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Various clinical and immunological phenotypes of systemic sclerosis (SS) differ in the frequency and severity of manifestations of the disease, the progression of damage to internal organs, and prognosis. The detection rate of anti-U1-ribonucleoprotein (RNP) (anti-U1RNP) antibodies in SSD ranges from 5 to 30%. They are found in various rheumatic diseases (SS, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyositis, and Sjo gren’s syndrome) and are associated with a more favorable course, a good response to treatment (in particular, that with glucocorticoids), and a good prognosis. In SS, the clinical and laboratory associations of anti-U1RNP have been insufficiently investigated. Objective: to compare clinical, laboratory, and instrumental findings in patients with SS positive for anti-U1RNP, anti-topoisomerase-I (anti-Scl70), and anticentromere antibodies (ACA). Subjects and methods. Sixty-five anti-U1RNP antibody-positive patients were selected for a study group (Group 1) from the general database of patients who met the 2013 ACR/EULAR criteria for SS and who were followed up at the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology in 2012 to 2017. The comparison groups included 50 anti-Scl70 antibody-positive patients with SS (Group 2) and 50 ACA-positive ones (Group 3). Anti-U1RNP negativity was confirmed in patients of the comparison groups. Results and discussion . Most patients in Groups 1 and 3 had the limited type of SS (88 and 94%, respectively) and a chronic course of the disease (82 and 94%) while Group 2 patients showed an acute and subacute course (52%) and predominantly the diffuse type of SS (58%). All the patients with SS had a higher level of antinuclear factor. The feature of the anti-U1RNP positive group was a preponderance of the limited type of the disease with minimal skin damage concurrent with a more frequent involvement of the musculoskeletal system (damages to the joints (65%) and muscles (43%), as well as with the high rate of damage to internal organs (in particular, the lung, heart, and gastrointestinal tract). The patients of this group exhibited high inflammatory and immunological activities, hematological disorders (hypocomplementemia (15%) and leukopenia (14%)). Sjo gren’s syndrome was detected in one-third of these patients. Conclusion. Further study of anti-U1RNP-positive SS will be able to create a management algorithm and to more clearly define the risks and prognosis of the disease for this group of patients.

Among the patients fulfilling the criteria for systemic sclerosis (SS), there is a subgroup without SS-specific antinuclear antibodies, but positive for anti-ribonucleoprotein (anti-U1 RNP) antibodies. The clinical significance of this type of antinuclear antibodies in SS is not clear. The presence of anti-U1 RNP antibodies is of great interest, since they are not only present in other rheumatic diseases, but are also considered as a marker for mixed connective tissue disease. Objective : to reveal the frequency of anti-U1RNP antibodies in patients with SS and to provide the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients positive for these antibodies. Subjects and methods . 330 patients who fulfilled the 2013 ACR/EULAR criteria for SS and had been followed at the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology from 2012 to 2017 were included. Anti-U1 RNP were determined by enzyme immunoassay (reference values: 0–25 U/ml). Results and discussion . Anti-U1RNP were detected in 65 (19.7%) patients with SS (85% of patients were highly positive; 15% were low-positive). The group included 8 men and 57 women; their mean age was 46±14 years. The disease duration was 11±7.9 years. Skin lesions were minimal; 59 (91%) patients had a limited form of the disease with swelling in the hands (scleredema) in 40% of cases and sclerodactyly in 60%. Raynaud's phenomenon was present in all the patients. One-half of the cases were observed to have peripheral ischemic disorders: digital scars and/or sores (43%), as well as necroses and ulcers of other sites, which were relatively rare (8%). Interstitial lung disease (ILD) was identified in 63% of cases. Elevated pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) ≥40 mm Hg, as shown by echocardiography, was detected in 26% of cases and was associated mainly with the presence of ILD; pulmonary arterial hypertension was confirmed in three patients. Esophageal lesions were found in 61% of patients. One-third of patients had signs of scleroderma cardiopathy. The feature of the group was the common involvement of the locomotor system: joints with arthralgia and/or synovitis in 65% and muscles with mild and moderate myopathy in 43%. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein levels were frequently elevated. The concurrence with Sjo gren's syndrome was common (in one-third of patients). None case of scleroderma renal disease was recorded; the mean values of kidney function were within the normal range; however, the glomerular filtration rate was lower than 80 ml/min/m2 in 17% of patients. All the patients were positive for antinuclear factor (HEp-2); in addition, there was rheumatoid factor (22%), antibodies against Ro/SS-A (41%), La/SS-B (18%), double-stranded DNA (42%), Scl70 (7%), and anticentromere antibodies (9%); 39 out of the 55 (71%) patients who were highly anti-U1 RNP-positive fulfilled the mixed connective tissue disease criteria proposed by R. Kasukawa et al. (1987). Conclusion . The investigation allows one to discuss of the presence of a special phenotype of SS, which is characterized by peculiar clinical manifestations in the presence of anti-U1 RNP overproduction.

