Many studies suggest a strong familial component to fibromyalgia (FM). However, those studies have nearly all been confined to individuals with primary FM, i.e., FM without any other accompanying disorder. The current 2011 and 2016 criteria for diagnosing FM construct a score using a combination of the number of painful body sites and the severity of somatic symptoms (FM score). This study was undertaken

To compare muscle strength and endurance of the knee extensors between patients with long‐term juvenile dermatomyositis (DM) and controls and between patients with active disease and those with inactive disease, and to explore associations between strength/endurance and 1) clinical parameters, 2) physical activity, and 3) humoral/structural adaptation in the skeletal muscle of patients.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a clinically heterogeneous disease characterized by increased collagen accumulation and skin stiffness. Our previous work has demonstrated that transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) induces extracellular matrix (ECM) modifications through lysyl oxidase–like 4 (LOXL‐4), a collagen crosslinking enzyme, in bioengineered human skin equivalents (HSEs) and self‐assembled stromal

We appreciate the interest of Dr. Xie and professor Zhang in our study comparing achievement of remission in two early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treat‐to‐target cohorts, the ARCTIC trial and the NOR‐VEAC prospective observational study (1).

We read with great interest the article by Norvang et al comparing achievement of remission in two different goal‐oriented early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohorts [1]. In this study, the ACR/EULAR Boolean remission rates were significantly higher in ARCTIC than in NOR‐VEAC cohort at 3 months, 12 months and 24 months, revealing that adherence to a more stringent definition of remission provided further

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a systemic disease. Failure to recognize RP can lead to diagnostic delay and further complications including death. The study objective was to identify clinical patterns in a prospective cohort of patients with RP.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) inhibitor Bone Morphogenetic Protein and Activin Membrane‐Bound Inhibitor (BAMBI) has been shown to control CD4+ T lymphocytes differentiation into either tolerogenic regulatory T (Tregs) or pathogenic TH17 cells through the regulation of TGFβ and IL‐2 signaling strength. In the present study, we explore the potential beneficial effects of its pharmacological

Inhibition of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling prevents cartilage degeneration and promotes repair in animal models of osteoarthritis (OA). Current study was designed to explore if modulation of kappa opioid receptor (KOR) signaling may have therapeutic potential for achieving disease‐modifying activity in OA models through Hh modulation.

To assess the impact of knee chondrocalcinosis (CC) on the 5‐year risk of joint replacement and disease progression in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

OBJECTIVES Inflamed airways are hypothesized to contribute to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis due to RA-related autoantibody production, and smoking is the strongest environmental RA risk factor. However, the role of chronic airway diseases in RA development is unclear. We investigated whether asthma or COPD were associated with RA. METHODS We performed a prospective cohort study of 205,153

Type I interferon (IFN) responses are broadly associated with autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Given the cardinal role of autoantibodies in SLE, this study was undertaken to investigate whether the findings of a B cell–specific IFN assay correlate with SLE activity.

Interleukin‐17A (IL‐17A) and TNFα contribute to the pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, their functional relationship in PsA synovitis has not been fully elucidated. In addition, although CD8+ T‐cells in PsA have been recognized as a source of IL‐17A using flow cytometry, it is not clear whether CD8+ T‐cells secrete IL‐17A under more physiological conditions. Clarifying these issues

OBJECTIVES To investigate effect of therapies on radiographic progression in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). METHODS Comprehensive database search for studies assessing radiographic progression in axSpA (particular treatment vs. no treatment of interest) was performed. Study-specific standardized mean differences were estimated and combined using random-effects model. RESULTS Twenty four studies were

Autoimmune disease is an emerging condition among persons exposed to the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center (WTC). Components of the dust cloud resulting from the collapse of the WTC have been associated with development of a systemic autoimmune disease, as has posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We undertook this study to determine whether dust exposure and PTSD were associated

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab through 1 year in a phase II trial in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

In systemic sclerosis (SSc) a persistent tissue repair process leads to progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. The role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which characteristically initiate and regulate tissue repair, has not been fully evaluated. We sought to investigate whether dividing metakaryotic MSCs are present in SSc skin, and test whether exposure to the disease microenvironment

