No detection of occult HBV-DNA in patients with various rheumatic diseases treated with anti-TNF agents: a two-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: The widespread use of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-targeted therapies in patients with rheumatic, digestive and dermatologic diseases has been associated with reports of reactivation of HBV replication and ensuing hepatitis flares both in asymptomatic HBsAg carriers and in subjects with occult HBV infection. The aim of our work was to investigate in a two-year prospective study the potential for HBV reactivation in patients with inflammatory joint diseases undergoing anti-TNF treatment from a southern Mediterranean area. METHODS: Fifty-seven consecutive outpatients attending the Academic Unit of Rheumatology at the University of Palermo (12 with rheumatoid arthritis, 17 with pso…

Vitamin D increases the production of IL-10 by regulatory T cells in patients with systemic sclerosis

OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D status influences the risk to develop autoimmune diseases affecting the percentage and/or functions of regulatory T cells (Tregs). Since low levels of 25 (OH) D have been decreased in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), we aimed to study the effect of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplementation on Tregs frequencies and functions. METHODS: Peripheral blood and sera samples were obtained from 45 SSc patients and controls (HC). A number of eighteen SSc patients had consumed Cholecalciferol (orally) at the dose of 25.000 UI/month for 6 months at the time of enrollment. 25(OH)D serum levels were measured and VDR polymorphisms, were genotyped by polymerase chain reactio…

A Th1 but not a Th17 response is present in the gastrointestinal involvement of Behçet's disease

OBJECTIVES: Behçet's disease has been historically classified as a Th1 disease. The recently described IL-17/IL-23 pathway seems to play an important role in many inflammatory diseases and in the intestinal abnormalities of AS and CD. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the IL-17/IL-23 axis in parallel with Th1 and IL-27 response in the intestine of patients with BD and gastrointestinal abnormalities. METHODS: Quantitative TaqMan reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was utilised for all determinations on ileal biopsy specimens obtained from BD, AS and CD patients. The serum levels of Th1 and Th17 cytokines were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RES…

Reply to: Safety and efficacy of secukinumab treatment in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis and concomitant multiple sclerosis: A commentary

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Cognitive deficits in Behçet disease

Authors’ reply

No abstract available.

Overexpression of interleukin-23, but not interleukin-17, as an immunologic signature of subclinical intestinal inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis

Objective Subclinical gut inflammation is common in spondylarthritis, but the immunologic abnormalities underlying this process are undefined. Perturbation of the interleukin-23 (IL-23)/Th17 axis has emerged as a fundamental trigger of chronic inflammation. This study was undertaken to investigate the expression and tissue distribution of IL-23/Th17–related molecules in Crohn's disease (CD) and in subclinical gut inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods Quantitative gene expression analysis of Th1/Th2 and IL-23/Th17 responses was performed in intestinal biopsy samples obtained from 12 patients with CD, 15 patients with AS, and 13 controls. IL-23 tissue distribution and identific…

Targeting IL-6 signalling in early rheumatoid arthritis is followed by Th1 and Th17 suppression and Th2 expansion.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the in vitro and ex-vivo effect of IL-6 inhibition on the balance between Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells. METHODS: Ten consecutive adult patients with active early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) and ten healthy volunteers were included in the study. The percentages of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells were analysed by flow cytometry in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from controls and from RA patients at the time of first evaluation and just before the third TCZ infusion. The in vitro effect of TCZ on the different subsets of CD4+ T cells and the expression levels of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg-related cytokines was also assessed. RESULTS: Treatment with TCZ, b…

Factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene G20210A mutations in Italian patients with Behcet's disease and deep vein thrombosis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency and type of vascular lesions and to study the association of factor V gene G1691A (Leiden) and prothrombin gene G20210A polymorphisms with venous thrombosis in Italian patients with Behçet's disease (BD). METHODS: Included were 118 consecutive Italian BD patients followed over a 3-year period (1997-1999) who satisfied the International Study Group criteria for BD. The control group consisted of 132 healthy Italian blood donors. All BD patients and controls were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and allele-specific restriction enzyme techniques for factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene G20210A polymorphisms. RESULTS: Vascular lesions were observed in …

An intense physical rehabilitation programme determines pain relief and improves the global quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVES:It is accepted that the optimal management of patients with fibromyalgia (FM) requires a combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions. Our study aimed to analyse the effects of a supplemented physical program on the quality of life of FM patients.METHODS:We enrolled 60 patients, all female (mean age 49±5.7 years), with primary FM (mean years of disease 33±12 months). Patients who agreed to participate in this study met the proposed 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria and the 2010 American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria and were recruited at Policlinico P. Giaccone, University Hospital of Palermo, Italy. Th…

ABERRANT EXPRESSION OF IL-22RA1 ON HEMATOPOIETIC CELLS AS IMMUNOLOGICALLY SIGNATURE OF PRIMARY SJOGREN’S SYNDROME AND SJOGREN-ASSOCIATED NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMAS

Background: Interleukin (IL)-22 is a potent mediator of cellular inflammatory responses that has been recently reported to play a role in the pathogenesis of primary Sjogren's Syndrome (p-SS) (1, 2) and of T and B lymphomas. IL-22 biological activity is initiated by binding to a cell-surface complex composed of two subunits, IL-22R1 and IL-10R2 receptor chains, and further regulated by interactions with a soluble binding protein, IL-22BP. Unlike the IL-10R2, which is constitutively expressed in many human tissues, IL-22R1 is not detectable in immune cells. Objectives: Aim of this study was to better characterize the role of IL-22 axis in the pathogenesis of p-SS and p-SSassociated lymphomas…