Brief report: airways abnormalities and rheumatoid arthritis-related autoantibodies in subjects without arthritis: early injury or initiating site of autoimmunity?
Arthritis Rheum
; 64(6): 1756-61, 2012 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22183986
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the presence of pulmonary abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related autoantibody-positive subjects without inflammatory arthritis.METHODS:
Forty-two subjects who did not have inflammatory arthritis but were positive for anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies and/or ≥2 rheumatoid factor isotypes (a profile that is 96% specific for RA), 15 autoantibody-negative controls, and 12 patients with established seropositive early RA (<1-year duration) underwent spirometry and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) lung imaging.RESULTS:
The median age of autoantibody-positive subjects was 54 years, 52% were female, and 38% were ever-smokers; these characteristics were not significantly different from those of autoantibody-negative control subjects. No autoantibody-positive subject had inflammatory arthritis based on joint examination. HRCT revealed that 76% of autoantibody-positive subjects had airways abnormalities including bronchial wall thickening, bronchiectasis, centrilobular opacities, and air trapping, compared with 33% of autoantibody-negative controls (P = 0.005). The prevalence and type of lung abnormalities among autoantibody-positive subjects were similar to those among patients with early RA. In 2 autoantibody-positive subjects with airways disease, inflammatory arthritis classifiable as articular RA developed â¼13 months after the lung evaluation.CONCLUSION:
Airways abnormalities that are consistent with inflammation are common in autoantibody-positive subjects without inflammatory arthritis and are similar to airways abnormalities seen in patients with early RA. These findings suggest that the lung may be an early site of autoimmune-related injury and potentially a site of generation of RA-related autoimmunity. Further studies are needed to define the mechanistic role of lung inflammation in the development of RA.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Artrite Reumatoide
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Autoanticorpos
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Broncopatias
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Autoimunidade
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Pneumopatias
Tipo de estudo:
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article