Soluble biological markers in osteoarthritis

In recent years, markers research has focused on the structural components of cartilage matrix. Specifically, a second generation of degradation markers has been developed against type II collagen neoepitopes generated by specific enzymes. A particular effort has been made to measure the degradation of minor collagens III and X of the cartilage matrix. However, because clinical data, including longitudinal controlled studies, are very scarce, it remains unclear whether they will be useful as an alternative to or in combination with current more established collagen biological markers to assess patients with osteoarthritis (OA). In addition, new approaches using high-throughput technologies allowed to detect new types of markers and improve the knowledge about the metabolic changes linked to OA. The relative advances coming from phenotype research are a first attempt to classify the heterogeneity of OA, and several markers could improve the phenotype characterization. These phenotypes could improve the selection of patients in clinical trials limiting the size of the studies by selecting patients with OA characteristics corresponding to the metabolic pathway targeted by the molecules evaluated. In addition, the inclusion of rapid progressors only in clinical trials would facilitate the demonstration of efficacy of the investigative drug to reduce joint degradation. The combination of selective biochemical markers appears as a promising and cost-effective approach to fulfill this unmet clinical need. Among the various potential roles of biomarkers in OA, their ability to monitor drug efficacy is probably one of the most important, in association with clinical and imaging parameters. Biochemical markers have the unique property to detect changes in joint tissue metabolism within a few weeks.

The importance of maternal pregnancy vitamin D for offspring bone health: learnings from the MAVIDOS trial

Optimisation of skeletal mineralisation in childhood is important to reduce childhood fracture and the long-term risk of osteoporosis and fracture in later life. One approach to achieving this is antenatal vitamin D supplementation. The Maternal Vitamin D Osteoporosis Study is a randomised placebo-controlled trial, the aim of which was to assess the effect of antenatal vitamin D supplementation (1000 IU/day cholecalciferol) on offspring bone mass at birth. The study has since extended the follow up into childhood and diversified to assess demographic, lifestyle and genetic factors that determine the biochemical response to antenatal vitamin D supplementation, and to understand the mechanisms underpinning the effects of vitamin D supplementation on offspring bone development, including epigenetics. The demonstration of positive effects of maternal pregnancy vitamin D supplementation on offspring bone development and the delineation of underlying biological mechanisms inform clinical care and future public-health policies.

Biomarkers predictive of treatment response in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: a systematic review

Aims: The ability to predict response to treatment remains a key unmet need in psoriatic disease. We conducted a systematic review of studies relating to biomarkers associated with response to treatment in either psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library from their inception to 2 September 2020, and conference proceedings from four major rheumatology conferences. Original research articles studying pre-treatment biomarker levels associated with subsequent response to pharmacologic treatment in either PsV or PsA were included. Results: A total of 765 articles were retrieved and after review, 44 articles (22 relating to PsV and 22 to PsA) met the systematic review’s eligibility criteria. One study examined the response to methotrexate, one the response to tofacitinib and all the other studies to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Whilst several studies examined the HLA-C*06 allele in PsV, the results were conflicting. Interleukin (IL)-12 serum levels and polymorphisms in the IL-12B gene show promise as biomarkers of treatment response in PsV. Most, but not all, studies found that higher baseline levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were associated with a better clinical response to treatment in patients with PsA. Conclusion: Several studies have identified biomarkers associated with subsequent response to treatment in psoriatic disease. However, due to the different types of biomarkers, treatments and outcome measures used, firm conclusions cannot be drawn. Further validation is needed before any of these biomarkers translate to clinical practice.

Impact of immunogenicity on clinical efficacy and toxicity profile of biologic agents used for treatment of inflammatory arthritis in children compared to adults

The treatment of inflammatory arthritis has been revolutionised by the introduction of biologic treatments. Many biologic agents are currently licensed for use in both paediatric and adult patients with inflammatory arthritis and contribute to improved disease outcomes compared with the pre-biologic era. However, immunogenicity to biologic agents, characterised by an immune reaction leading to the production of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs), can negatively impact the therapeutic efficacy of biologic drugs and induce side effects to treatment. This review explores for the first time the impact of immunogenicity against all licensed biologic treatments currently used in inflammatory arthritis across age, and will examine any significant differences between ADA prevalence, titres and timing of development, as well as ADA impact on therapeutic drug levels, clinical efficacy and side effects between paediatric and adult patients. In addition, we will investigate factors associated with differences in immunogenicity across biologic agents used in inflammatory arthritis, and their potential therapeutic implications.