The choice of drugs for the treatment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with systemic sclerosis (SS) is currently very limited. Data from a number of studies show that rituximab (RTM) can improve lung function and reduce the severity of skin fibrosis in patients with SS.Objective: to evaluate the efficiency of RTM in a cohort of patients with SS-associated ILD after one-year follow-up. The indications for prescribing RTM were: 1) the inefficiency of standard therapy with glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants (ISs) or the impossibility of their use; 2) the early stage (first 3 years of the disease) with signs of poor prognosis, such as diffuse form, high skin scores (>14), male gender, rapid progression with a significant initial decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) and/or diffusion lung capacity (DLC), and a high anti-Scl-70 antibody positivity.Subjects and methods. The investigators selected a group of patients who had at least two assessment points at a 12-to-18 month interval (the mean follow-up period of 13±2 months) and took at least 1 g of RTM during this period. The investigation included 71 patients with a valid diagnosis of SS. Multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) revealed ILD in 90% of patients. The disease duration was 5.6±4.4 years. The presence of anti-Scl-70 antibodies was detected in 73% of patients. The mean cumulative dose of RTM was 1.43±0.6 g; 48 patients in Group 1 received ≤2 g of RTM (the mean dose, 1.1±0.1 g) and 23 patients in Group 2 took ≥2 g of RTM (mean dose, 2±0.6 g). Before starting treatment with RTM, all the patients received concomitant therapy with prednisone and 45% - with immunosuppressants.Results and discussion. The results assessed by a physician showed that good and moderate effects of the therapy were observed in 52 (73.2%) and 16 (22.6%) patients, respectively; no effect was seen in 3 (4.2%) patients. Overall, 95.8% of patients reported various degrees of improvement. There were significant changes as reductions in the disease activity index, skin scores, C-reactive protein and IgG levels, the number of patients with a high antinuclear antibody level, and the mean dose of prednisolone as well as increases in an oral aperture size, left ventricular ejection fraction, and 6-minute walk test scores. There were no changes in pulmonary artery systolic pressure and the HAQ DI. FVC increased from 77.35±19.9 to 82.6±20.7% (p=0.001). A minimal clinically significant increase in FVC ≥5% was noted in 41 (57.7%) people. The overall improvement in FVC (ΔFVC) reached 5.24%, while the changes were more significant in Group 2 (ΔFVC 8.98%) than in Group 1 (ΔFVC 3.75%; p=0.01). DLC remained stable, but there were significant group differences: ΔDLC was 3.75% in Group 2 and, conversely, decreased in Group 1 (1.6%; p=0005). The safety profile of the therapy was regarded as good and quite comparable with both the safety profile of ISs and the use of RTM in other trials. Infectious complications were recorded to be most common in 11 (15%) people. Of these, upper respiratory tract infections developed in 7 patients; plantar phlegmon occurred in one case; urinary tract infection and herpes zoster were detected in two and one cases, respectively.The results of this study confirm data from other studies that have demonstrated that RTM exerts a positive effect on SS-associated ILD. We were the first to show the association of positive changes in the measures of pulmonary function tests with the dose of RTM.

As of now, there has been a great body of data on the use of rituximab (RTM) in systemic sclerosis (SS), mainly on its positive effect on skin fibrosis and lung injury. However, information is still scarce about the effect of RTM on other organs and systems, namely the heart affected by SS.Objective: to assess the time course of changes in the signs of heart involvement in SS patients one year after initiation of RTM therapy.Subjects and methods. The paper gives data on changes in cardiac disorders in 71 patients with SS one year after the prescription of RTM.Results and discussion. The rate of cardiac rhythm and conduction disorders and diastolic dysfunction was unchanged. At the same time, a significant increase in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) and a reduction in the severity of dyspnea was achieved, which correlated with improved lung function (a significant rise in forced vital capacity). The results of treatment in three patients with predominant heart involvement associated with SS (coronary heart disease and hypertension were ruled out) were considered in detail. These patients displayed pronounced positive changes as increased EF, less severe cardiac arrhythmias, reduced chronic heart failure, better quality of life, as well as the synchronicity of lower disease activity, less skin induction, improved lung function, and stabilized pulmonary artery systolic pressure.Conclusion. RTM in combination with traditional therapy can be considered as a potentially effective drug for the treatment of heart involvement in SS.

Multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) of the chest is the gold standard for confirming interstitial changes in the lung; but the role of this technique in evaluating the efficiency of therapy for systemic sclerosis (SSc) has not been fully defined.Objective: to assess the time course of changes in the lung according to chest MSCT findings and pulmonary function test (PFT) results in SSc patients and interstitial lung disease (ILD) during of active treatment.Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 42 patients with a reliable diagnosis of SSc who had signs of ILD, confirmed by chest MSCT. The patients’ mean age was 48±2 years; the male-to-female ratio was 1:6; that of diffuse-to-localized SSc patients was 1.5:1 (25 and 17); the mean duration of SSc was 6.6±5.9 years. Over time during therapy, forced lung capacity (FVC) and lung diffusing capacity (LDC) were studied and chest MSCT was performed in all the patients at the time of inclusion in the study and after an average of 29±15.3 months (9 to 70 months). A 10% or more change in PFT results was considered to be of clinical significance. During the follow-up period, the patients were treated with rituximab (RTM) at a mean total dose of 2.5±1.3 g (500 mg to 5 g) in combination with glucocorticoids at a mean dose of 11.7±3.9 mg calculated with reference to prednisolone; 10 (24%) patients also received immunosuppressants.Chest MSCT data were analyzed at 5 levels. The magnitude of changes following the pattern seen in frosted glass, honeycomb, and reticular alterations was estimated using a 4-point (0–3 points) scale at each level. The time course of changes in these parameters and PFT results was separately assessed in patients with less and more than 20% of lung tissue injury in Group A (n=13 (31%) and in Group B (n=29 (69%).Results and discussion. Semiquantitative assessment of changes as evidenced by chest MSCT in SSc patients with ILD did not reveal any changes in their total scores. According to a radiologist’s subjective assessment, there were positive and negative MSCT changes in 8 (19%) and 11 (26%) patients, respectively; the changes were present in 23 (55%) patients. A 10% and more increase in FVC was observed in 16 (38%) patients; its decrease was seen in 3 (7%). Positive and negative LDC changes were found in 5 (12%) and 1 (2.4%) patients, respectively. On average, the group showed a significant FVC increase from 73.2±18.8 to 82±21.8% (p=0.000031) and LDC stabilization. None of the patients with positive MSCT changes exhibited FVC deterioration. During therapy, Groups A and B had positive MSCT changes in 5 (38%) and 3 (10%) cases, respectively (p=0.08); no negative changes were noted in Group A while Group B had negative changes in 11 (38%) cases. FVC increased clinically significantly in 6 (46%) patients in Group A and in 10 (34%) in Group B; this decreased in 1 (8%) and 2 (7%) patients, respectively. FVC was significantly higher in Group A than that in Group B both at the time of study inclusion (88.8±18.6 and 65.4±14.5%, respectively; p=0.0002) and in the long-term period (103.3±15.9 and 74.1±18.5%; p=0.0009), while during therapy this increased statistically significantly in both groups (p=0.016 and p=0.0014, respectively). In Groups A and B, the median FVC increments were 10.2 (4.7; 21.9)% and 5.9 (2.75; 14.7)% , respectively (p>0.05). The mean frosted glass score was significantly lower in Group A than that in Group B both at the time of study inclusion (2.9±2.3 and 6.6±2.7; p=0.01) and in the long-term period (1.6±1.4 and 6.4±3.0, respectively; p=0.000006) and this tended to decrease during therapy. A similar pattern was observed with reticular alterations(4.3±2.7 and 8.7±3.2 (p=0.001) and 3.1±2.5 and 8.8±2.0 (p20% of lung tissue injury. During active therapy, the entire group displayed an increase in FVC, as well as LDC stabilization, and their median increments were higher in the patients with an ILD area of

Objective: to estimate frequency of autoantibodies in a cohort of Russian patients with systemic sclerosis (SS) and to investigate clinical associations of these autoantibodies. Subjects and methods. In 2012 to 2015, the investigation enrolled 300 patients (58 men and 242 women) who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) SS criteria. All patients underwent immunological examination including determination of antinuclear antibodies, anti-topoisomerase I (anti-Scl-70) antibodies, anti-centromere antibodies (ACA), anti-U1-ribonucleoprotein antibodies (anti-U1 RNP), and anti-RNP III antibodies. Results and discussion. The vast majority of patients were middle-aged females with moderate disease duration. There was a preponderance of patients with limited cutaneous form (55.3%); 37.4% patients had diffuse SS; 5.9% had overlap syndrome; and

