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Eugene William St. Clair

W. Lester Brooks, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Medicine, Rheumatology and Immunology
Duke Box 3874, Durham, NC 27710
34229 Hosp South, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications


Systemic Sclerosis as an Indication for Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Position Statement from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Journal Article Biol Blood Marrow Transplant · October 2018 Systemic sclerosis is a progressive inflammatory disease that is frequently fatal and has limited treatment options. High-dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) has been evaluated as treatment for this disease in observ ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Baminercept, a Lymphotoxin β Receptor Fusion Protein, in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome: Results From a Phase II Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · September 2018 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of baminercept, a lymphotoxin β receptor IgG fusion protein (LTβR-Ig), for the treatment of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS), and to explore the possible mechanisms of action of this treatment. METHODS ... Full text Link to item Cite

Brief Report: Circulating Cytokine Profiles and Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Specificity in Patients With Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Conference Arthritis Rheumatol · July 2018 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate circulating cytokine profiles in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), classified by antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) specificity (proteinase 3 ANCA [PR3-ANCA] versus myeloperoxidase ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Utility of Urinalysis in Determining the Risk of Renal Relapse in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis.

Journal Article Clin J Am Soc Nephrol · February 7, 2018 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The significance of persistent hematuria or proteinuria in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis who are otherwise in clinical remission is unclear. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: A post hoc analysis was conduc ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of Disease Activity, Glucocorticoid Exposure, and Rituximab on Body Composition During Induction Treatment of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · July 2017 OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relationships between glucocorticoid use, disease activity, and changes in body mass index (BMI) in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: We analyzed AAV patients enrolled in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Identification of Functional and Expression Polymorphisms Associated With Risk for Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Autoantibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · May 2017 OBJECTIVE: To identify risk alleles relevant to the causal and biologic mechanisms of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: A genome-wide association study and subsequent replication study were conducted in a tota ... Full text Link to item Cite

Immunoglobulin (Ig)M antibodies to proteinase 3 in granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis.

Journal Article Clin Exp Immunol · April 2017 Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) appear to play an important role in the pathogenesis of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). However, ANCA alone are not sufficient to generate disease, and some evidence suggests that infectious triggers may serv ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Pharmacogenomic Association of Fcγ Receptors and Cytochrome P450 Enzymes With Response to Rituximab or Cyclophosphamide Treatment in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · January 2017 OBJECTIVE: The Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (RAVE) trial compared rituximab to cyclophosphamide as induction therapy for the treatment of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. We undertook the current study to determi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Interstitial Immunostaining and Renal Outcomes in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Glomerulonephritis.

Journal Article Am J Nephrol · 2017 BACKGROUND: Immunopathologic features predict renal function at baseline and follow-up in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis (GN). The interstitial infiltrate consists predominantly of T lymphocytes, but their pathophy ... Full text Link to item Cite

2016 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism Classification Criteria for Primary Sjögren's Syndrome: A Consensus and Data-Driven Methodology Involving Three International Patient Cohorts.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · January 2017 OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate an international set of classification criteria for primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) using guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). These criteria were ... Full text Link to item Cite

Myeloperoxidase-Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA)-Positive and ANCA-Negative Patients With Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis (Wegener's): Distinct Patient Subsets.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · December 2016 OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) type and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) diagnosis with demographic features, disease manifestations, and clinical outcomes. We focused on patients who account for the di ... Full text Link to item Cite

Increased pretreatment serum IFN-β/α ratio predicts non-response to tumour necrosis factor α inhibition in rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · October 2016 OBJECTIVE: Studies suggest that circulating type I interferon (IFN) may predict response to biological agents in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Prediction of response prior to initiating therapy would represent a major advancement. METHODS: We studied sera fro ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of Drug Therapy on Net Cholesterol Efflux Capacity of High-Density Lipoprotein-Enriched Serum in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · September 2016 OBJECTIVE: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Some RA therapies may modify this risk, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The cholesterol efflux capacity of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ... Full text Link to item Cite

Using Mass Spectrometry to Quantify Rituximab and Perform Individualized Immunoglobulin Phenotyping in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis.

