scholarly journals COVID-19 Disease and Dermatomyositis: A Mini-Review

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Qian ◽  
Hui Xu

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has caused a large number of deaths, and there is still no effective treatment. COVID-19 can induce a systemic inflammatory response, and its clinical manifestations are diverse. Recently, it has been reported that COVID-19 patients may develop myositis and interstitial pulmonary disease similar to dermatomyositis (DM). This condition is similar to the rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease associated with MDA5+ DM that has a poor prognosis and high mortality, and this poses a challenge for an early identification. Suppression of the immune system can protect COVID-19 patients by preventing the production of inflammatory cytokines. This article attempts to explore the possibility of a relationship between COVID-19 and DM in terms of the potential pathogenesis and clinical features and to analyze the therapeutic effect of the immunosuppressive drugs that are commonly used for the treatment of both DM and COVID-19.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-18
Author(s):  
Michael Sticherling

<b>Objective:</b> To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients positive for anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibodies, and to analyse the potential pathogenesis of anti-MDA5 antibodies. <b>Methods:</b> The clinical manifestations, serological tests, imaging features, treatments, and prognoses of 32 anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients diagnosed in the Rheumatology and Immunology Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from September 2015 to August 2018 were analysed. <b>Results:</b> Of the 32 anti-MDA5 antibody-positive patients, eleven patients were clinically diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), ten patients were diagnosed with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM), six patients were diagnosed with dermatomyositis (DM) and five patients were diagnosed with anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS). Thirty patients had various degrees of pulmonary interstitial changes. The incidence of mortality, subcutaneous emphysema, hoarseness and dysphagia in patients who were positive for both anti-MDA5 and anti-Ro52 antibodies was significantly higher than in patients positive for only anti-MDA5 antibodies. The anti-MDA5 antibody-positive IPAF patients had a very poor prognosis, and mortality in these patients was as high as 54.55%. <b>Conclusion:</b> Anti-MDA5 antibodies are closely related to interstitial lung disease (ILD). The presence of both anti-MDA5 and anti-Ro52 antibodies indicates poor prognosis.


Medwave ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (05) ◽  
pp. e8221-e8221
Author(s):  
Luis Alejandro Rodríguez-Hidalgo ◽  
Luis Alberto Concepción-Urteaga ◽  
Julio Santos Hilario-Vargas ◽  
Jorge Luis Cornejo-Portella ◽  
Oscar Nieri Alquizar-Horna

Objective To determine the main clinical and tomographic characteristics of patients with diffuse interstitial lung disease at Trujillo Regional Teaching Hospital. Methods Case series. Tomographic examinations and clinical data were obtained from patients with interstitial pulmonary disease who attended the pulmonology service of Trujillo Regional Teaching Hospital. The information collected was recorded and systematized in Excel. For the statistical analysis, SPSS 23.0 program was used. Results Data from 103 patients were obtained, of which 60.2% were female, and 39.8% were male. The average age was 72 years for both groups. Main clinical manifestations were cough (82.5%), dyspnea (76.7%), joint pain (43.7%), weight loss (40.8%), velcro crackles (35%) and digital clubbing (28.2%). Exposure to wood smoke was present in 46.6%, exposure to inorganic dust in 12.6% and fowl ownership in 9.7% of cases. Thirty-one (30.1%) patients presented comorbidities. Among these, rheumatic diseases and arterial hypertension were the most frequent. Non-specific interstitial pneumonia pattern was present in 26.2% of the cases; probable usual interstitial pneumonia in 16.5%; organized type in 12.6%; usual interstitial in 10.7%; acute interstitial in 2.9% and 27.1% had no defined tomographic pattern. Conclusions In the studied population, clinical and tomographic characteristics of interstitial lung parenchymal diseases are variable in magnitude and forms of presentation. Female sex and exposure to fuels were the most frequent associated factors. Connective tissue diseases could also explain study findings.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Xia Huang ◽  
Lu Qin ◽  
Fei-Zhou Zhang ◽  
Lei Wu ◽  
Jia-Hui Yu ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundMutation in the surfactant protein C gene (SFTPC) is a cause of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Our objective was to investigate the clinical characteristics, outcome and influencing factors of ILD in Chinese children with SFTPC mutations.MethodA total of 8 Chinese children with ILD heterozygous for SFTPC mutations that were treated in our hospital from January 2014 to December 2020 were included in our study. Candidate genes responsible for surfactant dysfunction were sequenced by next-generation sequencing. The clinical and genetic data were reviewed retrospectively.ResultsThe children’s onset age was before the age of 2 years, and one case was just after birth. The most significant clinical manifestations were cough, tachypnea, hypoxemia and failure to thrive. The most common mutation was p. lle73Thr, which accounted for 87.5% (7/8) of our patients. Four patients whose onset was within 3 months, including 3 children with CMV infection, died. Conclusionp. lle73Thr mutation of SFTPC was an important and common cause of ILD in the Chinese children. The clinical manifestations of ILD associated with this mutation are not specific. The severity and outcome of the disease may be affected by factors such as onset age and viral infection.


