Frequency of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

INTRODUCTION: the pathogenesis of coronary disease in systemic lupus erythematosus patients is not completely understood. Risk factors associated with lupus or its treatment may be associated with traditional risk factors for coronary disease. Such risk factors are more common in patients with lupus. OBJECTIVE: to determine the frequency of cardiovascular disease and traditional risk factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus at Rheumatology Division of Hospital das Clínicas of Minas Gerais Federal University. METHODS: 172 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were evaluated. Cardiovascular events, traditional risk factors and clinical-laboratorial findings were investigated in this cross-sectional research. RESULTS: the mean age (SD) of the patients was 38.5 years (11.2 years). 95.9% were female and 64.5% were non white. Cardiovascular disease was identified in 8 patients (4.7%), with 11 different diagnoses. Three patients had coronary insufficiency, three had stroke and five had peripheral arterial disease. Systemic arterial hypertension was the most frequent risk factor (48.8%), followed by dyslipidemia in 70 patients (40.7%) and hypertriglyceridemia in 51 patients (29.7%). LDL-c > 100 mg/dl was found in 77 patients (44.8%). Among 165 female patients, 67 (40.6%) had menopause, 43.3% of them with early menopause. CONCLUSION: the present study describes the frequency of risk factors for coronary artery disease in a Brazilian sample of lupus patients. The impact of recognition and management of those risk factors in prevention of cardiovascular events should be object of others studies.INTRODUÇÃO: a patogênese da doença arterial coronariana no lúpus eritematoso sistêmico não está completamente estabelecida, porém fatores relacionados ao lúpus e ao seu tratamento parecem se associar à presença de fatores de risco tradicionais. Esses fatores de risco estão presentes em indivíduos com lúpus em uma freqüência maior em relação à população geral e correlacionam-se à presença de doença cardiovascular manifesta nessa população. OBJETIVOS: determinar a freqüência da doença cardiovascular manifesta e dos fatores de risco em pacientes com lúpus acompanhados no Serviço de Reumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da UFMG. MÉTODOS: avaliação transversal de 172 pacientes com lúpus. Eventos cardiovasculares, fatores de risco tradicionais e manifestações clínico-laboratoriais do lúpus foram avaliados. RESULTADOS: a média de idade (DP) foi de 38,5 anos (11,2 anos): a maioria do sexo feminino (95,9%) e da etnia não-branca (64,5%). Identificou-se doença cardiovascular em oito pacientes (4,7%), com 11 diagnósticos diferentes. Três apresentaram evento coronariano; três, acidente vascular cerebral isquêmico; e cinco, doença arterial periférica. O fator de risco mais freqüente foi hipertensão arterial sistêmica (48,8%), seguido por dislipidemia em 70 (40,7%) pacientes e hipertrigliceridemia em 51 (29,7%). O c-LDL > 100 mg/dl foi encontrado em 77 (44,8%) pacientes. Entre as 165 pacientes do sexo feminino, 67 (40,6%) encontravam-se na pós-menopausa, e 43,3% tiveram o diagnóstico de menopausa precoce. CONCLUSÕES: o presente estudo descreve a freqüência dos fatores de risco para doença arterial coronariana em uma amostra significativa de pacientes brasileiros com lúpus. A importância do reconhecimento de tais fatores encontra-se na possibilidade de modificação e tratamento de alguns deles. O impacto da identificação e do tratamento de fatores de risco em pacientes com lúpus para prevenção de eventos cardiovasculares deve ser objeto de novos estudos.Sociedade Brasileira de ReumatologiaUFMG Faculdade de Medicina Departamento do Aparelho LocomotorUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de ReumatologiaUFMG Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de Clínica MédicaUNIFESP, Depto. de ReumatologiaSciEL

Subgingival Microbiota Dysbiosis in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Association with Periodontal Status

Background Periodontitis results from the interaction between a subgingival biofilm and host immune response. Changes in biofilm composition are thought to disrupt homeostasis between the host and subgingival bacteria resulting in periodontal damage. Chronic systemic inflammatory disorders have been shown to affect the subgingival microbiota and clinical periodontal status. However, this relationship has not been examined in subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The objective of our study was to investigate the influence of SLE on the subgingival microbiota and its connection with periodontal disease and SLE activity. Methods We evaluated 52 patients with SLE compared to 52 subjects without SLE (control group). Subjects were classified as without periodontitis and with periodontitis. Oral microbiota composition was assessed by amplifying the V4 region of 16S rRNA gene from subgingival dental plaque DNA extracts. These amplicons were examined by Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Results SLE patients exhibited higher prevalence of periodontitis which occurred at a younger age compared to subjects of the control group. More severe forms of periodontitis were found in SLE subjects that had higher bacterial loads and decreased microbial diversity. Bacterial species frequently detected in periodontal disease were observed in higher proportions in SLE patients, even in periodontal healthy sites such as Fretibacterium, Prevotella nigrescens, and Selenomonas. Changes in the oral microbiota were linked to increased local inflammation, as demonstrated by higher concentrations of IL-6, IL-17, and IL-33 in SLE patients with periodontitis. Conclusions SLE is associated with differences in the composition of the microbiota, independently of periodontal status. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40168-017-0252-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A Brazilian cohort of patients with immuno-mediated chronic inflammatory diseases infected by SARS-CoV-2 (ReumaCoV-Brasil Registry) : protocol for a prospective, observational study

