Archives of rheumatology最新文献

{"title":"Analysis of LINC00472 as a biomarker of osteoarthritis and its clinical value.","authors":"Zhiduo Li, Weijun Zhang","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10739","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10739","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the effect of LINC00472 in osteoarthritis (OA) and its molecular mechanism.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>This prospective study was conducted with 110 patients (59 females, 51 males; mean age: 58.6±10.3 years; range, 37 to 79 year) with OA and 101 healthy controls (58 females, 43 males; mean age: 60.6±10.3 years; range, 35 to 78 years) between June 2020 and November 2022. First, we measured LINC00472 levels in OA patients using RT-qPCR (real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). Afterward, we treated human chondrocytes with interleukin (IL)-1β, which aimed to construct an OA cellular model to explore the function of LINC00472 in OA. Messenger RNA levels were detected by RT-qPCR. Apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. Cell viability was measured by CCK-8 (cell counting kit-8) assay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect inflammatory factor levels. Finally, we verified the targeting of miR-361-5p with LINC00472 and MECP2 by luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In OA patients and OA cells, LINC00472 and MECP2 levels were increased, and miR-361-5p levels were decreased. LINC00472 levels were negatively correlated with miR-361-5p levels and positively correlated with MECP2 levels. In human chondrocytes, LINC00472 knockdown inhibited apoptosis, cellular inflammation, and extracellular matrix degradation. However, miR-361-5p inhibitor reversed these effects. In addition, LINC00472 knockdown downregulated MECP2 levels, and miR-361-5p inhibitor reversed the effect.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>LINC00472 is involved in chondrocyte apoptosis, extracellular matrix degradation, and cellular inflammation in OA through the miR-361-5p/MECP2 axis. LINC00472 may regulate OA development by increasing MECP2 expression through sponged miR-361-5p and may be a new target for OA diagnosis and treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"529-540"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883250/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588661","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fecal calprotectin levels in patients with fibromyalgia: A cross-sectional study.","authors":"Ece Çınar, Meryem Burcu Türkoğlu Aytar, Musa Baklacı, Simin Hepgüler, Burcu Barutçuoğlu","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10557","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10557","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate levels of fecal calprotectin (FC), a biomarker that helps distinguish irritable bowel syndrome from inflammatory gut disorders, in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and compare them to healthy controls.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>The cross-sectional study was carried out on patients diagnosed with FMS according to the ACR (American College of Rheumatology) 2016 classification and healthy controls between January 2021 and February 2022. FMS patients were grouped according to the absence (Group 1) or presence (Group 2) of gastrointestinal symptoms. A third group of healthy controls without gastrointestinal complaints (Group 3) was included. Demographic data, comorbidities, medications, symptom severity scale, and widespread pain index scores were recorded. All subjects were asked to provide stool samples for the measurement of FC levels.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 100 subjects were included in the study. There were 33 patients (4 males, 29 females, mean age: 46.9±10.6; range, 22 to 69 years) in Group 1, 32 patients (2 males, 30 females, mean age: 48.5±11.0; range, 22 to 73 years) in Group 2, and 35 patients (11 males, 24 females, mean age: 39.2±13.1; range, 22 to 67 years) in Group 3. Group 2 had significantly higher levels of FC compared to Group 3 (p <0.05). The number of patients with positive FC values was similar between the three groups. Symptom severity scale and widespread pain index scores were significantly worse in Group 2 compared to Group 1 (p <0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Irritable bowel syndrome usually coexists in many patients with FMS, and this may cause a misdiagnosis or delay in the diagnosis of organic gastrointestinal conditions. The value of FC in screening and diagnosis of organic disease in FMS patients needs further evaluation.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"522-528"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883258/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Increased PCSK9 associated with cIMT in AS: A useful marker for subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.","authors":"Ahmet Karakoyun, Yasemin Akkubak, Mevlüt Hakan Göktepe, Pınar Diydem Yılmaz, Cengiz Kadıyoran, Mustafa Oğul, Adem Kucuk","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10625","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10625","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to investigate the relationship between proprotein convertase subtilisin/ kexin type 9 (PCSK9) levels and subclinical atherosclerosis (SA) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>Between January 2022 and March 2022, a total of 56 patients (33 males, 23 females; mean age: 37.8±9.3 years; range, 20 to 60 years) who were under regular follow-up in our clinic and fulfilled the criteria of the Modified New York Diagnostic Criteria for AS and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for AS were included. Age- and sex-matched 56 healthy volunteers (25 males, 31 females; mean age: 38.4±8.2 years; range, 20 to 60 years) were also recruited as the control group. