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Objectives: The mean age at onset of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) ranges between the 4th-6th decades of life. However, little is known about fertility and pregnancy outcome in PsA patients. The aim of this study was to examine whether fertility and pregnancy outcome of PsA patients are different from healthy controls and to evaluate PsA and psoriasis disease activity perception during pregnancy and the year postpartum.Methods: A questionnaire-based study, including demographic, fertility, pregnancy outcome, and disease activity questions, was conducted in PsA patients and healthy controls. The inclusion criterion was diagnosis of PsA before at least 1 pregnancy. Descriptive statistics are provided. T tests and Pearson chi-square tests were used to analyze the differences between continuous and categorical variables, respectively.Results: The 74 PsA patients and 74 healthy controls were not significantly different in most of the demographic variables. The mean number of pregnancies, children, and infertility diagnosis were not significantly different between the groups. The pregnancy outcomes in the PsA group (n = 151) and in the control group (n = 189) were similar in: live birth (76% vs. 76%, P = 0.3), vaginal delivery (48% vs. 51%, P = 0.6), gestation age (38.5 vs. 38.3, P = 0.3), weight at birth (3.4 kg vs. 3.4 kg, P = 0.5), low rate of maternal and fetal complications, and the duration and rate of breastfeeding. Most (58%) patients reported favorable joint activity during pregnancy and 50% reported worsening during the 1st postpartum year.Conclusions: PsA patients do not have more infertility or worse pregnancy outcomes compared to healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the magnitude of risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) compared with the general population through a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Methods: We searched the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases, as well as abstracts archives from rheumatology conferences. Observational studies that included a PsA diagnosis, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular outcomes, and a comparison group of individuals without psoriasis and rheumatic diseases and were case-control, cross-sectional, or cohort studies, were assessed by 2 researchers. We calculated weighted pooled summary estimates of the maximally adjusted effect size estimates for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases using the random-effects model, and tested for heterogeneity using the I2 statistic.Results: Eleven studies, comprising 32,973 patients with PsA, met the inclusion criteria. There was a 43% increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in patients with PsA compared with the general population (pooled odds ratio [OR] 1.43 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.24-1.66]). The risk of incident cardiovascular events was increased by 55% (pooled OR 1.22-1.96). Morbidity risks for myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular diseases, and heart failure were increased by 68%, 22%, and 31%, respectively (pooled OR 1.68 [95% CI 1.31-2.15], pooled OR 1.22 [95% CI 1.05-1.41], and pooled OR 1.31 [95% CI 1.11-1.55], respectively). We identified significant heterogeneity in all main analyses (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity are increased by 43% and 22%, respectively, in patients with PsA compared with the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To define and identify a group of systemic lupus erythematosus patients with low disease activity (LDA) and to examine whether LDA is similar to patients in remission and different from a high disease activity group (HDA) in short-term outcomes.Methods: The LDA group was defined as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) <3, including only 1 clinical manifestation of rash, alopecia, mucosal ulcers, pleurisy, pericarditis, fever, thrombocytopenia, or leukopenia. The patients could be taking antimalarials. Remission was defined as no clinical manifestation from taking antimalarials alone, and the HDA group was defined as SLEDAI-2K >6. The time frame for inclusion in each group was at least 1 year.Results: Of 620 patients with active disease who were seen between 1970 and 2015, 80 patients (12.9%) fulfilled the criteria for LDA, 191 (30.8%) for remission, and 349 (56.3%) for HDA. The LDA patients with and without positive serology results were similar at baseline and with prior disease characteristics. After 2 years of followup, the LDA and