Activation of the complement cascade is thought to play a role in scleroderma vasculopathy. We previously showed that complement factor D was elevated in patients with limited cutaneous SSc and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In this study, we sought to assess multiple relevant components of the complement cascade to determine if they are altered in SSc-PAH, as well as their potential utility as biomarkers of disease severity and progression.
Complement components (n = 14) were measured using multiplex assays in 156 patients with SSc-PAH from a multi-site repository and were compared to 33 patients with SSc without PAH, and 40 healthy controls. Data were evaluated for correlations between complement levels, right heart catheterization measures, and clinical endpoints including 6-minute walk distance. To assess complement longitudinally, serum complement levels were assayed at 0, 4, 12, 24, 36 and 48 weeks in 52 SSc-PAH patients who participated in a prior clinical trial.
We found that factor D was significantly elevated in SSc-PAH compared to SSc without PAH (p < 0.0001) and was highly sensitive and specific for SSc-PAH (AUC=0.82, p < 0.001). In SSc-PAH patients, alterations in factor H, C4, and factor D were associated with measures of PAH disease severity including right heart catheterization measurements (cardiac output, right atrial pressure, and VO2 max), survival, and 6-minute walk distance. No significant changes in complement levels or clinical associations were seen over time or associated with treatment in the longitudinal clinical trial study.
Our work confirms prior studies demonstrating a role for complement activation in SSc vascular disease and elevations of factor D in a large SSc-PAH population. Further, factor H and other complement factors are associated with severity of PAH including mortality. Taken together, these findings suggest that the alternative complement pathway plays a role in SSc-PAH pathogenesis and may serve as a biomarker to inform diagnosis and prognosis.
To review the evidence on barriers and facilitators to application of treat-to-target (T2T) in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in daily practice.
A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE/Embase up to December 2023, focusing on axSpA/PsA. Any type of quantitative/qualitative original research was eligible for inclusion if barriers or facilitators to application of T2T were explored. In a qualitative synthesis, barriers/facilitators were classified by the level to which they apply (healthcare provider [HCP], patient, organisation).
Of 28 included studies, most focused on PsA (n = 21/28). Studies included patients (n = 23/28), HCP (n = 4/28) or both (n = 1/28). In total, over 25 barriers and 15 facilitators to application of T2T were identified. At the HCP level, most studies focused on the measurement of the target, especially in PsA, highlighting that agreement among instruments was suboptimal. At the patient level, the role of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), while deemed relevant, was shown to act as a barrier to achieve targets that included PRO components. At the organisational level, the increased time and resources needed for T2T were considered a barrier, although it was noted that T2T could also reduce healthcare use and sick leave. Notably, for several components, no facilitators were identified at all.
Various barriers and facilitators were identified, acting on several levels. Data in axSpA were scarce, as was evidence on certain components of T2T. Future research should address these knowledge gaps and explore how these barriers and facilitators could be targeted to improve application of T2T in practice.
Although a relationship between osteoarthritis and components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been suggested, most of the results have been cross-sectional. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the sex-specific longitudinal association of (components of) MetS with progression of radiographic osteoarthritis and chronic pain in the knee joints in a large prospective cohort.
In the large population-based Rotterdam study of up to 6,138 individuals, median follow-up time 5.7 (IQR 5.5) years, we examined the relation between MetS and its components (abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein, elevated blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes) with the progression of osteoarthritis using generalized estimating equations, generalized linear models and competing risk analysis. Analyses were stratified for sex. Covariates adjusted for: age, smoking, alcohol use, education, sub-cohort, baseline K/L grade, months between radiographs and BMI.
The presence of MetS (37.6 % in men, 39 % in women) and elevated blood pressure was associated with an increased risk of knee osteoarthritis progression in both men and women. MetS was associated with an increased risk of incident chronic knee pain (CKP) in men. In addition, abdominal obesity and high triglycerides showed higher riskfor incidence of CKP in men,but not in women. The associations were attenuated and no longer significant after BMI-adjustment, except for the association of MetS and high triglycerides with incidence of CKP in men that stayed significant (OR 1.04, 95 %CI 1.00–1.07 for MetS and OR 1.04, 95 %CI 1.01–1.07 for high triglycerides).
Metabolic syndrome and individual metabolic components, such as abdominal obesity and elevated blood pressure, were associated with radiographic progression of knee OA in both men and women, but not independent of BMI. Metabolic syndrome and high triglycerides were associated with incidence of CKP only in men.
To validate the ankle-specific Pediatric Arthritis Ultrasound Scoring System (PAUSS-ankle) in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Patients with a diagnosis of JIA prospectively underwent a standard clinical assessment and musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) of one or both ankles. B-mode and Power-Doppler mode MSUS images were acquired and scored according to the PAUSS-ankle protocol. A subset of patients received a contrast-enhanced MRI (ceMRI) of the affected ankle. ceMRI scoring for synovitis was performed according to the Rheumatoid Arthritis MRI System (RAMRIS). Test characteristics of the PAUSS-ankle scores were evaluated with ceMRI as reference. Associations between the findings on physical examination, PAUSS-ankle, and RAMRIS were investigated.
Thirty-two patients with JIA contributed 63 MSUS and 15 ceMRIs of the ankles. The PAUSS-ankle total B-mode score had a moderate correlation with physical examination findings (correlation (r)=0.43, p < 0.001). The PAUSS-ankle B-mode score ≥1 exhibited a sensitivity of 79 % and specificity of 100 %, demonstrating excellent diagnostic accuracy with an area under the curve (AUC)= 0.89 (confidence intervals, CI, 0.78–1.00) while clinical assessment had a sensitivity of 57 % and AUC= 0.71 (CI: 0.58–0.85). The PAUSS-ankle B-mode score had significant strong correlations (r = 0.68–0.90, p < 0.005) with the RAMRIS for the assessment of disease severity for each joint area and the ankle joint as a whole.
Our findings demonstrate excellent diagnostic accuracy of the PAUSS-ankle in detecting the presence and severity of ankle synovitis when compared to ceMRI. The PAUSS-ankle holds significant promise as an accurate measurement that may complement current clinical standards.