August 2024 to November 2024
Author: Aleksandra Opinc-Rosiak and Deniz Bayraktar (Denislav Orlinov)
In severe osteoarthritis, total hip replacement is more effective and comparably safe than resistance training
Frydenal et al. (10.1056/NEJMoa2400141) performed a multicenter, randomized controlled trial on the group of 109 patients with severe hip osteoarthritis to compare the effectiveness of total hip replacement with resistance training. Researchers demonstrated significantly greater improvements in the pain and physical functioning measured by the Oxford Hip Score in patients who underwent total hip replacement. The average increase of the Oxford Hip Score after 6 months was 15.9 points in patients with replaced hip as compared to a 4.5-point increase in the resistance training group. The incidence of serious adverse events was similar between the two groups.
Molecular mimicry may be the key to pathogenesis of MIS-C
Bodansky et al. (10.1038/s41586-024-07722-4) shed light on the pathogenesis of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Reserachers found that autoantibodies in MIS-C patients target a specific epitope within the host protein SNX8, that has a very similar sequence with a nucleocapsid protein of the SARS-CoV-2. This molecular mimicry leads to cross-reactive immune responses, including T cells that recognize both the viral and host epitopes, contributing to the hyperinflammatory state observed in MIS-C.
Neuropsychiatric involvement in SLE is associated with internal organ damage
Nikolopoulous (10.1007/s00296-024-05667-5) performed a post-hoc analysis of five phase III trials (BLISS-52, BLISS-76, BLISS-SC, BLISS-NEA, EMBRACE) to compare internal organ damage reflected by Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)/ACR Damage Index (SDI) in patients with neuropsychiatric lupus (NPSLE) and non-NPSLE lupus patients. Researchers found that patients with neuropsychiatric involvement more often had cardiovascular complications, cutaneous lesions, muscle weakness/atrophy and alopecia, proving that the spectrum of possible complications in NPSLE extends far beyond nervous system.
Dietary fatty acids and rheumatoid arthritis risk
Kang et al. (10.55563/clinexprheumatol/91tmfb) investigated the data of 50,352 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (1999-2020) and determined that higher ingestion of both n-3 and n-6 fatty acids are linked with a reduced risk of RA, with the associations being more prominent among females. A dose-response analysis identified a non-linear and U-shaped correlation between the intake of n-3 fatty acids and the risk of RA. A linear negative connection was observed between the intake of n-6 fatty acids and the risk of RA.
Impact of occupation type on disease burden in psoriatic arthritis patients
Colla et al. (10.1007/s10067-024-07077-1) assessed disease activity, work disability, and drug response/retention rates in 564 Swiss patients with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) among two different occupation’s types: blue-collar workers (manual labor) versus white-collar workers (more sedentary occupations). The authors suggested that physically demanding occupations correlate with increased rates of work disability among PsA patients, particularly men. However, treatment response seems to be unaffected by the occupation type.
Aleksandra Opinc-Rosiak
Aleksandra is a trainee in rheumatology and a research and teaching assistant at the Department of Rheumatology, Medical University of Lodz. Her main clinical and research interests include idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, CTD-ILD and autoantibodies. She is a member of Polish Rheumatology Society, iMyoS, EEACI. Aleksandra is a member of EMEUNET Newsletter Subcommittee and a current Country Liaison for Poland.
Deniz Bayraktar (Denislav Orlinov)
Denis is a physiotherapist by background and an Associate Professor at Izmir Katip Celebi University in Türkiye. His major interest is the effects of different exercise approaches in childhood and adulthood rheumatic diseases. He is the president of the Turkish of HPR Association and the HPR representative of Auto-Inflammatory Working Party in PReS. He is also an affiliate scientist at Arthritis Research Canada. Denis is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.