Contribution for new genetic markers of rheumatoid arthritis activity and severity : sequencing of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene promoter

© 2007 Fonseca et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe objective of this study was to assess whether clinical measures of rheumatoid arthritis activity and severity were influenced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) promoter genotype/haplotype markers. Each patient's disease activity was assessed by the disease activity score using 28 joint counts (DAS28) and functional capacity by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score. Systemic manifestations, radiological damage evaluated by the Sharp/van der Heijde (SvdH) score, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug use, joint surgeries, and work disability were also assessed. The promoter region of the TNF-alpha gene, between nucleotides -1,318 and +49, was sequenced using an automated platform. Five hundred fifty-four patients were evaluated and genotyped for 10 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, but 5 of these markers were excluded due to failure to fall within Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium or to monomorphism. Patients with more than 10 years of disease duration (DD) presented significant associations between the -857 SNP and systemic manifestations, as well as joint surgeries. Associations were also found between the -308 SNP and work disability in patients with more than 2 years of DD and radiological damage in patients with less than 10 years of DD. A borderline effect was found between the -238 SNP and HAQ score and radiological damage in patients with 2 to 10 years of DD. An association was also found between haplotypes and the SvdH score for those with more than 10 years of DD. An association was found between some TNF-alpha promoter SNPs and systemic manifestations, radiological progression, HAQ score, work disability, and joint surgeries, particularly in some classes of DD and between haplotypes and radiological progression for those with more than 10 years of DD.This work was supported by grant POCTI/SAU-ESP/59111/2004 from Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O IMPACTO DO USO DE AGROTÓXICO NA AGRICULTURA E OS PROBLEMAS DE SAÚDE PÚBLICA: UMA REVISÃO

In Brazil, the agricultural sector is one of the main bases of the economy, both for agribusiness in the production of commodities for export, and for family farming in food production, both with growth prospects. Due to large exports, food production had to be faster, using pesticides and harming human and environmental health. The objective of this article is to understand the impact that the use of pesticides has on the rural population and the problems that it can cause to public health. This is an integrative literature review study, which used the VHL, LILACS and Medline as the search database. Only ten articles were found, therefore only eight were selected. These studies were published between the years 2018 and 2023. The more exposed to the pesticide, the greater the risk of developing some pathology, be it unidentified poisoning, hematological problems with an insistent cause, cancer, degenerative disease, among other causes.No Brasil, o setor agropecuário é uma das principais bases da economia, tanto pelo agronegócio na produção de commodities para exportação, quanto pela agricultura familiar na produção de alimentos, ambos com perspectiva de crescimento. Devido as grandes exportações, a produção de alimentos teve que ser mais rápida fazendo o uso de agrotóxico e prejudicando a saúde humana e ambiental. O objetivo deste artigo é compreender o impacto que o uso de agrotóxico causa na população rural e os problemas que a mesma pode trazer a saúde pública. Trata-se de um estudo do tipo revisão de literatura integrativa, que teve a BVS, LILACS e Medline, como base de dados de busca.  Foram encontrados apenas dez artigos, portanto apenas oito foram selecionados. Estes estudos foram publicados entre os anos de 2018 a 2023. Quanto mais expostos ao agrotóxico maior será o risco de desenvolver alguma patologia seja uma intoxicação não identificada, problemas hematológicos com causa insistente, câncer, doença degenerativa, entre outras causas

Acta Reumatológica Portuguesa: Allocation of the impact factor in June of 2010

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Tumor necrosis factor-α–308 genotypes influence inflammatory activity and TNF-α serum concentrations in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