Journal Article Anal Chem · June 21, 2016 Therapeutic monoclonal immunoglobulins (mAbs) are used to treat patients with a wide range of disorders including autoimmune diseases. As pharmaceutical companies bring more fully humanized therapeutic mAb drugs to the healthcare market analytical platform ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical outcomes of treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis based on ANCA type.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · June 2016 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the classification of patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) according to ANCA type (anti-proteinase 3 (PR3) or anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibodies) predicts treatment response ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cogan's syndrome

Chapter · April 19, 2016 Cite

2015 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · January 2016 OBJECTIVE: To develop a new evidence-based, pharmacologic treatment guideline for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We conducted systematic reviews to synthesize the evidence for the benefits and harms of various treatment options. We used the Grading of ... Full text Link to item Cite

2015 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · January 2016 OBJECTIVE: To develop a new evidence-based, pharmacologic treatment guideline for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We conducted systematic reviews to synthesize the evidence for the benefits and harms of various treatment options. We used the Grading of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comprehensive appraisal of magnetic resonance imaging findings in sustained rheumatoid arthritis remission: a substudy.

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · July 2015 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of sustained American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Boolean remission on residual joint inflammation assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to secondarily evaluate other ... Full text Link to item Cite

Neutrophil-Related Gene Expression and Low-Density Granulocytes Associated With Disease Activity and Response to Treatment in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · July 2015 OBJECTIVE: To discover biomarkers involved in the pathophysiology of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) and to determine whether low-density granulocytes (LDGs) contribute to gene expression signatures in AAV. METHODS: The sour ... Full text Link to item Cite

Outcomes of nonsevere relapses in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis treated with glucocorticoids.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · June 2015 OBJECTIVE: Nonsevere relapses are more common than severe relapses in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), but their clinical course and treatment outcomes remain largely unexamined. We undertook this study to analyze the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Allosteric modulation of proteinase 3 activity by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Journal Article J Autoimmun · May 2015 Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) with proteinase 3 (PR3) specificity are a useful laboratory biomarker for the diagnosis of Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) and are believed to be implicated in the pathogenesis. It has been repeatedly su ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rituximab versus cyclophosphamide for ANCA-associated vasculitis with renal involvement.

Journal Article J Am Soc Nephrol · April 2015 Rituximab (RTX) is non-inferior to cyclophosphamide (CYC) followed by azathioprine (AZA) for remission-induction in severe ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), but renal outcomes are unknown. This is a post hoc analysis of patients enrolled in the Rituximab f ... Full text Link to item Cite

Peripheral CD5+ B cells in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · February 2015 OBJECTIVE: CD5+ B cells have been conceptualized as a possible surrogate for Breg cells. The aim of the present study was to determine the utility of CD5+ B cells as biomarkers in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: Th ... Full text Link to item Cite

Solving the puzzle of autoimmunity: critical questions.

Journal Article F1000Prime Rep · 2015 Despite recent advances in delineating the pathogenic mechanisms of autoimmune disease, the puzzle that reveals the true picture of these diverse immunological disorders is yet to be solved. We know that the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci as well as ma ... Full text Link to item Cite

Self-efficacy for exercise, more than disease-related factors, is associated with objectively assessed exercise time and sedentary behaviour in rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Scand J Rheumatol · 2015 OBJECTIVES: Until recently, reports of physical activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were limited to self-report methods and/or leisure-time physical activity. Our objectives were to assess, determine correlates of, and compare to well-matched controls bo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Inflammatory Diseases of the Coronary Arteries

Chapter · January 1, 2015 Rarely, inflammatory disorders affect the coronary arteries, as well as the aorta and other large arteries. Giant cell arteritis (GCA), Takayasu’s arteritis (TA), polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and Kawasaki’s disease (KD) are the major forms of systemic vascu ... Full text Cite

Rituximab for the treatment of relapses in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheumatol · November 2014 OBJECTIVE: Disease relapses are frequent in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). This study was undertaken to evaluate outcomes in patients with AAV who are re-treated with rituximab (RTX) and prednisone for severe disease relap ... Full text Link to item Cite

Adipose depots, not disease-related factors, account for skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in established and treated rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · October 2014 OBJECTIVE: In prior reports, individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exhibited increased insulin resistance. However, those studies were limited by either suboptimal assessment methods for insulin sensitivity or a failure to account for important determ ... Full text Link to item Cite

Persistence and selection of an expanded B-cell clone in the setting of rituximab therapy for Sjögren's syndrome.

Journal Article Arthritis Res Ther · February 11, 2014 INTRODUCTION: Subjects with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) have an increased risk of developing B-cell lymphoma and may harbor monoclonal B-cell expansions in the peripheral blood. Expanded B-cell clones could be pathogenic, and their persistence could e ... Full text Link to item Cite

Complete response to steroids in dural inflammatory pseudotumor associated with Still's disease.

