We evaluated drug retention rates to compare the effectiveness of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors vs TNF inhibitor (TNFi) biologics and non-TNFi biologics in biologics-naïve RA patients, and assessed intra-class differences among JAK inhibitors.

To determine SLE endotypes according to B cell immunophenotyping and serological profile and assess endotypes' response to belimumab.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and Sjögren's disease (SjD) are characterized by systemic inflammation. Although for both entities lymphocyte involvement is reported, the contribution of T-cell responses to lung manifestation of SSc and SjD remains elusive. Therefore, we aimed for systematically investigating T-cell responses in blood and lungs of patients with SSc or with SjD.

This study examines the influence of pharmacological treatments on foot functionality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis over a five-year period. A longitudinal analysis categorized patients into different treatment groups, assessing their foot function using the Foot Function Index (FFI) at the start and end of the study. The groups are based on their pharmacological treatment. Pharmacological treatment groups were categorized into: I methotrexate (MTX), II MTX plus biological treatments (including all variables), III biological treatment alone, and IV a miscellaneous group comprising patients with diverse treatments, including patients for whom various drugs had failed or who had not achieved remission with pharmacological treatment. The study included 206 RA patients with an average age of 58.32 years and a disease evolution of 15.28 years. The analysis of the FFI in total and across its domains of pain, disability, and activity revealed significant differences only in the pain domain (p = 0.011), with a trend toward worsening over time observed in the other domains. Notably, MTX treatment showed improvement in the pain domain (decreasing from 45.76 in 2018 to 40.43 in 2023). Findings suggest that while pharmacological treatments are essential in managing rheumatoid arthritis, their impact on foot function is limited, with MTX demonstrating the most significant benefit in terms of pain reduction.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) involvement in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) pathogenesis is known, but the role of anti-β2glycoprotein I (aβ2GPI) antibodies-induced NETs in triggering a procoagulant and proinflammatory phenotype in endothelial cells (ECs) remains to be evaluated. This study investigated whether NET-aβ2GPI can activate ECs and whether NET-aβ2GPI and NET-phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) have different proteomic profiles.

IgA vasculitis is a predominantly pediatric autoimmune disease characterized by IgA deposit in small vessels. Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a rare hematological malignancy classified within myelodysplastic syndromes. Here, we present a previously unrecognized case of CMML associated with IgA vasculitis. A 62-year-old woman presented with necrotic and infiltrated purpura and mild arthralgia, primarily affecting the knees and wrists, without gastrointestinal or kidney involvement. A comprehensive screening for other etiologies was unremarkable. Blood tests showed an increase of monocyte count and circulating monocyte phenotyping was consistent with CMML. Bone marrow analysis showed no blast cells or karyotypic abnormalities. Genetic testing identified an NRAS mutation. Autoantibody screening and viral serologies were negative. A skin biopsy revealed small-vessel vasculitis with IgA immune deposits. CMML can be associated with autoimmune diseases, such as polyarteritis nodosa and cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis. However, this is the first report of IgA vasculitis occurring in the context of low risk CMML.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous inflammatory disease in which a significant proportion of patients remain refractory to existing therapies. The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) initiated a project aimed at unravelling the reasons for treatment failures in PsA, culminating in the establishment of definitions for difficult-to-treat PsA (D2T-PsA) and complex-to-manage PsA (C2M-PsA). This study explores patient perspectives on treatment-resistant PsA, incorporating a broader patient perspective into the overarching GRAPPA project.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a step-down treatment approach using mepolizumab for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in a real-life single-centre cohort. The study aimed to assess outcomes following a transition from high-dose (300 mg/4 weeks) to low-dose (100 mg/4 weeks) mepolizumab after achieving remission.

The objective of this study was to examine the clinical outcomes during the implementation of a self-administered patient decision-aid (PtDA) for lupus.

Functional antibodies play a role in SSc gastrointestinal (GI) disease, but their clinical relevance is unclear. We examined GI and extraintestinal features associated with anti-muscarinic-3 receptor (M3R) antibodies in SSc patients.

The role of preceding infections in the development of reactive arthritis (ReA) is well known but is less studied in association with other inflammatory arthritides. Therefore, in 1979-80 we screened for infections in patients with early musculoskeletal symptoms who were referred for rheumatological consultation and assessed the role of infections and other clinical factors in the development of chronic disease in following 14 years.