The Journal of Rheumatology Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.OBJECTIVE: Considering the relevance of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the pathophysiology of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), it is likely that polymorphisms in its promoter area may be relevant in disease susceptibility and activity. We investigated if clinical measures of JIA activity and TNF-α serum concentrations were associated with TNF-α –308 genotypes. METHODS: Portuguese patients with JIA in 5 pediatric rheumatology centers were recruited consecutively, along with a control group of healthy subjects. Demographic and clinical data and blood samples were collected from each patient. DNA was extracted for analysis of TNF-α gene promoter polymorphisms at position –308 by restriction fragment-length polymorphism. RESULTS: One hundred fourteen patients and 117 controls were evaluated; 57% of patients presented the oligoarticular subtype, 25% the polyarticular subtype, 8% the systemic subtype, and 9% had enthesitis-related arthritis and 5% psoriatic arthritis. Twenty-four percent of the patients presented the –308 GA/AA genotypes and 76% the –308 GG genotype, similar to findings in controls. Patients with the –308 GA/AA genotype had higher degree of functional impairment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 100-mm visual analog scale score for disease activity, and TNF-α levels compared to those with the –308 GG genotype. CONCLUSION: TNF-α –308 GA/AA genotypes were found to be related to higher inflammatory activity and worse measures of disease activity in Portuguese patients with JIA. They were not associated with susceptibility to JIA.Supported by a research grant from AstraZeneca and Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa

Practical guide for the use of biological therapies in rheumatoid arthritis - Update of December 2011

The authors review the practical aspects of biologi -cal therapy use for rheumatoid arthritis patients, commenting safety issues before and after treatment initiation and the best treatment strategies to optimize efficacy.publishersversionpublishe

Estimated distribution of the Sharp/van der Heijde (SvdH) score according to the duration of the disease (DD)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Contribution for new genetic markers of rheumatoid arthritis activity and severity: sequencing of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene promoter"</p><p>http://arthritis-research.com/content/9/2/R37</p><p>Arthritis Research & Therapy 2007;9(2):R37-R37.</p><p>Published online 4 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1906815.</p><p></p

Portuguese guidelines for the use of biological agents in rheumatoid arthritis - March 2010 update.

The authors present the revised version of the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology (SPR) guidelines for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with biological therapies. In these guidelines the criteria for introduction and maintenance of biological agents are discussed as well as the contraindications and procedures in the case of non-responders. Biological treatment should be considered in RA patients with a disease activity score 28 (DAS 28) superior to 3.2 despite treatment with 20mg/week of methotrexate (MTX) for at least 3 months or, if such treatment is not possible, after 6 months of other conventional disease modifying drug or combination therapy. A DAS 28 score between 2.6 and 3.2 with a significant functional or radiological deterioration under treatment with conventional regimens could also constitute an indication for biological treatment. The treatment goal should be remission or, if that is not achievable, at least a low disease activity, characterized by a DAS28 lower than 3.2, without significative functional or radiological worsening. The response criteria, at the end of the first 3 months of treatment, are a decrease of 0.6 in the DAS28 score. After 6 months of treatment response criteria is defined as a decrease of more than 1.2 in the DAS28 score. Non-responders, in accordance to the Rheumatologist's clinical opinion, should try a switch to another biological agent (tumour necrosis factor antagonist, abatacept, rituximab or tocilizumab).publishersversionpublishe

Portuguese guide lines for the use of biological agents in rheumatoid arthritis - october 2011 update

The authors present the revised version of the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology (SPR) guidelines for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) with biological therapies. In these guidelines the criteria for introduction and maintenance of biological agents are discussed as well as the contraindications and procedures in the case of non-responders. Biological treatment (with a tumour necrosis factor antagonist, abatacept or tocilizumab) should be considered in RA patients with a disease activity score 28 (DAS 28) equal to or greater than 3.2 des pite treatment with at least 20mg-weekly-dose of methotrexate (MTX) for at least 3 months or, if such treatment is not possible, after 3 months of other conventional disease modifying drug or combination therapy. A DAS 28 score between 2.6 and 3.2 with a significant functional or radiological deterioration under treatment with conventional regi -mens could also constitute an indication for biological treatment. The treatment goal should be remission or, if that is not achievable, at least a low disease activity, defined by a DAS28 lower than 3.2,without significative functional or radiological worsening. The response criteria, at the end of the first 3 months of treatment, are a decrease of at least 0.6 in the DAS28 score. After 6 months of treatment res ponse criteria is defined as a decrease greater than 1.2 in the DAS28 score. Non-responders, in accordance to the Rheumatologist's clinical opi -nion, should try a switch to another biological agent (tumour necrosis factor antagonist, abatacept, rituxi mab or tocilizumab).publishersversionpublishe