Increased protein phosphatase magnesium‐dependent 1A (PPM1A) levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis regulate osteoblast differentiation in bony ankylosis; however, the potential mechanisms that regulate osteoclast differentiation in relation to abnormal bone formation remain unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship of PPM1A to osteoclast differentiation by generating

Genetic variants in the region of tumor necrosis factor–induced protein 3–interacting protein 1 (TNIP1) are associated with autoimmune disease and reduced TNIP1 gene expression. The aim of this study was to define the functional genetic mechanisms driving TNIP1 hypomorphic expression imparted by the systemic lupus erythematosus–associated TNIP1 H1 risk haplotype.

OBJECTIVE In gout, autoinflammatory responses to urate crystals promote acute arthritis flares. Tophi, chronic synovitis, and erosion pathogeneses are less well understood. Defining epigenomic immunity training can reveal novel pathogenesis factors and biomarkers. Here, gout epigenome-wide analyses seminally probed differential DNA methylation. METHODS San Diego gout cohort (n=16, n=14 healthy controls)

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) and ischemic digital lesions (DL) are two scleroderma vascular outcomes that in cross‐sectional studies are associated with abnormalities in biomarkers of angiogenesis. The clinical usefulness of these biomarkers is unknown in part due to lack of data on longitudinal measurement.

OBJECTIVE Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by pain and fatigue, particularly during physical activity. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) activates endogenous pain inhibitory mechanisms. We evaluated if using TENS during activity would improve movement-evoked pain and other patient-reported outcomes in women with FM. METHODS Participants were randomly assigned to receive active-TENS

To define the relationship of synovial B cells to clinical phenotypes at different stages of disease evolution and drug exposure in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

While the Western world now takes on a viral pandemic, the news‐cycle and constant reminders to wash your hands and avoid touching your face might drive anyone to reach in the fridge for a beer. It is “Corona time,” but unfortunately it is the virus of which we speak. At the time of this writing (early March 2020), there are many more questions than answers. It is clear that the virus is at least as

Publication bias undermines the principle of scientific integrity. As generally understood, publication bias refers to selective reporting of positive trial results and non‐reporting of negative results. However, subtler forms of publication bias also constitute a threat to a balanced understanding of trial results. The anifrolumab story constitutes an illustrative case in point.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by fibrosis, vascular disease and inflammation. Adenosine signaling plays a central role in fibroblast activation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of adenosine depletion with pegylated adenosine deaminase (PEG‐ADA) in preclinical models of SSc.

Dr. Arend was born in Utica, New York on August 24, 1937 and grew up exploring, hunting, and fishing the lakes and forests of the Adirondacks in upstate New York. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree (Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa) from Williams College. During his career, Dr. Arend often sought out younger individuals who shared the same undergraduate education and experiences to recount the importance

The increased availability of highly effective, treatments in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) necessitates a re‐examination of study designs evaluating new treatments. The objective of this manuscript is to discuss possible specifications and considerations of non‐inferiority (NI) trials assessing drug effects in RA.

A 56‐year‐old woman with a previous history for a dermatomyositis/scleroderma overlap with positive PM‐Scl 75/100 kDa was admitted due to a severe myopathy flare. Her disease had been characterized by Raynaud’s phenomenon, extensive calcinosis cutis, mild interstitial lung disease, creatine kinase elevation and proximal muscle weakness.

Sjӧgren’s syndrome (SS) patients have an increased risk to develop malignant B‐cell lymphoma, particularly mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Previously, we have shown that a proportion of salivary gland MALT lymphomas express somatically hypermutated IgM with strong homology to stereotypic rheumatoid factors (RFs). In a larger cohort of SS‐associated MALT lymphomas, we here more firmly

Synovial membrane inflammation is common in osteoarthritis (OA) and increases cartilage injury. However, synovial fluid and histology studies suggest that OA inflammatory responses are not homogeneous. Greater understanding of these responses may provide new insights into OA disease mechanisms. We undertook this study to develop a novel multiparameter approach to phenotype synovial responses in knee

To characterize the ecological effects of biologic therapies on the gut bacterial and fungal microbiome in psoriatic arthritis (PsA)/spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common inflammatory arthritis in children; however, an aggressive, erosive arthritis of little‐known immunologic mechanism occurs 20 times more frequently in children with Down syndrome. This study was undertaken to characterize T cell and B cell polyreactivity, follicular helper T (Tfh) cell, peripheral helper T (Tph) cell, and Treg cell responses, and

To provide reference data regarding frequency and safety of elective termination of pregnancy (ETOP) in women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) followed in two referral databases.

