Comparative 16SrDNA Gene-Based Microbiota Profiles of the Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) and the Mediterranean Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from a Shellfish Farm (Ligurian Sea, Italy)

The pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas and the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis are two widely farmed bivalve species which show contrasting behaviour in relation to microbial diseases, with C. gigas being more susceptible and M. galloprovincialis being generally resistant. In a recent study, we showed that different susceptibility to infection exhibited by these two bivalve species may depend on their different capability to kill invading pathogens (e.g., Vibrio spp.) through the action of haemolymph components. Specific microbial-host interactions may also impact bivalve microbiome structure and further influence susceptibility/resistance to microbial diseases. To further investigate this concept, a comparative study of haemolymph and digestive gland 16SrDNA gene-based bacterial microbiota profiles in C. gigas and M. galloprovincialis co-cultivated at the same aquaculture site was carried out using pyrosequencing. Bacterial communities associated with bivalve tissues (hemolymph and digestive gland) were significantly different from those of seawater, and were dominated by relatively few genera such as Vibrio and Pseudoalteromonas. In general, Vibrio accounted for a larger fraction of the microbiota in C. gigas (on average 1.7-fold in the haemolymph) compared to M. galloprovincialis, suggesting that C. gigas may provide better conditions for survival for these bacteria, including potential pathogenic species such as V. aestuarianus. Vibrios appeared to be important members of C. gigas and M. galloprovincialis microbiota and might play a contrasting role in health and disease of bivalve species. Accordingly, microbiome analyses performed on bivalve specimens subjected to commercial depuration highlighted the ineffectiveness of such practice in removing Vibrio species from bivalve tissues

184 Patient perception of SLE burden: the role of disease activity, comorbidities and treatment

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270 The discordance between patient and physician perception of the disease: the paradigm of SLE

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O13 Remission and LLDAS as a target for pregnancy planning in SLE?

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Aortite isolata: valutazione epidemiologica, clinica e strumentale di una serie di casi e confronto con una coorte di pazienti affetti da arterite temporale.

L’arterite a cellule giganti (ACG) è la più comune vasculite sistemica primitiva dell’anziano che interessa le arterie di medio e grosso calibro, con preferenza per le arterie extracraniche del capo e del collo, ma con possibilità di coinvolgimento anche dell’aorta e delle sue principali diramazioni. Il profilo clinico della ACG è molto variegato comprendendo segni e sintomi cranici tipici, quali cefalea temporo-parieto-frontale di recente insorgenza, claudicatio mandibolare, diminuzione dell’acuità visiva e tumefazione palpabile dell’arteria temporale, sintomi costituzionali, quali febbre, astenia e perdita di peso. Le tecniche di imaging a nostra disposizione indicano che l’interessamento aortico nella ACG è comune anche negli stadi precoci di malattia o al momento della diagnosi; tale condizione, inoltre, può essere manifestazione di una patologia tendente alla cronicizzazione o alla riacutizzazione con necessità di interventi terapeutici più aggressivi e con un aumentato rischio di complicanze vascolari nel lungo termine. La prevalenza di aortite in corso di ACG varia dal 33 al 65%, tuttavia i dati provenienti da casistiche chirurgiche e da studi autoptici suggeriscono un tasso di incidenza più elevato. Poiché l’aortite di solito sfocia in complicanze che mettono a rischio la vita del paziente (dissezioni e aneurismi) e poiché molto spesso rimane asintomatica fino alla comparsa di tali complicanze, è fondamentale un corretto screening in tutti i pazienti con ACG per escludere la presenza di un eventuale interessamento aortico. Le più comuni cause reumatologiche di aortite sono l’arterite di Takayasu (TA) e la ACG, ma l’aortite può essere anche: idiopatica, una manifestazione della patologia IgG4-correlata o causata da infezioni tra le quali sifilide, tubercolosi o da altri agenti batterici e virali. Oltre ai pazienti con ACG e sintomi cranici, non è raro osservare pazienti asintomatici o con soli sintomi costituzionali che presentino alla PET un aumento dell’uptake del tracciante a livello aortico. Nella pratica clinica, in tali casi, viene di solito posta diagnosi di ACG o di TA sulla base dell’età di esordio dei sintomi; rimane da chiarire se l’aortite isolata sia parte del quadro clinico della ACG o della TA o sia invece un’entità nosologica differente. Lo scopo dello studio è di paragonare dati epidemiologici e clinici e l’esito delle indagini svolte su pazienti con aortite isolata con quelli dei pazienti con ACG per definire se i due gruppi di soggetti differiscano o meno tra di loro

Post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia (POHR) in systemic sclerosis: very early disease (VEDOSS) represents a separate entity compared to established disease.

OBJECTIVES: Vascular involvement is a key feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Vascular changes are central to the pathogenesis of the disease and the assessment of vascular involvement has a prognostic value. This assessment therefore has a pivotal role in the management of SSc patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia (PORH) in consecutive SSc patients and to test whether a PORH test might be a useful tool for the early diagnosis of SSc. METHOD: Between April 2011 and April 2015, 60 consecutive SSc patients (mean age 56 ± 15 years, females:males = 18:1) were enrolled in the study. The patients were divided into those with full-blown SSc (n = 50) and those with very early diagnosis of SSc (VEDOSS) (n = 10) according to the literature. Laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) was used to assess PORH. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was detected in the post-ischaemic hyperaemic peak flow between VEDOSS and established SSc (424% vs. 137%, p = 0.0011). PORH peak flow decreased according to the capillaroscopic pattern (early = 419%, active = 163%, late = 145%, p = 0.0027). Moreover, a correlation between capillary density and peak flow was revealed (rho = 0.33, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data show a different pattern of vascular involvement in VEDOSS compared to established disease that mirrors capillaroscopic changes. Functional features of very early and established disease seem to be the physiological counterpart of abnormalities detected by capillaroscopy. The POHR test might be a useful aid for further characterization of vascular involvement in SSc. In particular, blunted POHR might prove a tool to separate pre-clinical from full-blown SSc

Impact of first wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Weighting the risk of infection and flare.

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and clinical presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infections in a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) cohort; to assess correlations with disease characteristics and rheumatic therapy; and to evaluate the occurrence of treatment discontinuation and its impact on disease activity.Materials and methodsSLE patients monitored by a single Italian centre were interviewed between February and July 2020. Patients were considered to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 infections in case of 1) positive nasopharyngeal swab; 2) positive serology associated with COVID19 suggesting symptoms. The following data were also recorded: clinical symptoms, adoption of social distancing measures, disease activity and treatment discontinuation.Results332 patients were enrolled in the study. Six patients (1.8%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, with the incidence being significantly higher in the subgroup of patients treated with biological Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (p = 0.005), while no difference was observed for other therapies, age at enrollment, disease duration, type of cumulative organ involvement or adoption of social isolation. The course of the disease was mild. Thirty-six patients (11.1%) discontinued at least part of their therapy during this time period, and 27 (8.1%) cases of disease flare were recorded. Correlation between flare and discontinuation of therapy was statistically significant (pConclusionTreatment discontinuation seems to be an important cause of disease flare. Our findings suggest that abrupt drug withdrawal should be avoided or evaluated with caution on the basis of individual infection risk and comorbidities