Rheumatology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 1483-1489 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Koduri ◽  
S. Norton ◽  
A. Young ◽  
N. Cox ◽  
P. Davies ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. e236431
Author(s):  
Kelli Stager ◽  
Leanna Wise

Antimelanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) dermatomyositis is a subtype of dermatomyositis that is associated with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD), as well as with a variety of cutaneous manifestations. Patients with MDA-5 dermatomyositis tend to have a poor prognosis that is often attributed to the high rates of concurrent RP-ILD. Given the severity of disease, early diagnosis and aggressive management is pivotal. We present a case of a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with MDA-5 dermatomyositis who presented with weakness, painful cutaneous ulcerations and interstitial lung disease. She was treated with monthly intravenous Ig (IVIg), weight-based prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). After approximately 2 years of treatment, her interstitial lung disease remains stable and she has had significant improvement in weakness and cutaneous ulcerations. Our case provides evidence for early and aggressive treatment of MDA-5 dermatomyositis with a combination of weight-based prednisone, MMF and IVIg.


2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1865) ◽  
pp. 20171694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L. Hansen ◽  
Lauren S. Faber ◽  
Ali A. Salehpoor ◽  
Robert D. Miller

Regulating maternal immunity is necessary for successful human pregnancy. Whether this is needed in mammals with less invasive placentation is subject to debate. Indeed, the short gestation times in marsupials have been hypothesized to be due to a lack of immune regulation during pregnancy. Alternatively, the maternal marsupial immune system may be unstimulated in the absence of a highly invasive placenta. Transcripts encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines were found to be overrepresented in the whole uterine transcriptome at terminal pregnancy in the opossum, Monodelphis domestica . To investigate this further, immune gene transcripts were quantified throughout opossum gestation. Transcripts encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines remained relatively low during pre- and peri-attachment pregnancy stages. Levels dramatically increased late in gestation, peaking within 12 h prior to parturition. These results mirror the spike of inflammation seen at eutherian parturition but not at attachment or implantation. Our results are consistent with the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines at parturition being an ancient and conserved birth mechanism in therian mammals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tihong Shao ◽  
Xiaodong Shi ◽  
Shanpeng Yang ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Xiaohu Li ◽  
...  