Autoimmune responses to DNA topoisomerase‐I (TOP1) are found in a subset of patients with scleroderma at high risk for interstitial lung disease (ILD) and mortality. Anti‐TOP1 antibodies (ATA) are associated with specific HLA‐DRB1 alleles, and the frequency of HLA‐DR‐restricted TOP1‐specific CD4+ T cells is associated with the presence, severity, and progression of ILD. Although this strongly implicates

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common spondyloarthropathy primarily affecting the axial skeleton and strongly associated with HLA‐B*27 carriage. Genetic evidence implicates both autoinflammatory processes and autoimmunity against a HLA‐B*27‐restricted autoantigen in immunopathology. Additional to articular symptoms, up to 70% of AS patients present with concurrent bowel inflammation, suggesting that

This study aimed to elucidate the role of decorin, a small leucine‐rich proteoglycan, in the degradation of cartilage matrix during the progression of post‐traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA).

NF‐κB–dependent signaling is an important modulator in osteoarthritis (OA), and G protein–coupled receptor kinase 5 (GRK5) regulates the NF‐κB pathway. This study was undertaken to investigate the functional involvement of GRK5 in OA pathogenesis.

Diagnostic assessment in giant cell arteritis (GCA) is rapidly changing as vascular imaging becomes more available. This study was undertaken to determine if clinical GCA subsets have distinct profiles or reflect differential diagnostic assessments.

Memory stem T (Tscm) cells are long‐lived, self‐renewing T cells that play a relevant role in immunologic memory. This study was undertaken to investigate whether Tscm cells accumulate in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Obesity and osteoarthritis (OA) are 2 major public health issues affecting millions of people worldwide. Whereas parental obesity affects the predisposition to diseases such as cancer or diabetes in children, transgenerational influences on musculoskeletal conditions such as OA are poorly understood. This study was undertaken to assess the intergenerational effects of a parental/grandparental high‐fat

We thank Dr Karim, MY for his interest in and kind comments on our study (1), in which we reported a low rate (i.e. 7 out of 700; 1%) of patients who required immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IGRT) for recurrent infections despite treatment with prophylactic antibiotics and/or hypogammaglobulinemia during rituximab (RTX) therapy in our cohort. This rate was the lowest compared to other published

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and variable disease course in which the severity of pathology dictates the disease prognosis and course. Among autoimmune rheumatic diseases, SSc carries the highest mortality, but there are exciting new therapeutic targets that appear to halt the progression of SSc manifestations such as skin or

The NLR family pyrin domain‐containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is closely linked to the pathophysiology of a wide range of inflammatory diseases. We aimed to identify small molecules that directly bind to NLRP3 to develop pharmacological interventions for NLRP3‐related diseases.

I would like to congratulate Md Yusof et al (1) on an excellent, large‐scale study, focusing attention to an important but underestimated clinical problem in autoimmune rheumatic disease patients (AIRD) treated with B‐cell targeted therapies (BCTT). Their data confirms that secondary hypogammaglobulinemia can be an important clinical problem in this group. The commitment of the clinicians in following

Genome‐wide gene expression studies implicate macrophages as mediators of fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc), but little is known about how these cells contribute to fibrotic activation in SSc. Here, we characterized the activation profile of SSc patient monocyte‐derived macrophages and assessed their interaction with SSc patient fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE To identify long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with the inflammatory phenotype of synovial fibroblasts from obese patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and to explore the expression and function of these lncRNAs. METHODS Synovium was collected from normal-weight patients with hip fracture (non-OA; n = 6) and from normal-weight (n = 8) and obese (n = 8) patients with hip OA. Expression

