Autoimmune Medical News by Date

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January 2010

Pregnancy outcome in different clinical phenotypes of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Women with thrombotic APS have higher rates of pregnancy complications than those with obstetric APS. (SageJournals) K. Bramham. Lupus, Vol. 19, No. 1, 58-64 (2010). (Also see: Complications of APS)

Sarcoidosis in World Trade Center Rescue Workers Presenting With Rheumatologic Manifestations. We describe 2 cases of sarcoidosis in rescue workers with significant exposure from the World Trade Center collapse, who presented with extrapulmonary rheumatologic manifestations. B. Bowers, D.O. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. January 2010.Volume 16. Issue 1. pp 26-27. (Also see: Causes of Sarcoidosis)

Development of sarcoidosis following etanercept treatment: a report of three cases. We present three patients who developed sarcoidosis while on etanercept treatment, and discuss if possible differences in cytokine profiles and T regulatory cell function in patients taking different TNF-α inhibitors may explain this paradox. (SpringerLink) I.M. Skoie. Rheumatology International. January 9 2010. (Also see: Causes of Sarcoidosis and Etanercept)

Primary Raynaud phenomenon and small-fiber neuropathy (SFN): is there a connection? A pilot neurophysiologic study. The presence of SFN raises the possibility that a subset of patients with primary RP have an underlying, subclinical small-fiber dysfunction. (SpringerLink) N. Manek. Rheumatology International. December 24 2009. (Also see: Raynaud’s)

Systemic Amyloidosis Presenting as Chronic Diarrhea in a Patient With Ankylosing Spondylitis. We report a case of systemic amyloidosis that presented primarily as chronic diarrhea in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis. Consideration of amyloidosis as a diagnosis in patients who have chronic uncontrolled inflammatory conditions is also important in preventing poor outcomes related to this disease. ZH McMahan, MD. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. January 2010. (Also see: Ankylosing Spondylitis)

Vitamin D insufficiency in a large female SLE cohort. Sub-optimal vitamin D status is common in women with systemic lupus erythematosus and is related to season, cumulative glucocorticoid dose, and serum creatinine. (SageJournals) SMA Toloza. January 1 2010. (Also see: Research About Lupus)

Pregabalin in fibromyalgia (FM): meta-analysis of efficacy and safety from company clinical trial reports. Pregabalin is effective in treating FM and is relatively safe. S. Straube. Rheumatology Advance Access. January 7 2010. (Also see: Treatments for FM)

Pancreatitis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): Frequency and Associated Factors - A Review of the Hopkins Lupus Cohort. Hypertriglyceridemia appears to be a strong associate of pancreatitis in SLE, but antiphospholipid antibodies are not. SLE patients with psychosis and pleurisy are at increased risk for pancreatitis. A. Mikol. JRheum. December 23 2009. (Also see: Lupus and Overlapping Diseases)

Predictors of the first cardiovascular event in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus - a prospective cohort study. In addition to age, positive antiphospholipid antibody, biomarkers indicating increased endothelial cell activity/damage, and absence of thrombocytopenia were independent predictors of CVEs in this prospective study. J. Gustafsson. Arthritis Research & Therapy. December 10 2009. (Also see: Symptoms of Lupus)

Dermatomyositis (DM): current and future treatments. This article will highlight therapeutic options used for cutaneous disease in DM, while also describing therapies for both muscle and systemic disease. therapeutic selection should be made only after careful consideration of a patient’s comorbidities, disease severity, presence of systemic involvement and search for a potentially associated malignancy. (ExpertReviews) R.A. Vleugels. Expert Review of Dermatology. December 2009. (Also see: Dermatomyositis)

Nicotine-patch therapy on mucocutaneous lesions of Behçet’s disease (BD): a case series. At least in ex-smokers, nicotine in its pure form is well tolerated and its use could be justified in selected cases of BD with predominant and recurrent refractory mucocutaneous manifestations. G. Siancio. Rheumatology Advance Access. December 16 2009. (Also see: Behcet's)

An unusual case of undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) presenting as cardiac tamponade. This case presents UCTD as a rare cause of cardiac tamponade and large pericardial effusions and suggests that colchicine can be used to treat UCTD-associated effusions. (SpringerLink) P. Hari. Rheumatology International. December 16 2009. (Also see: UCTD and Cardiac Complications)