS28-CRP, SDAI, and CDAI. Moreover, we developed new cutoff values to minimize the discrepant activity state categorization with different indices.

Incidence and patterns of malignancies in a multi-ethnic cohort of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

AIM: This study was undertaken to determine the incidence and patterns of malignancies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in our cohort. METHODS: Between 2001 and 2013, we analyzed 1117 patients in the prospective Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) RA Registry. Patients who developed malignancies after the onset of RA were identified from this registry. Age- and sex-adjusted standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated to compare observed to expected numbers of malignancies based on data from the Singapore Cancer Registry. RESULTS: Out of 19 839 person-years of follow-up, 132 incident malignancies were diagnosed during the observation period. There were 114 (86.4%) solid-organ tumors and 18 (13.6%) hematological malignancies. The SIR (95% confidence interval) for all malignancies combined was 1.28 (0.88-1.87) for males and 1.21 (1.00-1.46) for females. Compared to the general population, we found a 4- to 5-fold increase in lymphoma among our RA patients compared to the general population (SIR 5.05 [1.90-13.46] for males and 3.75 [1.95-7.20] for females). The SIR of lung malignancy in male RA patients is 2.36 (1.23-4.53) and SIR of cervical malignancy in female RA patients is 3.72 (2.20-6.23). CONCLUSION: There is a trend toward an overall increased malignancy risk in our RA patients compared to the general population. Specifically, there is an increased risk of lymphomas in all RA patients, lung malignancy in male patients, and cervical malignancy in female patients, compared to the general population.

NLRP1, PTPN22 and PADI4 gene polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis in ACPA-positive Singaporean Chinese.

Studies have shown that the genetic risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differ substantially between Asian and Caucasian populations. Even among Asian populations, the genetic contributions of NLRP1, PTPN22 and PADI4 have been controversial. Consequently, we sought to address these separate findings and determine whether any of these proposed risk variants are associated with RA susceptibility, onset, DAS activity and erosion in a Singaporean Chinese cohort. We genotyped five SNPs within NLRP1 (rs878329 and rs6502867), PTPN22 (rs2488457 and rs6665194), and PADI4 (rs2240340) in 500 anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody-positive (ACPA) patients with RA and 500 healthy controls using TaqMan assays. The CC genotype of NLRP1 rs878329 and TT genotype of PADI4 rs2240340 were associated with RA susceptibility. The risk association of the T allele of PADI4 rs2240340 with RA was confirmed through a meta-analysis based on previous reports in Asian populations. The GG genotype of PTPN22 rs6665194 (-3508A>G) was associated with significantly reduced risk of RA. No significant association was found for NLRP1 rs6502867 T/C and PTPN22 rs2488457 G/C polymorphisms. None of the five SNPs was associated with RA's clinical features. This work supports the association of the T allele of PADI4 rs2240340 with RA in Asians. The roles of NLRP1 rs878329 G/C and PTPN22 rs6665194 A/G polymorphisms were demonstrated for the first time. We also propose rs6665194 to be a promising candidate for RA risk evaluation between ethnicities.

Comparison of elderly- and young-onset rheumatoid arthritis in an Asian cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the demographic characteristics, clinical features, functional status and quality of life of elderly-onset (EORA) and young-onset (YORA) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in an Asian cohort. METHODS: We studied all RA patients in our prospective disease registry, utilizing baseline data. EORA was defined as disease onset at 60 years or older. We collected data from January 2001 to December 2012. RESULTS: There were 1206 patients in our cohort, of which 178 (14.8%) had EORA, with a mean age of onset of 66.7 ± 5.6 years. There were more males in the EORA than YORA group (23.0% vs. 14.7%, P = 0.005). EORA patients were diagnosed sooner after symptom onset and had a higher number of comorbidities (median 2 [inter-quartile range 1-3] vs. 1 (0-2), P < 0.001). They were less likely to be rheumatoid factor positive, had higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate values and lower hemoglobin concentrations. There was no significant difference in joint counts, Disease Activity Score of 28 joints activity score and prevalence of radiographic erosions. Though EORA patients had worse Health Assessment Questionnaire scores and poorer functional status than YORA ones, they had lower pain scores and higher scores in the general health and mental component summary of the Short Form-36. EORA patients received significantly lower numbers of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. CONCLUSIONS: EORA and YORA patients had different demographic characteristics. Although they had similar disease activities, EORA patients received less intensive treatment. EORA patients had a higher number of RA-related co-morbidities and poorer physical functioning but they coped better emotionally and mentally.

