0000000001067038
AUTHOR
A. R. Giardina
showing 4 related works from this author
No detection of occult HBV-DNA in patients with various rheumatic diseases treated with anti-TNF agents: a two-year prospective study.
2013
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…
Targeting IL-6 signalling in early rheumatoid arthritis is followed by Th1 and Th17 suppression and Th2 expansion.
2014
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…
Cell Immunity in Inflammatory Vasculitis
2015
The vasculitides are a highly heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by the presence of inflammatory leukocytes in the vessel walls and reactive inflammation. Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) are the two primary large-vessel vasculitides. Two distinct cellular pathways have been identified in GCA: Th17 polarization and IL-17 secretion and generation of Th1 cells which secrete IFN-γ. These two pathways may play different roles in the pathogenesis of vasculitides. The antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAVs) are small vessel vasculitis associated with antibodies directly to myeloperoxidase (MPO-ANCA) such as eosinophilic granulo…
Successful intravenous immunoglobulin treatment for steroid-resistant eosinophilic enteritis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.
2011
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare condition of unknown etiology characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the bowel. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of EG therapy. Although rare, steroid-resistant EG could be a life-threatening condition with tissue destructive evolution. Associations of eosinophilic gastroenteritis with systemic lupus erythematosus have rarely been reported. In this report we describe a case of successful IVIG treatment in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and steroid-refractory eosinophilic gastroenteritis. Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare condition of unknown etiology characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the bowel. Corticosteroids are t…