Systemic sclerosis (SS) is a systemic disease, the basis for which is microcirculatory disorders, inflammation, and generalized fibrosis. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the primary manifestations of SS. Assessment of SS activity and severity is hindered as it is very difficult to differentiate fibrous and inflammatory changes that are mostly interrelated and have a similar picture.Objective: to estimate activity index (AI) and total severity index (TSI) for the follow-up of SS patients with different variants of ILD. Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 77 patients with SS and ILD, who were followed up at the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology; their mean age at inclusion was 46±13 years. All the patients underwent high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest and determination of TSI and AI scores at baseline and after an average of 59±12 months. According to the time course of HRCT revealed pulmonary changes over a 5-year follow-up, the patients were divided into 3 groups: 1) patients with improvement (n=16); 2) those without changes (n=39); 3) those with deterioration (n=22). The disease was regarded as active with AI scores of ≥3.Results and discussion. The mean AI scores for the entire patient cohort were low and substantially unchanged during the follow-up period, amounting to 2.1±1.55 and 2.37±1.55 (p > 0.05) at the start and at the end of the investigation, respectively. Following 5 years, only Group 3 showed AI scores of > 3. At inclusion, the groups did not differ in AI scores; however, 5 years later AI became significantly higher in Group 3 than that in Groups 1 and 2 (p = 0.004 and p=0.03, respectively). During the follow-up, TSI remained substantially unchanged and averaged 6.5±2.5 and 6.9±2.3 at inclusion and at the end of the investigation, respectively. Moreover, TSI tended to decline in Groups 1 and 2; but it significantly increased in Group 3 (p = 0.006) and at the end of the investigation it was significantly higher than that in Group 1 (p = 0.002). There was a direct correlation between AI and TSI in the total cohort of patients both at baseline and 5 years later (R = 0.57 and R = 0.53; p < 0.05). Direct correlations were found between the indices within Groups 2 (R = 0.51 and R = 0.37) and 3 (R = 0.67 and R = 0.71) at baseline and at the end of the follow-up, respectively; p < 0.05).Conclusion. In our investigation, AI and TSI reflected the course of ILD in patients with SS. ILD progression, as evidenced by HRCT, was followed by a significant increase in AI and TSI scores; they directly correlated between. Thus, AI and TSI may be used for monitoring progression of the disease.

Systemic sclerosis (SS) is a progressive connective tissue disease, the prognosis of which largely depends on the time of adequate therapy initiation. Low sensitivity of the 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SS classification criteria for identifying patients with early stage of the disease, and with its limited form in particular, has necessitated revision of existing SS diagnostic standards and elaboration of more sensitive criteria that allow to establish the diagnosis when the first sign of the disease appear. Objective: to compare the sensitivity of the novel SS criteria of ACR and European League against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) 2013 and the 1980 ACR criteria in different stages of the disease. Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 302 patients who had been diagnosed by experts as having SS and followed up at the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology in 2007–2013. The patients’ mean age was 49±13 years (18 to 80 years); male to female ratio – 1:9 (31 and 271), that of patients with diffuse and limited SS – 1:2 (105 and 197); mean duration of the disease from the first non-Raynaud’s syndrome was 8.2±7.0 years (6 months to 36 years). Physical examination, nailfold capillaroscopy, chest radiography or computed tomography, echocardiography for the determination of pulmonary artery systolic pressure and SS-specific antibodies evaluation were performed. Results. 273 (90%) patients fulfilled the novel ACR/EULAR 2013 SS criteria. 76 (25%) patients had skin thickening above the metacarpophalangeal (MPC) joints in both hands; 263 (87%) – finger skin thickening [70 (23%) – finger swelling, 192 (64%) – thickening of all fingers distal to the MPC joints], 141 (47%) – digital ischemia [79 (26%) – digital pitting scars, 20 (7%) – digital ulcers, 42 (14%) – digital pitting scars and ulcers], 134 (44%) – telangiectasias, 276 (91%) – capillaroscopic changes, 225 (78%) – pulmonary hypertension (PH) or interstitial lung disease (ILD) [15 (5%) – PH 185 (61%) – ILD, 35 (12%) – ILD and PH], 301 (99%) – Raynaud’s phenomenon, and 185 (61%) – SS autoantibodies [138 (46%) – anti-Scl-70 antibodies (a-Scl-70), 42 (14%) – anti-centromere antibodies (ACA), 5 (1.7%) – ACA and a-Scl-70]. 216 (72%) patients fulfilled 1980 ACR SS criteria, and all of them met the novel criteria. With the latter, SS could be additionally diagnosed in 57 more (18%) patients. Conclusion . The 2013 ACR/EULAR SS classification criteria have much higher sensitivity than the 1980 ACR criteria. The sensitivity of the novel criteria remained at the level of 90% in all, including the earliest, stages of the disease while the ACR criteria allowed to confirm diagnosis of SS in only half of patients with a disease duration of less than 1 year.