Journal Article J Clin Neurosci · October 2013 We report a unique case of a dural-based inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) arising in the left cavernous sinus of a patient with a history of juvenile Still's disease. The patient presented with hemi-facial paresthesias, dull, constant headaches, and transien ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical outcomes of remission induction therapy for severe antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 2013 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reasons that complete remission is not achieved or maintained with original treatment in some patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) treated with rituximab (RTX) or with cyclophospham ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) with HLA-DPB1*04 and SEMA6A gene variants: evidence from genome-wide analysis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 2013 OBJECTIVE: To identify genetic determinants of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA). METHODS: We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 492 GPA cases and 1,506 healthy controls (white subjects of European descent), followed by ... Full text Link to item Cite

Serum proteins reflecting inflammation, injury and repair as biomarkers of disease activity in ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · August 2013 OBJECTIVE: To identify circulating proteins that distinguish between active anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) and remission in a manner complementary to markers of systemic inflammation. METHODS: Twenty-eight serum pro ... Full text Link to item Cite

Efficacy of remission-induction regimens for ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article N Engl J Med · August 1, 2013 BACKGROUND: The 18-month efficacy of a single course of rituximab as compared with conventional immunosuppression with cyclophosphamide followed by azathioprine in patients with severe (organ-threatening) antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associat ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rituximab therapy for primary Sjögren's syndrome: an open-label clinical trial and mechanistic analysis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · April 2013 OBJECTIVE: To study the safety and clinical efficacy of rituximab therapy for primary Sjögren's syndrome, as well as to investigate its mechanisms. METHODS: Patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome were enrolled in an open-label trial, were given rituximab ... Full text Link to item Cite

Gastric antral vascular ectasia and its clinical correlates in patients with early diffuse systemic sclerosis in the SCOT trial.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · April 2013 OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and clinical correlates of endoscopic gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE; "watermelon stomach") in early diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: Subjects with early, diffuse SSc and evidence of specific internal ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of systemic lupus erythematosus with angiographically defined coronary artery disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · February 2013 OBJECTIVE: To determine if systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in select patients undergoing coronary angiography. We compared the extent of angiographic abnormalities, CAD risk factors ... Full text Link to item Cite

Meta-analysis of genetic polymorphisms in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) reveals shared susceptibility loci with rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · October 2012 OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of previously identified autoimmune disease susceptibility loci with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA), and to determine whether the genetic susceptibility profiles of other autoimmune diseases are ass ... Full text Link to item Cite

A randomized comparative effectiveness study of oral triple therapy versus etanercept plus methotrexate in early aggressive rheumatoid arthritis: the treatment of Early Aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis Trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 2012 OBJECTIVE: To assess whether it is better to intensively treat all patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using combinations of drugs or to reserve this approach for patients who do not have an appropriate response (as determined by a Disease Activi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cogan's Syndrome

Journal Article · May 3, 2012 Cogan's syndrome (CS) is characterized by interstitial keratitis, which rarely produces blindness, and recurrent Meniere's-like vestibulo-auditory events with frequent progression to hearing loss and deafness. It is a rare disease with a mean age of onset ... Full text Cite

Assessment of health-related quality of life as an outcome measure in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's).

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · February 2012 OBJECTIVE: To assess a generic measure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as an outcome measure in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA). METHODS: Subjects were participants in the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial (WGET) or the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Circulating angiopoietin-2 as a biomarker in ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article PLoS One · 2012 The endothelial-specific Angiopoietin-Tie2 ligand-receptor system is an important regulator of endothelial activation. Binding of angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) to Tie2 receptor renders the endothelial barrier responsive to pro-inflammatory cytokines. We previousl ... Full text Link to item Cite

IgA and IgG antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody engagement of Fc receptor genetic variants influences granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Journal Article Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · December 20, 2011 Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) is a rare autoimmune neutrophil-mediated vasculitis that can cause renal disease and mucosal manifestations. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are present in many patients, vary in level over time, an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ovarian reserve diminished by oral cyclophosphamide therapy for granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's).

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · December 2011 OBJECTIVE: Standard treatment for severe granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA) is daily oral cyclophosphamide (CYC), a cytotoxic agent associated with ovarian failure. In this study, we assessed the rate of diminished ovarian reserve in women ... Full text Link to item Cite

Circulating markers of vascular injury and angiogenesis in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · December 2011 OBJECTIVE: To identify biomarkers that distinguish between active antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) and remission in a manner superior or complementary to established markers of systemic inflammation. METHODS: Markers o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Solid malignancies among etanercept-treated patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's): long-term followup of a multicenter longitudinal cohort.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · August 2011 OBJECTIVE: An association between therapeutic inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and solid malignancies was observed during the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial (WGET), which included 180 patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wege ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationship between markers of platelet activation and inflammation with disease activity in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · June 2011 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: There remains a need for biomarkers to guide therapy in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Our objective was to determine whether measures of platelet activation or inflammation are associated with disease activity ... Full text Link to item Cite

Challenges in the pursuit of immune tolerance.