There and back again: analyzing the effect of outpatient readmission on the quality of life of patients attending a rheumatology clinic

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of “outpatient readmissions” on the health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) of outpatients from a rheumatology clinic, meaning the effect of the patient’s return to the outpatient clinic after having received care and been discharged. Methods: We conducted an observational longitudinal retrospective study, with patients selected from the Hospital Clínico San Carlos Musculoskeletal cohort, based on having received at least one discharge from the outpatient clinic and having returned (readmission) at least once after the discharge. The main outcomes were the patients’ baseline HR-QoL (measured on the first visit of each episode) and the ΔHR-QoL (difference between the HR-QoL in the last and the first visit of each episode). Successive episodes of admission and readmission were chronologically ordered, paired and analyzed using nested linear mixed models, nested by patients and by admission–readmission tandem. We carried out bivariable and multivariable analyses to assess the effect of demographic, clinical, treatment and comorbidity-related variables in both main outcomes. Results: For the first main outcome, 5887 patients (13,772 episodes) were analyzed. Based on the multivariable level, readmission showed no significant marginal effect on the baseline HR-QoL ( p-value = 0.17). Conversely, when analyzing the ΔHR-QoL, we did observe a negative and significant marginal effect ( p-value = 0.028), meaning that readmission was associated with a lower gain in the HR-QoL during the follow-up, compared with the previous episode. Conclusion: In the outpatient setting, readmission exerts a deleterious effect in patients undergoing this process. Identification of outpatients more likely to be readmitted could increase the value of the care provided.

Tocilizumab in refractory Caucasian Takayasu’s arteritis: a multicenter study of 54 patients and literature review

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in Caucasian patients with refractory Takayasu’s arteritis (TAK) in clinical practice. Methods: A multicenter study of Caucasian patients with refractory TAK who received TCZ. The outcome variables were remission, glucocorticoid-sparing effect, improvement in imaging techniques, and adverse events. A comparative study between patients who received TCZ as monotherapy (TCZMONO) and combined with conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs) (TCZCOMBO) was performed. Results: The study comprised 54 patients (46 women/8 men) with a median [interquartile range (IQR)] age of 42.0 (32.5–50.5) years. TCZ was started after a median (IQR) of 12.0 (3.0–31.5) months since TAK diagnosis. Remission was achieved in 12/54 (22.2%), 19/49 (38.8%), 23/44 (52.3%), and 27/36 (75%) patients at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. The prednisone dose was reduced from 30.0 mg/day (12.5–50.0) to 5.0 (0.0–5.6) mg/day at 12 months. An improvement in imaging findings was reported in 28 (73.7%) patients after a median (IQR) of 9.0 (6.0–14.0) months. Twenty-three (42.6%) patients were on TCZMONO and 31 (57.4%) on TCZCOMBO: MTX ( n = 28), cyclosporine A ( n = 2), azathioprine ( n = 1). Patients on TCZCOMBO were younger [38.0 (27.0–46.0) versus 45.0 (38.0–57.0)] years; difference (diff) [95% confidence interval (CI) = -7.0 (-17.9, -0.56] with a trend to longer TAK duration [21.0 (6.0–38.0) versus 6.0 (1.0–23.0)] months; diff 95% CI = 15 (-8.9, 35.5), and higher c-reactive protein [2.4 (0.7–5.6) versus 1.3 (0.3–3.3)] mg/dl; diff 95% CI = 1.1 (-0.26, 2.99). Despite these differences, similar outcomes were observed in both groups (log rank p = 0.862). Relevant adverse events were reported in six (11.1%) patients, but only three developed severe events that required TCZ withdrawal. Conclusion: TCZ in monotherapy, or combined with cDMARDs, is effective and safe in patients with refractory TAK of Caucasian origin.

Predictors of health-related quality of life in musculoskeletal disease patients: a longitudinal analysis

Introduction: Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) have a significant impact on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) exacerbating disability, reducing independence and work capacity, among others. Predictors’ identification affecting HRQoL could help to place efforts that minimize the deleterious impact of these conditions on patients’ wellbeing. This study evaluates the influence of demographic and clinical predictors on the HRQoL of a cohort of RMD patients, measured using the Rosser classification index (RCI). Methods: We included patients attending the Hospital Clínico San Carlos (HCSC) rheumatology outpatient clinic from 1 April 2007 to 30 November 2017. The primary outcome was the HRQoL assessed in each of the patient’s visits using the RCI. Demographic and clinical variables extracted from a departmental electronic health record (EHR) were used as predictors: RMD diagnoses, treatments, comorbidities, and averaged HRQoL values from previous periods (for this last variable, values were imputed if no information was available). Association between predictors and HRQoL was analyzed using penalized generalized estimating equations (PGEEs). To account for imputation bias, the PGEE model was repeated excluding averaged HRQoL predictors, and common predictors were considered. Discussion: A total of 18,187 outpatients with 95,960 visits were included. From 410 initial predictors, 19 were independently associated with patients’ HRQoL in both PGEE models. Chronic kidney disease (CKD), an episode of prescription of third level analgesics, monoarthritis, and fibromyalgia diagnoses were associated with worse HRQoL. Conversely, the prescription in the previous visit of acid-lowering medication, colchicine, and third level analgesics was associated with better HRQoL. Conclusion: We have identified several diagnoses, treatments, and comorbidities independently associated with HRQoL in a cohort of outpatients attending a rheumatology clinic.