Objective: to assess the efficacy and tolerability of Rituximab treatment in patients with serious immune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SS), systemic vasculitis (SV), Sjogren syndrome (SjS), dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM). Subjects and methods. The clinical efficacy has been analyzed in 229 patients with IRD: SLE (n=97), SV (n=50), SS (n=40), SjS (n=23) and DM/PM (n=19). Rituximab treatment was accompanied by administration of glucocorticoids and/or immunosuppressive drugs. Most patients demonstrated resistance to or low tolerability of standard therapy. Efficacy of treatment was analyzed in each group with the criteria relevant for each disease. To compare clinical response to the treatment between the groups we used gradations accepted by international registries: complete (good) response, partial response, no response. Average duration of monitoring comprised 72 (1–288) weeks after the first introduction of Rituximab. Average Rituximab dose administered to patients over the period of monitoring was low and varied from 1.6±0.84 in DM/PM to 3.1±1.75 in SV. About 80% of patients received one or two courses of Rituximab except for patients with SS (half of them received three and more courses). Results. «Complete response» was observed in 50.6%, «partial response» – in 35% of patients. Rituximab courses provided positive dynamics in clinical scores and allowed to reduce supportive dose of glucocorticoids and to lower the dose or withdraw of immune-stimulating drugs. Multiple Rituximab courses provided stable and longlasting effect. Recurrences were observed less frequently, whereas efficacy of the therapy increased during a year and longer. Occurrence of adverse events and mortality rate were comparable to data of other national Rituximab registries. Conclusion. The results of the study may prove administration of Rituximab in patients with resistance to standard therapy

Systemic scleroderma (SSD) is a clinically heterogeneous disease characterized by obliterating microangiopathy, autoimmune activation, and fibrosis of the skin and viscera. Interstitial lung fibrosis (ILF) is a characteristic visceral injury in SSD and considered to be a main cause of disability and death. The diagnosis of SSD-associated ILF is made on the basis of a cluster of symptoms, physical examination, external respiratory function changes, and high-resolution computed tomography. Pulmonary fibrosis is included in the 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria and in the joint ACR and 2013 European League against Rheumatism diagnostic criteria. According to the definition given in these criteria, pulmonary fibrosis in SSD is described as bilateral changes, most pronounced in the basal lung segments, which are not a sign of primary lung disease. The paper describes a case of a SSD patient with a complete spectrum of characteristic signs of unilateral pulmonary fibrosis. This case is the first description of unilateral ILF in SSD and shows the need for ruling out connective tissue diseases, primarily SSD, when such lung changes concurrent with extrapulmonary manifestations are detected.

Objective: to estimate the informative value and reproducibility of ultrasound study (USS) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with scleroderma systematica (SDS) and to compare ultrasound lung comet (ULC) scores with the data of multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) of the lung and its function tests. Subjects and methods. Forty patients with SSD and ILD were examined. According to the extent of lung injury, the patients were divided into two groups: 1) 12 patients with significantly pronounced changes (>20% lung involvement, as evidenced by MSCT); 2) 28 patients with just noticeable changes (

Objective. To study contamination with parvovirus B19 of a group of patients with rheumatic diseases (RD). Methods. 77 pts with RD (mean age 42,5 years, 79% female) admitted to Institute of Rheumatology of RAMS were examined. 34 of them had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 11 - systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjogren's disease (SD), 15 with osteoarthritis (OA) and seronegative spondyloarthritides (SS) and 17 with early (before a year) undifferentiated arthritis (EUA). Quantitative determination of IgM and IgG serum antibodies to parvovirus BI9 was performed by I FA with IBL kits (Hamburg, Germany). Results. Anti-B19 IgG antibodies were found in 52% of pts, IgM antibodies - only in one case. Mean antibodies values in pts with RD of disease duration less then 6 months were significantly higher then in pts with longer disease duration (21,5+36 U/ml and 8,4+14.7 U/ml respectively, p