Connective tissue disease (CTD) related interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality of CTD. Clinically, CTD-ILD is highly heterogenous and involves rheumatic immunity and multiple manifestations of respiratory complications affecting the airways, vessels, lung parenchyma, pleura, and respiratory muscles. The major pathological features of CTD are chronic inflammation of blood vessels and connective tissues, which can affect any organ leading to multi-system damage. The human lung is particularly vulnerable to such damage because anatomically it is abundant with collagen and blood vessels. The complex etiology of CTD-ILD includes genetic risks, epigenetic changes, and dysregulated immunity, which interact leading to disease under various ill-defined environmental triggers. CTD-ILD exhibits a broad spectra of clinical manifestations: from asymptomatic to severe dyspnea; from single-organ respiratory system involvement to multi-organ involvement. The disease course is also featured by remissions and relapses. It can range from stability or slow progression over several years to rapid deterioration. It can also present clinically as highly progressive from the initial onset of disease. Currently, the diagnosis of CTD-ILD is primarily based on distinct pathology subtype(s), imaging, as well as related CTD and autoantibodies profiles. Meticulous comprehensive clinical and laboratory assessment to improve the diagnostic process and management strategies are much needed. In this review, we focus on examining the pathogenesis of CTD-ILD with respect to genetics, environmental factors, and immunological factors. We also discuss the current state of knowledge and elaborate on the clinical characteristics of CTD-ILD, distinct pathohistological subtypes, imaging features, and related autoantibodies. Furthermore, we comment on the identification of high-risk patients and address how to stratify patients for precision medicine management approaches.


Heart ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 106 (14) ◽  
pp. 1046-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrice Cacoub ◽  
Cindy Marques

Acute idiopathic or so-called viral pericarditis is a frequent and usually benign disease, although recurrences are frequent. Data strongly suggest the presence of underlying autoinflammatory and/or autoimmune disorders. It has been reported that there is an inflammatory response of the innate immune system typical of ‘autoinflammatory diseases’, predominantly mediated by interleukin-1 (IL-1). This may result from the activation of the inflammasome by a cardiotropic virus or a non-specific agent. The inflammatory response of the adaptive immune system, typical of ‘autoimmune diseases’—mainly mediated by autoantibodies or autoreactive T lymphocytes—seems also involved as anti-heart or anti-intercalated disk autoantibodies were associated with a higher number of recurrences and hospitalisations. Current guidelines recommend that aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for a few weeks should be associated to colchicine for 6 months in recurrent pericarditis. In refractory cases, low-dose corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs have been proposed with limited efficacy. Growing evidences suggest a place of IL-1 receptor antagonists in the treatment of recurrent pericarditis. Many retrospective studies, one recent randomised placebo-controlled study and data of a real-life large international registry showed the good efficacy of anakinra with a good safety profile. Other IL-1 receptor antagonists showed promising results (canakinumab, rilonacept). However, IL-1 receptor antagonists’ position in the treatment algorithm of recurrent pericarditis needs further evaluation in larger prospective clinical trials to replicate initial findings as well as to assess safety, cost-effectiveness and long-term efficacy.


Rheumatology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1108-1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Hoa ◽  
Sasha Bernatsky ◽  
Russell J Steele ◽  
Murray Baron ◽  
Marie Hudson ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a leading cause of mortality in SSc. Little is known about the benefits of immunosuppressive drugs in mild ILD. Our aim was to determine whether use of CYC or MMF was associated with an improved ILD course in patients with normal or mildly impaired lung function. Methods A retrospective cohort of SSc subjects with ILD, disease duration below seven years and no exposure to CYC or MMF prior to the baseline visit was constructed from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group registry. Subjects were categorized as having mild ILD if baseline forced vital capacity (FVC % predicted) was &gt;85%. The primary exposure was any use of CYC or MMF at the baseline visit. FVC at one year was compared between exposed and unexposed subjects, using multivariate linear regression. Results Out of 294 eligible SSc-ILD subjects, 116 met criteria for mild ILD. In this subgroup, mean (s.d.) disease duration was 3.7 (2.0) years. Thirteen (11.2%) subjects were exposed to CYC or MMF at baseline. The one-year FVC was higher in exposed subjects compared with unexposed subjects, by a difference of 8.49% (95% CI: 0.01–16.98%). None of the exposed subjects experienced clinically meaningful progression over two years, whereas 24.6% of unexposed subjects did. Conclusion In this real-world setting, CYC/MMF exposure at baseline was associated with higher FVC values and a lower risk of progression among subjects with mild ILD. These data suggest a window of opportunity to preserve lung function in SSc-ILD.


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