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded. The PCSK9 level and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) were evaluated using appropriate methods.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean serum PCSK9 levels in AS patients (609.3±149.9 <i>vs.</i> 136.3±120.8 ng/mL, p<0.001) and the mean cIMT values (0.51±0.19 <i>vs.</i> 0.43±0.08 mm, p=0.003) were higher than healthy controls. In the multivariate stepwise regression analysis, there was an independent relationship between SA and PCSK9 (β=0.324, p=0.001). Additionally, there was an independent relationship between carotid plaque and PCSK9 (β=0.265, p=0.006). Based on the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal PCSK9 cut-off value for plaque was 472.0 ng/mL, sensitivity 90.9%, specificity 65.0% (area under the curve [AUC]=0.759; 95% CI: 0.660-0.857, p=0.005). The optimal PCSK9 cut-off value for SA was 459.5 ng/mL, sensitivity 63.2%, specificity 63.0% (AUC=0.625; 95% CI: 0.512-0.739, p=0.031).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study showed that serum PCSK9 levels in patients with AS were higher than that in healthy individuals and were associated with SA and arterial plaque formation. In the light of these findings, PCSK9 may accelerate SA and carotid plaque formation in patients with AS, regardless of the LDL cholesterol level. There may be no relationship between PCSK9 levels and disease activity in patients with AS.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"652-661"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883255/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Numerous factors hamper objective assessment of disease activity in axial spondyloarthritis.","authors":"Salih Özgöçmen, Gamze Kılıç","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10842","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10842","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"685-686"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883251/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationship between IgA vasculitis and prothrombotic risk factors: A prospective, case-control study.","authors":"Cengiz Zeybek, Ahmet Bolat, Orhan Gürsel, Bülent Hacıhamdioğlu, Ahmet Emin Kürekçi","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10711","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10711","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to determine whether there are commonly occurring hematologic causes that may lead to thrombosis in patients recently diagnosed with immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV).</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>The prospective study enrolled 107 pediatric patients diagnosed with IgAV and 98 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Patients with IgAV who were treated at a single center between February 2016 and June 2022 were evaluated for the prevalence and clinical relevance of thrombophilic gene mutations and other prothrombotic risk factors, as well as coagulation test indices. The genotypes for common mutations in prothrombin (Pt) G20210A, factor V Leiden (FVL), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T were assessed. The coagulation assays, including Pt time and activated partial thromboplastin time, and the levels of fibrinogen, factor VIII, factor IX, and von Willebrand factor antigen were analyzed. Additionally, the levels of antithrombin, protein C, and free protein S were evaluated during the disease's acute phase before initiation of anti-inflammatory drugs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventeen of the 107 IgAV patients were excluded. Consequently, 90 children (36 males, 54 females; mean age: 10.2±3.2 years; range, 3 to 18 years) diagnosed with IgAV and 98 healthy children (45 males, 53 females; mean age: 9.7±3.8 years; range, 2 to 18 years) as a control group were analyzed. A statistical analysis found no significant difference between the groups in terms of indices of coagulation assays and other prothrombotic risk factors (p>0.05). The mutation frequencies of the Pt G20210A, FVL, and MTHFR C677T loci among IgAV patients were not significantly different from the control group (p>0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Given there is no predisposition to thrombophilia and IgAV is a form of vasculitis, the cause of thrombosis among patients with IgAV may involve mechanisms related to the inflammationhemostasis cascade.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"670-678"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883261/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of proinflammatory cytokine responses in Takayasu arteritis.","authors":"Rabia Deniz, Aysın Tulunay-Virlan, Filiz Ture Ozdemir, Ali Ugur Unal, Gulsen Ozen, Fatma Alibaz-Oner, Imren Aydin-Tatli, Haner Direskeneli","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10790","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10790","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the expression of proinflammatory cytokines under long-term T helper (Th) 17 cell inducing conditions in Takayasu arteritis (TAK), a granulomatous vasculitis with adaptive immune responses.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2014 and April 2017. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 25 patients (23 females, 2 males; mean age: 42.7±15.5 years; range, 20 to 69 years) with TAK and 25 healthy controls (HCs; 11 females, 14 males; mean age: 39.1±9.3 years; range, 21 to 64 years) were cultured in Th17 cell-inducing conditions for six days. Cultured cells were stained with conjugated monoclonal antibodies to determine the intracellular cytokine secretion by flow cytometry. Supernatant samples were measured with sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-17, IL-7, IL-21, and IL-22 levels.