Rheumatology - Infectious Arthritis News & Articles

ACPA correlate with disease progression in JIA

In a study involving 74 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), 26 patients had detectable anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). The ACPA titers correlated with disease progression at baseline and after a median follow-up of 11.5 months. In addition to predicting disease severity and progression, the authors concluded that ACPA were superior to IgM-RF in diagnosing JIA.

Predicting cardiovascular mortality in SLE

In a study involving 208 patients with SLE followed for 12 years, 42 deaths occurred, 48% of which were considered to be cardiovascular mortalities. Age, increased cystatin C levels, and arterial disease were predictive of all-cause mortality. Cigarette smoking and increased sVCAM-1, hsCRP, abeta2GP1, and aPL antibody levels were predictive of cardiovascular mortality.

Anti-apoA-1 antibodies predict cardiovascular disease in RA patients

In a study conducted at the University of Geneva involving 118 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but without cardiovascular disease at baseline, the 10-year Framingham cardiovascular risk score (FRS) was improved with the inclusion of the anti-apoA-1 antibody titer. The median follow-up was 9 years and the incidence of cardiovascular disease was 16%. Other biomarkers, including the NT-proBNP, oxLDL, CRP, and RF levels and the anti-citrullinated peptide antibody titer, did not improve the FRS.