Background: Patients with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases (IMRD) are at increased risk of infections, including significant morbidity and high mortality. Considering the potential for unfavorable outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with IMRD, several questions were raised regarding the impact of COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic. Objective: This paper presents the protocol of a study that aims to prospectively evaluate patients with IMRD and a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (using criteria provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Health). Methods: The study comprised a prospective, observational cohort (patients with IMRD and COVID-19) and a comparison group (patients with only IMRD), with a follow-up time of 6 months to evaluate differences in health outcomes. The primary outcomes will be changes in IMRD disease activity after SARS-CoV-2 infection at 4 time points: (1) at baseline, (2) within 4-6 weeks after infection, (3) at 3 months after the second assessment (±15 days), and (4) at 6 months (±15 days). The secondary outcomes will be the progression rate to moderate or severe forms of COVID-19, need for intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation, death, and therapeutic changes related to IMRD. Two outcomes—pulmonary and thromboembolic events in patients with both IMRD and SARS-CoV-2 infection—are of particular interest and will be monitored with close attention (clinical, laboratory, and function tests as well as imaging). Results: Recruitment opened in May 2020, with 1300 participants recruited from 43 sites as of November 2020. Patient recruitment will conclude by the end of December 2020, with follow-up occurring until April 2021. Data analysis is scheduled to start after all inclusion data have been collected, with an aim to publish a peer-reviewed paper in December 2020. Conclusions: We believe this study will provide clinically relevant data on the general impact of COVID-19 on patients with IMRD

Revisiting hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for patients with chronic immunity-mediated inflammatory rheumatic diseases

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, also known as antimalarial drugs, are widely used in the treatment of rheumatic diseases and have recently become the focus of attention because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Rheumatologists have been using antimalarials to manage patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory rheumatic diseases for decades. It is an appropriate time to review their immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory mechanisms impact on disease activity and survival of systemic lupus erythematosus patient, including antiplatelet effect, metabolic and lipid benefits. We also discuss possible adverse effects, adding a practical and comprehensive approach to monitoring rheumatic patients during treatment with these drugs

High levels of immunosuppression are related to unfavourable outcomes in hospitalised patients with rheumatic diseases and COVID-19 : first results of ReumaCoV Brasil registry

Objectives To evaluate risk factors associated with unfavourable outcomes: emergency care, hospitalisation, admission to intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation and death in patients with immune-mediated rheumatic disease (IMRD) and COVID-19. Methods Analysis of the first 8 weeks of observational multicentre prospective cohort study (ReumaCoV Brasil register). Patients with IMRD and COVID-19 according to the Ministry of Health criteria were classified as eligible for the study. Results 334 participants were enrolled, a majority of them women, with a median age of 45 years; systemic lupus erythematosus (32.9%) was the most frequent IMRD. Emergency care was required in 160 patients, 33.0% were hospitalised, 15.0% were admitted to the ICU and 10.5% underwent mechanical ventilation; 28 patients (8.4%) died. In the multivariate adjustment model for emergency care, diabetes (prevalence ratio, PR 1.38; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.73; p=0.004), kidney disease (PR 1.36; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.77; p=0.020), oral glucocorticoids (GC) (PR 1.49; 95% CI 1.21 to 1.85; p50 years (PR 1.89; 95% CI 1.26 to 2.85; p=0.002), no use of tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) (PR 2.51;95% CI 1.16 to 5.45; p=0.004) and methylprednisolone pulse therapy (PR 2.50; 95% CI 1.59 to 3.92; p<0.001); for ICU admission, oral GC (PR 2.24; 95% CI 1.36 to 3.71; p<0.001) and pulse therapy with methylprednisolone (PR 1.65; 95% CI 1.00 to 2.68; p<0.043); the two variables associated with death were pulse therapy with methylprednisolone or cyclophosphamide (PR 2.86; 95% CI 1.59 to 5.14; p<0.018). Conclusions Age >50 years and immunosuppression with GC and cyclophosphamide were associated with unfavourable outcomes of COVID-19. Treatment with TNFi may have been protective, perhaps leading to the COVID-19 inflammatory process

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe