Autoimmune Medical News for May 2009

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May 2009

Etanercept in the Longterm Treatment of Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis. For 2 years, etanercept was clinically effective and well tolerated, with no unexpected safety findings. B. Dijkmans. J. Rheum. April 2009, 36 (4). (Also see: Ankylosing Spondylitis)

Systematic review of hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) use in pregnant patients with autoimmune diseases. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of congenital defects, spontaneous abortions, number of live births, fetal death and pre-maturity in women with autoimmune diseases taking HCQ during pregnancy. It found that HCQ is not associated with any increased risk of congenital defects, spontaneous abortions, fetal death, pre-maturity and decreased numbers of live births in patients with auto-immune diseases. Kirk Sperber Pediatric Rheumatology 13 May 2009. (Also see: Plaquenil and Pregnancy and Medications)

Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetes Mellitus. Premature ejaculation and reduced libido are conditions commonly associated with diabetic ED and should be identified and treated. (IngentaConnect) L.S. Malavige. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2009;6:1232-1247. (Also see: Symptoms and Complications of Diabetes)

Pulmonary Manifestations of Sjögren's Syndrome. The histopathologic patterns of Primary Sjögren's Syndrome associated Interstitial Lung Disease included lung interstitial involvement and small airway involvement or both. Corticosteroid therapy combined with cyclophosphamide was administered with a favorable response in the majority of patients. (Karger) Ju-Hong Shi. Respiration. April 22 2009. (Also see: Sjögren's)

Systemic Autoimmune Diseases (SAD) in Patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection: Characterization of 1020 Cases (The HISPAMEC Registry). In the selected cohort, the SAD most commonly reported in association with chronic HCV infection were Sjögren’s syndrome (nearly half the cases), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. M. Ramos-Casals. J. Rheum. April 15, 2009. (Also see: Sjogren's, RA, and Lupus).

Increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): a nationwide population-based study. Women with RA had increased risk of low birthweight, small for gestational age babies, preeclampsia, and cesarean section, compared with unaffected women. H. Ching Lin. Ann Rheum Dis. April 29 2009. (Also see: Autoimmunity and Pregnancy and Rheumatoid Arthritis)

RA Patients Could Be Hard Hit By Swine Flu. “This is a serious infection and people with rheumatic and autoimmune diseases taking immunosuppressant agents are at high risk for infections and for the infections to be severe, so they are definitely at higher risk for swine flu [and swine flu-related mortality],” warned Eric Matteson, MD, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. D.M. Kleinman. Musculoskeletal Report. April 28 2009. (Also see: Warnings and Risks of Immunosuppressants)

Undifferentiated connective tissue disease: a seven-center cross-sectional study of 184 patients. The purpose of this study was to characterize the clinical and serological features of a large cohort of patients with antinuclear antibody (ANA) positive undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD). Seventy-two percent of these UCTD patients present lupus-, scleroderma-, or Sjögren-like features but do not fulfill classification criteria and mostly present a mild disease. C. C. Vaz. Clinical Rheumatology. 24 April 2009 (Also see: Autoantibodies and Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease)

Concomitant diseases in a cohort of patients with idiopathic myositis (IIM) during long-term follow-up. There is significant steroid-related morbidity in adult IIM patients under long-term follow-up. The prevalence of another concomitant auto-immune disease unlike patients with lupus or Sjogren's syndrome is low. (SpringerLink) K.P. Ng. Clinical Rheumatology. April 23 2009. (Also see: Myositis)

Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy (IVIG) for Refractory Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Associated with Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis (PM/DM). IVIG treatment is safe and could be an effective salvage therapy for refractory ILD-PM/DM in certain cases. (SpringerLink) Y.Suzuki. Lung. April 22 2009. (Also see: Dermatomyositis/Polymyositis)