Singapore Chapter of Rheumatologists Consensus Statement on the Eligibility for Government Subsidy of Biologic Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Agents for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

INTRODUCTION: Up to 30% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) respond inadequately to conventional non-biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (nbDMARDs), and may benefit from therapy with biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs). However, the high cost of bDMARDs limits their widespread use. The Chapter of Rheumatologists, College of Physicians, Academy of Medicine, Singapore aims to define clinical eligibility for government-assisted funding of bDMARDs for local RA patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Evidence synthesis was performed by reviewing 7 published guidelines on use of biologics for RA. Using the modified RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RAM), rheumatologists rated indications for therapies for different clinical scenarios. Points reflecting the output from the formal group consensus were used to formulate the practice recommendations. RESULTS: Ten recommendations including diagnosis of RA, choice of disease activity measure, initiation and continuation of bDMARD and option of first and second-line therapies were formulated. The panellists agreed that a bDMARD is indicated if a patient has (1) active RA with a Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) score of ≥3.2, (2) a minimum of 6 swollen and tender joints, and (3) has failed a minimum of 2 nbDMARD combinations of adequate dose regimen for at least 3 months each. To qualify for continued biologic therapy, a patient must have (1) documentation of DAS28 every 3 months and (2) at least a European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) moderate response by 6 months after commencement of therapy. CONCLUSION: The recommendations developed by a formal group consensus method may be useful for clinical practice and guiding funding decisions by relevant authorities in making bDMARDs usage accessible and equitable to eligible patients in Singapore.

Methotrexate-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with transaminitis in rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors of MTX-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with transaminitis in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients from Singapore. METHODS: Patients who developed ultrasound proven NAFLD with transaminitis while on MTX therapy were identified. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the above patients (cases) were compiled and compared with age- and gender-matched controls who were RA patients on long standing MTX therapy without any episode of transaminitis. RESULTS: Among the 978 patients who had received MTX, the prevalence of MTX-associated NAFLD was 4.7% (46 patients). Compared to the controls, the cases had significantly higher mean cumulative dose of MTX (4.03 ± 2.25 g versus 10.04 ± 9.94 g, P ≤ 0.05), weekly dose of MTX (11.3 ± 4.8 mg versus 13.1 ± 4.4 mg weekly, P = 0.033), and fasting blood glucose (P = 0.029). Following multivariate regression analysis, only cumulative dose of MTX remained significant (P = 0.015). Among the cases, the cumulative dose of MTX was found to have a significant positive correlation with the alanine transaminase (ALT) level (P < 0.05, standardised beta coefficient 0.512). CONCLUSION: The cumulative dose of MTX was the only independent predictor of MTX-associated NAFLD with transaminitis.

Association between helplessness, disability, and disease activity with health-related quality of life among rheumatoid arthritis patients in a multiethnic Asian population.

To investigate the association between helplessness, disability, and disease activity with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a multiethnic cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in Singapore. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, from October 2010 to October 2011. All patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria for RA. Socio-demographics, clinical, and patient-reported outcome (PRO) variables were collected. HRQoL outcomes were Short Form 36 (SF-36) physical and mental component summary (PCS and MCS) scores and Short Form 6 Dimensions (SF-6D) utilities. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were performed using HRQoL outcomes as dependent variables in separate models and with adjustment for helplessness (Rheumatology Attitudes Index, RAI), disability (Health Assessment Questionnaire, HAQ), and disease activity (Disease Activity in 28 joints) followed by socio-demographic, clinical, and PRO variables. Complete data were provided by 473 consenting subjects [mean (SD) age: 60.02 (11.04) years, 85 % female, 77 % Chinese]. After adjustment for all measured covariates, only RAI and HAQ scores remained significantly associated with SF-36 MCS (ß: -0.9, p < 0.001; ß: -7.0, p < 0.001) and SF-6D utilities (ß: -0.005, p < 0.001; ß: -0.081, p < 0.001), respectively, while only HAQ scores were significantly associated with SF-36 PCS (ß: -7.7, p < 0.001). Interventions to address the sense of helplessness and to prevent or reduce disability could improve HRQoL of RA patients.