Journal Article Immunol Rev · May 2011 Strategies for inducing immune tolerance are fundamentally similar across a spectrum of immune-mediated disorders, including allergic disease, autoimmunity, and rejection of allografts. In each case, the objective of establishing an immunoregulatory balanc ... Full text Link to item Cite

A model to predict cardiovascular events in patients with newly diagnosed Wegener's granulomatosis and microscopic polyangiitis.

Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · April 2011 OBJECTIVE: To create a prognostic tool to quantify the 5-year cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients with newly diagnosed Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) without premorbid CV disease. METHODS: We reviewed CV outcomes during t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Characterization of a rare IL-10-competent B-cell subset in humans that parallels mouse regulatory B10 cells.

Journal Article Blood · January 13, 2011 Featured Publication Regulatory B cells control inflammation and autoimmunity in mice, including the recently identified IL-10-competent B10 cell subset that represents 1% to 3% of spleen B cells. In this study, a comparable IL-10-competent B10 cell subset was characterized in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Design of the Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis (RAVE) Trial

Journal Article Open Arthritis Journal · January 1, 2011 Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly Wegener's) (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) share many clinical and pathological features, including antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) directed against either proteinase 3 (PR3) or myeloperoxida ... Full text Cite

Alpha₁-antitrypsin deficiency-related alleles Z and S and the risk of Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · December 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: Deficiency of α(1) -antitrypsin (α(1) AT) may be a determinant of susceptibility to Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). Several previous, mainly small, case-control studies have shown that 5-27% of patients with WG carried the α(1) AT deficiency Z al ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of the workforce and workplace for rheumatology and the research activities of rheumatologists early in their careers.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · December 2010 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To assess the workforce and workplace in rheumatology, and the research work of early-career rheumatologists. METHODS: Early-career rheumatologists were defined as practicing physicians who joined the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in 19 ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Immune Tolerance Network at 10 years: tolerance research at the bedside.

Journal Article Nat Rev Immunol · November 2010 Featured Publication Immune tolerance-inducing therapies reprogramme immune cells to eliminate pathogenic immune responses while preserving protective immunity. The Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health, was established in 1999 to ev ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rituximab versus cyclophosphamide for ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Journal Article N Engl J Med · July 15, 2010 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Cyclophosphamide and glucocorticoids have been the cornerstone of remission-induction therapy for severe antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis for 40 years. Uncontrolled studies suggest that rituximab is effective and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Good and bad memories following rituximab therapy.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · January 2010 Featured Publication Full text Link to item Cite

Rheumatoid arthritis

Journal Article · December 1, 2009 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects all ethnic groups. Women are nearly three times more likely than men to develop the disease. The pattern of arthritis typically favors distal and symmetrical involvement. The most commonly involved joints are the wrists, m ... Full text Cite

Novel targeted therapies for autoimmunity.

Journal Article Curr Opin Immunol · December 2009 Featured Publication The emergence of new targeted therapies is rapidly improving the treatment of autoimmune disease. These drugs have been variably designed to deplete specific T and B cell subsets, interrupt receptor-ligand interactions, and inhibit the activity of inflamma ... Full text Link to item Cite

Glycosylation of proteinase 3 (PR3) is not required for its reactivity with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in Wegener's granulomatosis

Journal Article Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology · November 30, 2009 Objective. The glycosylation status of autoantigens appears to be crucial for the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases, since carbohydrates play a crucial role in the distinction of self from non-self. Proteinase 3 (PR3), the main target antigen for an ... Cite

Progression of radiographic joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis: independence of erosions and joint space narrowing.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · October 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To compare the progression of erosions and joint space narrowing (JSN) in patients with early active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using data obtained in the "Active-controlled Study of Patients receiving Infliximab for the treatment of Rheumatoid a ... Full text Link to item Cite

A pilot risk model for the prediction of rapid radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Rheumatology (Oxford) · September 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: Identifying patients with RA at high risk of rapid radiographic progression (RRP) is critical for making appropriate treatment decisions. We developed an exploratory prediction model for the risk of RRP using an RA study population undergoing e ... Full text Link to item Cite

T cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia associated with rheumatoid arthritis and neutropenia.