We thank Dr. Vuilleumier for his interest in our review paper on high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and his comments on anti-apolipoprotein A-1 (apoA-1) autoantibodies. Dr. Vuilleumier raises an important point that the prevalence of high anti-apoA-1 IgG levels is not specific to SLE, which we fully agree with. The prevalence of anti-apoA-1 autoantibodies in different

In their letter, Dr. Schoemaker et al. highlight the importance of patient and parent involvement in the development of treatment guidelines using an example from the guideline recently developed by the Paediatric Association of The Netherlands. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the team members involved in the recent ACR/Arthritis Foundation (AF) guideline agree that parents and patients

I read with great interest the literature review proposed by Kim SY and colleagues in the Journal issue dedicated to the role of HDL as potential disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (1) and felt that the part dedicated to anti-apoA-I autoantibodies would certainly benefit from the following comments.

OBJECTIVES In juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), a heterogeneous systemic immune-mediated vasculopathy, we aim to 1) identify inflammation/endothelial dysfunction-related biomarker profiles reflecting disease severity at diagnosis; 2) establish if biomarker profiles can predict response to treatment. METHODS 39 markers related to endothelial activation, dysfunction and inflammation were measured in treatment-naive

OBJECTIVE To identify the extent to which opioid prescribing rates for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) varied in the U.S. and to determine the implications of baseline opioid prescribing rates on future probability of chronic opioid use. METHODS We identified patients with RA from physicians who contributed ≥10 patients within the first 12 months of participation in the Consortium of Rheumatology

OBJECTIVE To test whether the presence of structural entheseal lesions in psoriasis patients influences the risk for the progression to psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS Prospective cohort study on psoriasis patients without clinical evidence of musculoskeletal involvement receiving baseline assessment of structural entheseal lesions and volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) at entheseal and intra-articular

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the first-line pharmacotherapy for patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA). In recent years, treatment options have expanded with the availability of biologic agents, including tumor necrosis factor inhibitors and interleukin-17 inhibitors. However, a treatment strategy that clearly prevents syndesmophyte formation has not been established. Observational

OBJECTIVE To develop an evidence-based guideline on contraception, assisted reproductive technologies (ART), fertility preservation with gonadotoxic therapy, use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT), pregnancy assessment and management, and medication use in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD). METHODS We conducted a systematic review of evidence relating to contraception

We confirm that there are was no financial support or other benefits from commercial sources for the work reported on in the manuscript, or any other financial interests that any of the authors may have, which could create a potential conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest with regard to the work.

OBJECTIVE To compare achievement of remission in two early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treat-to-target (TTT) cohorts, one tight control cohort targeting stringent remission in a randomized controlled strategy trial and one observational cohort targeting a looser definition of remission in clinical practice. METHODS We analyzed data from the ARCTIC trial and the NOR-VEAC observational study. Both were

OBJECTIVES To determine the associations between race (black versus nonblack) and the presence of radiographic, symptomatic, and clinical hand osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS Using the Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort with available hand radiographs (n=4,699, black subjects n=849[18.1%], nonblack subjects n=3,850[81.9%]), propensity score-matching method was used to select black and nonblack subjects

OBJECTIVE To study the involvement of Treg cells expressing tumor necrosis factor receptor type II (TNFRII) in exerting control of inflammation in experimental models and in the response to anti-TNF treatments in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondyloarthritis (SpA). METHODS The role of TNFRII in Treg cells was explored using a multilevel translational approach. Treg cell stability was

OBJECTIVE To assess if microstructural bone lesions in RA at-risk individuals are related to the spectrum of anti-modified protein antibodies (AMPA) and affect the risk to develop RA. METHODS Cortical micro-channels (CoMiCs) as well as cortical and trabecular bone volumes were analyzed by high-resolution computed tomography in the hand joints of RA at-risk individuals. Anti-modified protein antibody

OBJECTIVE Distinguishing aortitis-induced aneurysms from non-inflammatory aortic aneurysms is difficult and often incidentally diagnosed on histology after surgical repair. This study examined surgically diagnosed aortitis and identified patient characteristics and imaging findings associated with the disease. METHODS In this case-control study, cases had biopsy proven, newly-diagnosed, non-infectious