Major trends in the manifestations and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in a multiethnic cohort in Singapore.

We analyzed the epidemiological changes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over three decades using patients from a single center in Singapore. All patients who fulfill the 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA were invited to enroll in a prospective disease registry. We analyzed the patient demographics, disease manifestation, management and patient-reported outcomes, including quality of life (QoL), in the three categories according to the year of disease onset: before 1989 (group I), 1990-1999 (group II) and after 2000 (group III). There were 1,153 patients with 231, 532 and 390 in groups I, II and III, respectively. The mean disease durations were 25, 12 and 4.8 years, respectively. The majority was female (84.1 %) and Chinese (76.6 %) with no socio-demographic differences across the three periods. The age of onset rises and the prevalence of rheumatoid factor falls with the proximity of disease onset. Patients with most recent disease onset had the earliest access to the rheumatologist. They also had the highest tender and swollen joint counts, lowest deformed joint count and highest remission rate. Patients in group I report better mental and emotional QoL though many developed marked disability. We have documented changes of the manifestations of RA that are dependent and independent of improved treatment. Significant differences in accessibility to the rheumatologist, RA activity, functional capacity, quality of life and comorbidities were seen in subsequent cohorts due to treatment evolution and more efficient healthcare delivery.

Analysis of a genome-wide association study-linked locus (CCR6) in Asian rheumatoid arthritis.

A genome-wide association study in Japan identified the C-C chemokine receptor type 6 gene (CCR6) as associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This finding has not been validated in other Asian populations. A case-control study involving 996 subjects, comprising 440 controls and 556 RA patients, was done to determine their anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody status and CCR6 polymorphism (rs3093024) genotype. Three hundred eighty-seven patients were anti-CCP positive and 153 anti-CCP negative. Logistic regression showed that allele A was likely to increase the risk of developing RA among females via a recessive model (odds ratio [OR]=1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.01, 2.39), whereas the risk effect appeared to be reduced among males via an additive model (OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.42, 0.85). Considering only subjects who are anti-CCP positive, allele A increased RA risk among females via a recessive model (OR=1.68, 95% CI=1.07, 2.64) but decreased the risk among males via an additive model (OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.39, 0.89). We showed that CCR6 polymorphism was a risk factor among females but a protective factor among males. Functional studies are warranted to unravel the pathophysiological relevance of the gene variant and other linked variants with RA.

Prevention of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in immunobullous diseases with alendronate: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral alendronate sodium therapy once daily in preventing glucocorticoid-induced bone loss in patients with immunobullous skin diseases treated with long-term glucocorticoid therapy. DESIGN: A 12-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: A tertiary referral dermatology center in Singapore. PARTICIPANTS: Patients newly diagnosed as having an immunobullous disease and deemed to require at least 6 months of systemic glucocorticoid therapy. INTERVENTIONS: The patients were randomized to receive either oral alendronate sodium (10 mg/d) or a matching placebo for 12 months. All patients also received concurrent calcium with vitamin D, 2 tablets daily. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percent change in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck at 12 months. RESULTS: A total of 29 patients (alendronate [n = 15], placebo [n = 14]) were evaluated. The percent change in BMD in the alendronate group was +3.7% and +3.5% at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck, respectively, whereas in the placebo group, it was -1.4% and -0.7% at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck, respectively. The increase in BMD observed in the alendronate group compared with the placebo group was statistically significant at both the lumbar spine (P = .01) and the femoral neck (P = .01). There was also a statistically significant decrease in serum heat-labile alkaline phosphatase levels after 12 months (-32.6%, P < .01) in the alendronate group but not in the placebo group. Adverse events were generally minor, and the frequency of occurrence did not differ significantly between both treatment groups (P = .59). CONCLUSIONS: There were statistically significant increases in BMD at both the lumbar spine (P = .01) and the femoral neck (P = .01) with alendronate therapy. It is imperative to use bisphophonate therapy in patients with immunobullous disorders who are receiving oral corticosteroids because it largely prevents the morbidity associated with low BMD.