remission groups were similar in their adjusted mean SLEDAI-2K score, organ involvement, The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI) score, mortality, and therapies. After 2 and 4 years of followup, the HDA group had a higher adjusted mean SLEDAI-2K score, more major organ involvement, a higher SDI score, higher mortality, and more therapy compared to the combined LDA/remission groups.Conclusion: LDA and remission groups had similar short-term outcomes, and both had better outcomes and prognosis than the HDA group. LDA may be used as an outcome measure in therapeutic trials or in treat-to-target regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the impact of glucocorticoids (GCs) and anti-rheumatic drugs on the lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) and on programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) expression on synovial and peripheral cells ex-vivo., Methods: Synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) from psoriatic arthritis (PsA, n = 26) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 13) patients, SFCs from osteoarthritis (OA, n = 5) patients and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy donors (n = 14) were co-cultured with GCs, glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486, methotrexate (MTX) and biologics. LAG-3 and PD-1 expressions on immune subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry., Results: GCs in PsA inhibited SFMCs growth vs medium (2.3 ± 0.4X105  vs 5.3 ± 0.7X105, respectively, p < 0.01) and markedly upregulated CD14+LAG-3+ cells (11.7 ± 2.4% vs 0.8 ± 0.3%, p < 0.0001, respectively), but not CD3+LAG-3+ and CD14+PD-1+ cells. MTX had no effect on CD14+LAG-3+ cells (0.7 ± 0.3%). The TNFi inhibitors, infliximab (IFX) and etanercept, but not IL-12/23i, upregulated CD14+LAG-3+ cells vs medium (2.0 ± 0.6% and 1.6 ± 0.4% vs 0.5 ± 0.1%, p < 0.03, respectively). SFMCs growth inhibition in both PsA and RA correlated with CD14+LAG-3+ cell upregulation (r = 0.53, p = 0.03). RU486 inhibited GC-induced CD14+LAG-3+ cell up-regulation in a dose-dependent manner compared with GC alone (5µM 5.3 ± 1.2% and 50µM 1.3 ± 0.5% vs 7.0 ± 1.4%, p < 0.003), but had no significant effect on CD14+LAG-3+ cells co-cultured with IFX. GCs in healthy donors' PBMCs upregulated the immune subsets CD3+LAG-3+, CD14+LAG-3+ and CD14+PD-1+ cells., Conclusion: This study proposes a novel regulatory mechanism of GCs and of TNFi mediated by LAG-3 upregulation in synovial monocytes and PBMCs. LAG-3 modulation may be a promising target for development of novel therapies for inflammatory arthritis., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: Synovial monocytes (expressing CD14+CD16+) affect pro-inflammatory responses in the synovium microenvironment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The effect of various drugs on those cells was evaluated., Methods: Synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs) from PsA (n=29) and RA (n=11) patients were cultured with biologics or glucocorticoids (GCs). CD14+CD16+ cells were analysed by flow cytometry. TNF secretion was assessed by ELISA and changes in cytokine and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) mRNA by qPCR., Results: TNF inhibitors (i) [adalimumab (ADA) and infliximab (IFX)] significantly reduced the %CD14+CD16+ cells (p<0.04 and p<0.02, respectively) compared to IL-17Ai, IL-12/23i, and GCs in PsA patients' SFMCs. Similarly, those TNFi reduced the %CD14+CD16+ cells (p<0.05 and p<0.02, respectively) compared to IL-6Ri, CD20i and GCs in RA patients' SFMCs. TNFi (ADA p<0.01, IFX p=0.0003), and GCs (p<0.05) reduced TNF levels in PsA patients SFMCs supernatants. IFX down-regulated IL-1β mRNA (p<0.005) while GCs betamethasone (BET) (p<0.01) and methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) (p<0.005) led to IL-1β up-regulation. IFX down-regulated IL-8 and MMP-9 (p<0.01) and up-regulated IL-10 (p<0.005), and GCs did so to a greater extent (for IL-8, BET p<0.0001 and MPA p<0.005, for MMP-9, BET and MPA p<0.0001 and for IL-10, BET and MPA p<0.0001)., Conclusions: TNFi but not GCs reduced the inflammatory monocytes. Both TNFi and GCs inhibited TNF secretion but differently modulated IL-1β, IL-8, MMP-9 and IL-10 gene expression. Our data point to TNFi as a modulator of synovial monocytes.