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Under Th17 cell-inducing conditions, IFN-γ secretion was significantly higher in the TAK group compared to HCs (p<0.005). Unstimulated serum cytokine levels showed no differences between the TAK and HC groups, except for IL-7. Both IL-17 and IFN-γ secretion showed significant increases in TAK and IL-17 secretion in HCs in comparison of unstimulated and stimulated samples for each individual (p values, 0.022, 0.005, and 0.016, respectively). The production of IL-17 and IFN-γ by CD4⁺ , CD8⁺ , and γδ⁺ T cells and B cells was not found to be significantly different between TAK patients and HCs. No differences were observed between the subgroups of TAK according to disease activity or treatment in IL-17 and IFN-γ production.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study supports cell-mediated cytotoxicity as the main pathogenetic mechanism of TAK. T cells express higher levels of IFN-γ in TAK but not IL-17. Supernatant analysis indicated significantly higher IFN-γ production, which significantly increased after induction, suggesting the contribution of different inflammatory cells (probably CD8⁺ and γδ⁺ T cells) to IFN-γ production in TAK.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"598-606"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883268/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diastolic dysfunction in Behçet's disease and its relationship with clinical manifestations of the disease: A case-control study.","authors":"Gizem Varkal, Rabia Eker Akıllı, İpek Türk, Zeynep Tüzün, Burak Mete, Süleyman Özbek","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10772","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The study aimed to evaluate the frequency of diastolic dysfunction (DD) in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and its relationship with clinical manifestations.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>Seventy patients (35 females, 35 males; mean age: 39.3±11.0 years; range, 21 to 61 years) with BD and 50 healthy controls (27 females, 23 males; mean age: 38.8±10.0 years; range, 23 to 62 years) were included in the case-control study between October 2023 and December 2023. Age, sex, smoking status, disease duration, mucocutaneous involvement, other organ involvement, treatment received of the patients were recorded. The E/A ratio (the ratio of early diastolic wave to the atrial wave) and the E/E' ratio (the ratio of early transmitral filling velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity), which are markers of DD, were measured by transthoracic echocardiography.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Diastolic dysfunction was observed in 27.1% (n=19) of BD patients and 8% (n=4) of healthy controls (p=0.017). Male dominance was observed in patients with major organ involvement (MOI) compared to patients with isolated mucocutaneous involvement (p=0.001). While MOI was observed at a rate of 65.7%, ocular involvement, among the MOIs, constituted 52.9% of all BD patients. The percentage of patients with a mitral E/A ratio <1 was similar between the MOI and isolated mucocutaneous involvement groups. However, vascular involvement was observed in 47.4% of BD patients with a mitral E/A ratio <1 (p=0.034). In addition, it was observed that the group with a mitral E/A ratio <1 was older, had a longer disease duration, and had a higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Diastolic dysfunction is an early sign of cardiac involvement, and prolonged vascular involvement in BD increases the risk of DD.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 4","pages":"624-630"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11883252/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143588737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Difficult-to-treat axial spondyloarthritis patients.","authors":"Tahir Saygın Öğüt, Funda Erbasan, Mehmet Fatih Şahiner, Mine Nokay, Ayşe Yörük Öğüt, Melis Dilbil, Mustafa Ender Terzioğlu, Veli Yazısız","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10567","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10567","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to formulate D2T (difficult to treat) criteria for axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) patients and identify the prevalence of D2T patients and their characteristics.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>The cross-sectional study was conducted with 166 AxSpA patients (93 males, 73 females; mean age: 47.1±12.9 years; range, 19 to 78 years) between February 2023 and March 2023. The criteria were based on patients treated according to the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommendations for AxSpA. Entry criteria were treatment failure to ≥2 biological/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs with two different mechanisms of action or ≥3 biological/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Potential preliminary factors for D2T criteria were analyzed, and the characteristics of the subjects matching D2T criteria were compared with those of others.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred forty-two ankylosing spondylitis patients and 24 nonradiographic AxSpA patients were included in the study. The rate of fulfilling the D2T criteria was 22.9% (n=38) among AxsPA patients treated with biological agents. The potential D2T criteria were met by 23.2% of ankylosing spondylitis and 20.8% of nonradiographic AxSpA patients. Baseline characteristics, such as sex, age, diagnosis age, occupation, and education, of D2T patients were not statistically different from other patients. The prevalence of fibromyalgia was higher in D2T patients (p<0.001). Disease activity indices and acute phase response indicators were higher and quality of life was worse in D2T patients.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>There was a considerable amount of AxSpA patients fulfilling the D2T criteria despite new and effective treatment agents.