Search results for "Antirheumatic Agent"
showing 10 items of 63 documents
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF) production by T cell receptor-primed T lymphocytes is a target for low dose methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis
1999
SUMMARYMethotrexate (MTX) is an effective immunosuppressive agent in various chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, its mechanisms of action are only partially understood. In this study, we assessed the effects of MTX on the differentiation of peripheral blood (PB) CD4+CD45RA ‘naive’ and CD4+CD45RO ‘memory’ T cells from healthy controls and patients with RA. Accordingly, purified T cells were primed and restimulated in vitro via the T cell receptor (TCR) in the presence of IL-2 to generate effector T cells secreting large amounts of Th1 and Th2 cytokines. We observed that low doses of MTX strongly suppress TNF and to a lesser extent interferon-gamma (IFN-γ…
One year study of efficacy and safety of infliximab in the treatment of patients with ocular and neurological Behçet's disease refractory to standard…
2011
Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of Infliximab therapy in the treatment of patients with Behçet’s disease refractory to standard immunosuppressive agents. Twenty-one patients that did not respond to corticosteroids and to at least one immunosuppressant (cyclosporin, methotrexate, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide) for the presence of ocular and/or CNS involvement were enrolled. Eighteen patients completed the study up to 54 weeks. Stable doses of prednisone (<10 mg/day) were permitted, immunosuppressants were discontinued at least 4 weeks prior baseline visit. The patients received three infusions of 5 mg/kg Infliximab (at weeks 0, 2 and 6) and then…
The in vitro addition of methotrexate and/or methylprednisolone determines peripheral reduction in Th17 and expansion of conventional Treg and of IL-…
2014
The aim of our study was to evaluate methotrexate (MTX) and methylprednisolone (MP) effect on peripheral Th17 and Treg subsets in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We enrolled 15 patients (10 early RA and 5 long-standing disease) with active RA and 10 age-matched healthy donors as controls. Frequencies of Th17 and Treg were quantified using flow cytometry before and after in vitro addition of MTX, MP or both drugs. Our results showed a reduction in the overall Th17 population followed by an increase in Th17 IL-10+ and Treg, after in vitro treatment of PBMCs with the drugs in patients with early RA. Long-standing disease patients showed a less evident increase in Treg cells and less e…
Sexual Quality of Life in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis in the Biologic Treatment Era.
2019
Author's accepted manuscript. This is a pre-copyediting, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in The Journal of Rheumatology following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Berg, K. H., Rohde, G., Prøven, A., Benestad, E. E. P., Østensen, M. & Haugeberg, G. (2019). Sexual Quality of Life in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis in the Biologic Treatment Era. The Journal of Rheumatology, 46(9), 1075-1083 is available online at: https://www.jrheum.org/content/46/9/1075. Objective. To examine the relationship between demographics, disease-related variables, treatment, and sexual quality of life (SQOL) in men and women with axial spondyloarthritis (ax…
Increased proportion of comorbidities but no deterioration of sexual quality of life during a 5-year follow-up in patients with axial spondyloarthrit…
2021
Abstract Objective To explore patient perception of sexual quality of life (SQOL), an important category of QOL, in male and female patients with axial SpA (axSpA) after a 5 year follow-up. Methods A broad spectrum of demographic, disease-related, treatment and SQOL data was collected at baseline and at the 5 year follow-up. SQOL was assessed by the SQOL-Female (SQOL-F) questionnaire. For statistical analysis, McNemar’s tests, paired t-tests and multiple regression analyses were applied. Results A total of 245 axSpA patients (168 men and 77 women) from outpatient clinics were examined (mean age 46 years, mean disease duration 11.9 years at baseline). Compared with baseline, the patients had…
Adalimumab efficacy in enteropathic spondyloarthritis: A 12-mo observational multidisciplinary study
2017
AIM To report adalimumab (Ada) efficacy on articular-gastrointestinal disease and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with enteropathic spondyloarthritis (ES). METHODS A cohort of 52 patients with ES was evaluated in the departments of gastroenterology and internal medicine. At baseline, all patients underwent assessment by an integrated gastro-rheumatologic evaluation of articular and gastrointestinal activity, as well patient reported outcomes (PROs) of the HRQoL questionnaires. After this integrated evaluation and following a specific working flowchart, the Ada anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-inhibitor was assigned to a cohort of 30 patients and its clinical efficacy was …
Disease-modifying drugs can reduce disability progression in relapsing multiple sclerosis
2020
Abstract An ever-expanding number of disease-modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis have become available in recent years, after demonstrating efficacy in clinical trials. In the real-world setting, however, disease-modifying drugs are prescribed in patient populations that differ from those included in pivotal studies, where extreme age patients are usually excluded or under-represented. In this multicentre, observational, retrospective Italian cohort study, we evaluated treatment exposure in three cohorts of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis defined by age at onset: paediatric-onset (≤18 years), adult-onset (18–49 years) and late-onset multiple sclerosis (≥50 years). We…
Long term structural effects of combination therapy in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: five year follow up of a prospective double blind co…
2003
Objective: To evaluate whether early combined therapy with methotrexate (MTX) and sulfasalazine (SSZ) during the first year in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) induces long term beneficial effects, compared with monotherapy, when the further treatment strategy is a free choice. Methods: Study design: five year multicentre prospective longitudinal trial. Participants: 146/205 patients with RA previously included in a one year prospective randomised trial comparing the effects of treatment with MTX, SSZ, or a combination of both. Criteria for inclusion: patients with early RA (⩽1 year duration). Follow up: between the end of years 1 and 5, patients were followed up and treated by their own rhe…
Safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab therapy in patients with different autoimmune diseases: experience from a national registry (GRAID)
2011
Introduction: Evidence from a number of open-label, uncontrolled studies has suggested that rituximab may benefit patients with autoimmune diseases who are refractory to standard-of-care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab in several standard-of-care-refractory autoimmune diseases (within rheumatology, nephrology, dermatology and neurology) other than rheumatoid arthritis or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a real-life clinical setting. Methods: Patients who received rituximab having shown an inadequate response to standard-of-care had their safety and clinical outcomes data retrospectively analysed as part of the German Registry of Autoimmune…
A real-world economic analysis of biologic therapies for psoriatic arthritis in Italy: results of the CHRONOS observational longitudinal study
2022
Abstract Background Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, immune-mediated, spondyloarthropathy characterised by musculoskeletal signs and symptoms with associated joint pain and tenderness. The average worldwide PsA prevalence is 133/100,000, while in the Italian population is 90–420/100,000. Traditionally, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoid, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs have been used in the treatment of PsA. However, for those patients who are not adequately controlled with conventional therapies, the new biologics compounds represent a valid option. Biologic therapies have been shown to be more effective but also more expensive than conventional systemic …