The Italian Society of Rheumatology clinical practice guidelines for the management of polymyalgia rheumatica

Objective: to provide evidence-based up-to-date recommendations for the management of patients with a definite diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Methods: A systematic literature review was performed to find the existing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) on PMR and the framework of the Guidelines International Network Adaptation Working Group was used to appraise (AGREE II), synthesize, and customize the recommendations according to the needs of the Italian healthcare context. Rheumatologists on behalf of the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) and from the SIR Epidemiology Unit joined the working group and identified the key health questions on PMR to guide the systematic literature review. Physicians, including general practitioners and specialists, and health professionals who manage PMR in the clinical practice were the target audience. The final recommendations were rated externally by a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional group of stakeholders. Results: From the systematic search in databases (Medline, Embase) and grey literature, 3 CPGs were identified and appraised by two independent raters. Combining the statements and the evidence from these CPGs, 9 recommendations were developed by endorsement or adaptation in response to the initial key health questions. The quality of evidence was graded and the working group discussed the final recommendations in view of their implementation in the Italian healthcare context. Conclusions: In absence of national guidelines so far, these recommendations are the first to provide guidance for the management of patients with a diagnosis of PMR in Italy and they are expected to ensure the best evidence-based clinical practice for this disease

Efficient H2 production by photocatalytic water splitting under visible light over modified TiO2-based catalysts

Efficient H2 production by photocatalytic water splitting under visible light over modified TiO2-based catalyst

A case of primary selective hypoaldosteronism carrying three mutations in the aldosterone synthase (Cyp11b2) gene

An infant with a clinical phenotype of early onset hypoaldosteronism has been screened for mutation analysis of the Cyp11b2 gene encoding aldosterone synthase enzyme. We have described a novel nonsense mutation in exon 3 (c.508C>T) that gave rise to a shorter protein (Q170X) and two known concurrent missense mutations (c.594A>C in exon 3 and c.1157T>C in exon 7) that led to substitution of glutamic acid for aspartic acid at amino acid position 198 (E198D) and of valine for alanine at amino acid position 386 (V386A). The father, who carried E198D plus V386A mutations, showed a fractional sodium excretion of 1.25% that was unmodified by dietary salt restriction, suggesting a mild haploinsufficiency. We examined by in silico analysis the effect of the mutations on the secondary and tertiary structures of aldosterone synthase to explain the inefficient enzymatic activity. The Q170X mutation produced a truncated protein, which was consequently associated with a loss of catalytic activity. As predicted by JPred web system and Dock 6.3 software, the concurrent expression of E198D and V386A mutations induced a significant secondary structure rearrangement and a shift of the heme group and the 18-hydroxycorticosterone substrate from their optimal placement

Does early arthritis clinic organization improve outcomes? What evidence is there? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To perform a systematic review aimed to identify studies addressing the effect of the establishment of a structured organisation programme, named early arthritis clinic (EAC), finalized to manage patients with early arthritis (EA) or suspected early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA). METHODS: A literature search was performed until May 2012 using electronic databases. Additional information was obtained through a hand and grey literature search. Primary and secondary outcomes and eligibility criteria have been defined. RESULTS: The search provided a total of 3367 citations and, after the selection process, 11 non randomised controlled trials were selected, including a total of 8240 participants. The efficacy of EAC did clearly emerge with regard to reduction of the referral lag time and of the time to treatment (secondary outcomes). Only two studies met the primary outcomes: one study demonstrated that the EAC contributed to reducing disease activity and radiographic progression but not functional disability, while another reported a reduction of pain after a 6-12-month period of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Whether the establishment of EAC would improve the prognosis of EA in terms of primary outcomes such as clinical, functional and radiologic progression compared to patients managed outside from EAC does appear a still poorly addressed issue in the literature, which should be recognised as an urgent unmet need by the rheumatology community to gain more evidence-based information on this topi