Potential relation of cardiovascular risk factors to disease activity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients are known to have a higher prevalence of several comorbidities, including, among others, an increased risk of atherosclerosis, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the sum of traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors is related to disease characteristics, such as disease activity, in patients with axSpA. Methods: A cross-sectional study that encompassed 804 patients with axSpA was conducted. Patients were assessed for the presence of five traditional CV risk factors (diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, and smoking status), and disease activity measurements. A multivariable regression analysis was performed to evaluate whether the number of classic CV risk factors was independently associated with specific features of the disease, to include disease activity. Results: A multivariable analysis showed that Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score–C reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP) activity score was significantly higher in patients with 1 [beta coefficient 0.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.1–0.5), p = 0.001] and ⩾2 [beta coefficient 0.5 (95% CI 0.3–0.7), p = 0.000] CV risk factors compared with those without CV risk factors. Similarly, patients with 1 [OR 2.00 (95%CI 0.99–4.02), p = 0.053] and ⩾2 [OR 3.39 (95%CI 1.82–6.31), p = 0.000] CV risk factors had a higher odds ratio for the presence of high disease activity compared with the zero CV category. The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) activity score was significantly associated with the number of CV risk factors, being higher in patients with more CV risk factors. These relationships showed a CV risk factor-dependent effect being beta coefficients and ORs higher for the effect of ⩾2 over 1 CV risk factor. Conclusion: Among patients with axSpA, as the number of traditional CV risk factors increased, disease activity similarly increases in an independent manner.

Comparison of healthcare resource utilization and medical costs between patients with seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis

Objectives: To compare healthcare utilization and medical costs between patients with seronegative (SN) and seropositive (SP) rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: We conducted a nationwide population study using the Korean health insurance claims database in 2016. We divided patients with RA into SN and SP groups and compared healthcare utilization including medications, medical utilization, and direct medical costs for 1 year between the groups in a cross-sectional analysis. Differences in costs between patients with SPRA and SNRA were assessed using the quantile regression model. We performed longitudinal analysis using data from 2012 and 2016 to examine changes over time. Results: A total of 103,815 SPRA and 75,809 SNRA patients were included in the analyses. The SPRA group used significantly more methotrexate (73.2% versus 30.3%) and biologic agents (7.9% versus 2.9%) than the SNRA group. The number of RA-related outpatient visits [6.0 ± 3.7 versus 4.4 ± 4.0 times/year, standardized difference (SD) = 0.41] and annual medical costs per patient ($1027 versus $450/year, SD = 0.25) were higher in the SPRA group than the SNRA group. Quantile regression results indicated that the incremental cost of seropositivity on total medical costs of RA patients gradually increased as medical costs approached the upper quantile. The annual direct medical costs for each patient between 2012 and 2016 increased in both groups: by 25.1% in the SPRA group and 37.6% in the SNRA group. Conclusion: Annual RA-related direct medical costs and RA-related healthcare utilization per patient are higher in patients with SPRA than those with SNRA.

Gastrointestinal involvement and its association with the risk for nephritis in IgA vasculitis

Background: We analysed clinical and biochemical parameters in predicting severe gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations in childhood IgA vasculitis (IgAV) and the risk of developing renal complications. Methods: A national multicentric retrospective study included children with IgAV reviewed in five Croatian University Centres for paediatric rheumatology in the period 2009–2019. Results: Out of 611 children, 281 (45.99%) had at least one GI manifestation, while 42 of 281 (14.95%) had the most severe GI manifestations. Using logistic regression several clinical risk factors for the severe GI manifestations were identified: generalized rash [odds ratio (OR) 2.09 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–4.01)], rash extended on upper extremities (OR 2.77 (95% CI 1.43–5.34)] or face [OR 3.69 (95% CI 1.42–9.43)] and nephritis (IgAVN) [OR 4.35 (95% CI 2.23–8.50)], as well as lower values of prothrombin time (OR 0.05 (95% CI 0.01–0.62)], fibrinogen [OR 0.45 (95% CI 0.29–0.70)] and IgM [OR 0.10 (95% I 0.03–0.35)]] among the laboratory parameters. Patients with severe GI involvement more frequently had relapse of the disease [OR 2.14 (CI 1.04–4.39)] and recurrent rash [OR 2.61 (CI 1.27–5.38)]. Multivariate logistic regression found that the combination of age, GI symptoms at the beginning of IgAV and severity of GI symptoms were statistically significant predictors of IgAVN. Patients in whom IgAV has started with GI symptoms [OR 6.60 (95% CI 1.67–26.06)], older children [OR 1.22 (95% CI 1.02–1.46)] with severe GI form of IgAV (OR 5.90 (95% CI 1.12–31.15)] were particularly high-risk for developing IgAVN. Conclusion: We detected a group of older children with the onset of GI symptoms before other IgAV symptoms and severe GI form of the IgAV, with significantly higher risk for acute and chronic complications of IgAV.