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 3","pages":"419-428"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11537689/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142592326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is the development of arrhythmia predictable in rheumatoid arthritis?","authors":"Arif Gülkesen, Emine Yıldırım Uslu, Gürkan Akgöl, Gökhan Alkan, Mehmet Ali Kobat, Mehmet Ali Gelen, Muhammed Fuad Uslu","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10590","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.10590","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to determine whether there is a difference in the electrocardiography (ECG) measurements of healthy controls and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to predict whether they can be used to determine the risk of arrhythmia in patients.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>The prospective study included 50 cardiac asymptomatic RA patients (38 males, 12 females; mean age: 46.8±9.1 years; range, 18 to 60 years) who met the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology RA criteria and 50 healthy volunteers (34 males, 16 females; mean age: 43.4±10.4 years; range, 18 to 60 years) as a control group between June 1, 2022, and August 31, 2022. Disease activity of the patients was calculated with the Disase Activity Score (DAS28). Heart rate, minimum and maximum QT intervals, QT dispersion, minimum and maximum P waves, P wave dispersion (Pd), minimum and maximum Tp-e intervals, Tp-e dispersion, minimum and maximum corrected QT (QTc) intervals, QTc dispersion, and the Tp-e/QTc ratio in ECGs were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean disease duration of the RA group was 9.09±5.74 years. The mean C-reactive protein level was 9.83±8.29, the mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 26.12±16.28 mm/h, and the mean DAS28 was 3.03±0.37. There was a statistically significant increase in the maximum P wave, Pd, maximum QT, QT dispersion, maximum QTc, QTc dispersion, maximum Tp-e, Tp-e dispersion, and Tp-e/QTc dispersion parameters in the RA group compared to the control group, while there was a significant decrease in the minimum P wave, minimum QT, and minimum QTc parameters.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In our study, the Pd, QTc dispersion, Tp-e dispersion, and Tp-e/QTc dispersion values of our patients, which indicate the risk of atrial and ventricular arrhythmia, were found to be significantly higher. This finding suggests that our patients had an increased risk of cardiac morbidity and mortality. Arrhythmias are the likely source of the increase in sudden cardiac death in RA, and these new indicators measured on ECG can be used as standardized cardiovascular morbidity and mortality indicators in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 3","pages":"429-435"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11537683/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142592339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neuropathic component of chronic musculoskeletal pain in patients with post-COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.","authors":"Sevgi Gümüş Atalay, Pınar Borman, Ayşegül Yaman, Evren Yaşar","doi":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.9990","DOIUrl":"10.46497/ArchRheumatol.2024.9990","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the neuropathic component of chronic musculoskeletal pain in post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and examine the relationship between neuropathic pain and clinical and demographic characteristics.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study included 163 adult patients (85 females, 78 males; mean age: 41.7±4.3 years; range, 22 to 50 years) with post-COVID-19 musculoskeletal pain between February 1, 2021, and April 30, 2021. Demographic and clinical characteristics, including age, sex, affected site, duration, and severity of post-COVID-19 musculoskeletal pain using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), as well as a neuropathic component of pain using the Leeds assessment of neuropathic symptoms and signs (LANSS), were collected. The most common post-COVID-19 symptoms, presence of hospitalization, and length of hospital stay during active COVID-19 infection were recorded from the patient records.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean duration and severity of pain were 7.85±1.53 months and 5.09±1.95, respectively. Half of the patients were hospitalized, and the mean length of hospital stay was 12.15±18.06 days. The most common pain sites were upper and lower back pain, followed by leg and arm pain. A total of 92 (56.4%) patients had previously received pharmacological or nonpharmacological treatment for post-COVID-19 musculoskeletal pain. Based on the LANSS (scores >12), 31 (19%) patients had neuropathic pain. There was a significant correlation between the presence of neuropathic pain and pulmonary involvement/symptoms. The presence and length of hospital stay were correlated with LANNS scores (p<0.05). The frequency, LANSS scores, and VAS-pain scores of the patients with and without neuropathic pain were similar between male and female patients (p>0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The neuropathic component of chronic musculoskeletal pain may be common, as one-fifth of our patients had neuropathic pain as assessed by the LANNS. Therefore, the awareness of post-COVID-19 chronic neuropathic musculoskeletal pain should be increased. We believe that focusing on the identification of pain phenotypes would provide adequate and tailored chronic neuropathic musculoskeletal pain management in the post-COVID-19 period.</p>","PeriodicalId":93884,"journal":{"name":"Archives of rheumatology","volume":"39 3","pages":"436-446"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11537687/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142592340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}