Guidance on noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory therapy in noninfectious uveitis: fundamentals of care for uveitis (focus) initiative

Topic: An international, expert-led consensus initiative to develop systematic, evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis in the era of biologics. Clinical Relevance: The availability of biologic agents for the treatment of human eye disease has altered practice patterns for the management of noninfectious uveitis. Current guidelines are insufficient to assure optimal use of noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory agents. Methods: An international expert steering committee comprising 9 uveitis specialists (including both ophthalmologists and rheumatologists) identified clinical questions and, together with 6 bibliographic fellows trained in uveitis, conducted a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol systematic reviewof the literature (English language studies from January 1996 through June 2016; Medline [OVID], the Central Cochrane library, EMBASE,CINAHL,SCOPUS,BIOSIS, andWeb of Science). Publications included randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies with sufficient follow-up, case series with 15 cases or more, peer-reviewed articles, and hand-searched conference abstracts from key conferences. The proposed statements were circulated among 130 international uveitis experts for review.Atotal of 44 globally representativegroupmembersmet in late 2016 to refine these guidelines using a modified Delphi technique and assigned Oxford levels of evidence. Results: In total, 10 questions were addressed resulting in 21 evidence-based guidance statements covering the following topics: when to start noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory therapy, including both biologic and nonbiologic agents; what data to collect before treatment; when to modify or withdraw treatment; how to select agents based on individual efficacy and safety profiles; and evidence in specific uveitic conditions. Shared decision-making, communication among providers and safety monitoring also were addressed as part of the recommendations. Pharmacoeconomic considerations were not addressed. Conclusions: Consensus guidelines were developed based on published literature, expert opinion, and practical experience to bridge the gap between clinical needs and medical evidence to support the treatment of patients with noninfectious uveitis with noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory agents

Monitoring ankylosing spondylitis therapy by dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract Objective The effects of different therapies on enthesitis/ osteitis in active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim was to assess the role of quantitative MRI in the evaluation of AS treatment efficacy. Materials and methods Thirty patients with active spondylitis or bilateral sacroilitis were selected and followed up for 1 year. Ten of the patients were treated only with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 10 patients additionally received at baseline an intravenous pulse of glucocorticoids and 10 patients were treated with regular infusions of infliximab. Disease activity was measured according to clinical instruments and laboratory tests. For each patient, one selected inflamed lesion was followed from baseline through control visits quantitatively by diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and by dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging (DCEI) with evaluation of the enhancement factor (f enh ) and enhancement gradient (g enh ). Results Clinical and quantitative MRI parameters diminished significantly with regression of the inflammatory activity. The improvement in AS was most pronounced in patients treated with infliximab; after 12 months the ADC diminished from an average of 1.31 to 0.88×10 −3 mm 2 /s, f enh from 1.85 to 0.60, and g enh from 3.09 to 1.40 %/s. Conclusion Diffusion-weighted imaging and DCEI were shown to be effective in quantifying changes in inflammation in skeletal lesions during the treatment of AS, and could therefore be convenient for assessing treatment efficacy. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time DWI was used to evaluate the activity of skeletal inflammation in rheumatic diseases such as AS

Uspješno liječenje moždane ishemije dodacima hrani u bolesnice s hiperhomocisteinemijom

The effectiveness of homocysteine-lowering therapy on stroke prevention is still unclear. Although randomized controlled epidemiological trials have yielded mixed findings, a multicenter trial did not show any beneficial effect. Genetic studies are still lacking. Therefore, we report on a female patient with transient ischemic attacks and the thermolabile variant of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (TT genotype), who benefited from supplemental therapy for homocysteine lowering.Učinkovitost terapije snižavanja homocisteina u prevenciji moždanog udara ostaje nejasnom. Iako su randomizirana kontrolirana epidemiološka ispitivanja polučila mješovite nalaze, jedna multicentrična studija nije pokazala nikakav koristan učinak, dok genetičke studije još uvijek nedostaju. Prikazuje se slučaj bolesnice s prolaznim ishemijskim napadajima i termolabilnom varijantom metilen-tetrahidrofolat reduktaze (TT genotip) u koje se terapija dodacima hrani radi snižavanja homocisteina pokazala korisnom