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease (AIIRD) patients, and to define clinical factors associated with seropositivity., Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at a tertiary rheumatology department in Israel. Consecutive patients completed a questionnaire and were tested for SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleoprotein IgG (N-IgG). If this was positive, an anti-S1/S2 spike IgG (S-IgG) test was done. If both were positive, the patient was considered seropositive. Seropositive patients were retested after 3 months., Results: The study included 572 AIIRD patients. Thirty patients were found seropositive, for a seroprevalence of 5.24%. The seropositive rate was significantly lower for patients treated with immunosuppressive medications (3.55%, p≤0.01), and specifically for patients treated with biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) (2.7%, p≤0.05). These associations remained significant in the multivariate regressions adjusting for age, sex and exposure to a known COVID-19 patient. A second serology test 3 months later was collected in 21 of the 30 seropositive patients. In a mean±standard deviation (SD) of 166.63±40.76 days between PCR and second serology, 85% were still positive for N-IgG, and 100% were still positive for S-IgG, with a higher mean±SD titre compared to the first S-IgG (166.77±108.77 vs. 132.44±91.18, respectively, p≤0.05)., Conclusions: Humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 in AIIRD patients may be affected be immunosuppressive treatment, especially bDMARDs. In patients with AIIRD, titres of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, especially N-IgG antibodies, fade with time, while S-IgG antibodies persist.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of autoantibodies to cyclic citrullinated synthetic peptides (ACPAs) in the sputum of patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Methods: Nineteen consecutive RA patients and 16 age- and sex-matched control subjects participated in this cross-sectional study. All underwent complete lung function tests and provided induced sputum. Antibodies to citrullinated (CitP) and the corresponding norleucine-containing (NorP) peptides in the sputum of the RA patients and control subjects, as well as in the serum of the RA patients, were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Results: Patients with RA had the following characteristics: mean disease duration of 12 years, Disease Activity Score for 28 joints of 3.44, and Sharp-van der Heijde score of 57.5. Ten of the 19 RA patients showed high titers of ACPAs in their sera. Four of the seropositive (40%), none of the seronegative RA patients, and only 1 of the control subjects showed detectable levels of ACPAs in their sputum. The ratio between the reactivity with CitP and NorP peptides in the sputum was significantly higher in RA sputum than in control sputum (1.33 ± 1.2 vs. 0.64 ± 0.14, P = 0.02). A positive correlation was found between sputum ACPAs and age, serum ACPAs, sputum anti-NorP, serum anti-CitP/NorP reactivity ratio, and the proportion of neutrophils and lymphocytes in the sputum. No significant correlation was found between sputum ACPAs and disease severity, history of smoking, lung function tests, or treatment for RA., Conclusions: Anticitrullinated protein/peptide antibodies can be detected in the sputum of RA patients and are correlated with the presence in the serum.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the immunogenicity and safety of vaccination against seasonal influenza in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and psoriasis (Pso) patients., Methods: Patients with PsA or Pso and healthy controls were vaccinated with the Sanofi Pasteur vaccine recommended by the WHO in 2012. Clinical and laboratory assessments were performed on the day of the vaccination and 4-6 weeks later. The immunogenicity of the vaccine was evaluated by haemagglutination inhibition assay., Results: The study included 63 consecutive PsA patients and 4 Pso patients (mean age 50.1, 37 females, 30 males, 55.2% treated with tumour necrosis factor alpha blockers [TNF-α], 31.3% on disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs [DMARDs]) and 30 healthy controls. The geometric mean titers increased significantly in all participants for each of the subtypes tested. A substantial and similar proportion of patients in both groups responded to the vaccine. The response rate was not affected by parameters such as age, gender, disease activity or the use of TNF-α blockers or DMARDs. There were no significant changes in the patients' 68 tender and 66 swollen joint counts, dactylitis, PASI, global evaluation of the patient and physician and ESR, while there was a rise in CRP levels., Conclusions: Vaccination against seasonal influenza is safe and induces an appropriate response in patients with PsA, similar to healthy controls.