Journal Article Clin Immunol · August 2009 Featured Publication T cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia (T-LGL) is a disease characterized by clonal expansion of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). It generally follows an indolent course and is notable for an association with chronic inflammation, neutropenia and rheumatoid ar ... Full text Link to item Cite

Radiographic changes in rheumatoid arthritis patients attaining different disease activity states with methotrexate monotherapy and infliximab plus methotrexate: the impacts of remission and tumour necrosis factor blockade.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · June 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of radiographic progression and disease activity states in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with methotrexate with or without infliximab. METHODS: Patients (n = 1049) with active RA for 3 years or less a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Glycosylation of proteinase 3 (PR3) is not required for its reactivity with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article Clin Exp Rheumatol · 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The glycosylation status of autoantigens appears to be crucial for the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases, since carbohydrates play a crucial role in the distinction of self from non-self. Proteinase 3 (PR3), the main target antigen for an ... Link to item Cite

Rheumatoid arthritis C. treatment and assessments

Journal Article · December 1, 2008 The assessment of RA demands a careful history and examination, with a detailed joint count to determine disease activity. The level of clinical disease activity largely determines the need for therapy. DMARDs are central to the control of disease activity ... Full text Cite

Assessment of the item selection and weighting in the Birmingham vasculitis activity score for Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · June 15, 2008 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To assess the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegener's Granulomatosis (BVAS/WG) with respect to its selection and weighting of items. METHODS: This study used the BVAS/WG data from the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial. The sco ... Full text Link to item Cite

B-lymphocyte contributions to human autoimmune disease.

Journal Article Immunol Rev · June 2008 Featured Publication Autoimmunity results from abnormal B- and T-cell recognition of self-antigens, which leads to autoantibody production in many cases. Autoantibodies produced by B-cell-derived plasma cells provide diagnostic markers for autoimmunity but also contribute sign ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effects of glucocorticoids on weight change during the treatment of Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · May 15, 2008 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: Weight gain is a side effect of glucocorticoid (GC) use, but the natural history and health implications of changes in weight that occur during the treatment of inflammatory disease are not understood. METHODS: We evaluated data from the Wegener ... Full text Link to item Cite

Comparison of employability outcomes among patients with early or long-standing rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · April 15, 2008 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To compare employability between patients with early and long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and examine the relationships between improvement in employability and disease stage after adjustment for demographic characteristics, disease activ ... Full text Link to item Cite

The calm after the cytokine storm: lessons from the TGN1412 trial.

Journal Article J Clin Invest · April 2008 Featured Publication In March 2006, a phase I study of the superagonistic anti-CD28 antibody TGN1412 caused a massive cytokine storm and multiorgan failure in six healthy human volunteers. Such a profound impact on the immune system was not predicted by preclinical animal stud ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluating the adequacy of disease control in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a RAND appropriateness panel.

Journal Article Rheumatology (Oxford) · February 2008 Featured Publication OBJECTIVES: There is a lack of agreement on assessing disease activity in patients with RA and determining when the RA treatment should be changed or continued. A panel of rheumatologists was convened to develop guidelines to assess adequacy of disease con ... Full text Link to item Cite

B cell-directed therapies for autoimmune disease and correlates of disease response and relapse.

Journal Article J Allergy Clin Immunol · January 2008 Featured Publication Recent advances have led to the development of mAbs that effectively deplete B cells in human beings and target pathways essential for B-cell development. B cell-directed therapies represent promising treatments for autoimmune disorders, although many ques ... Full text Link to item Cite

Measurement of fatigue in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · December 15, 2007 OBJECTIVE: To systematically review fatigue instruments used in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to seek consensus on which instruments should be recommended for future studies and which data on comorbid conditions should be reported wh ... Full text Link to item Cite

The frequency of anticardiolipin antibodies and genetic mutations associated with hypercoagulability among patients with Wegener's granulomatosis with and without history of a thrombotic event.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · December 2007 OBJECTIVE: Venous thrombotic events (VTE), including both deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli, are now recognized as an important complication of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), but the mechanism(s) of this occurrence is unclear. The frequency of an ... Link to item Cite

Antiproteinase 3 antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and disease activity in Wegener granulomatosis.

Journal Article Ann Intern Med · November 6, 2007 BACKGROUND: The utility of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) levels to guide the management of patients with Wegener granulomatosis remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pro-proteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA levels are a better measure of d ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of anemia and physical disability among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · November 2007 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between hemoglobin concentration and physical disability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Data were derived from 2495 patients with RA enrolled in 3 clinical trials (ATTRACT, ASPIRE, and START) an ... Link to item Cite

Sociodemographic associations with early disease damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · August 15, 2007 OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent of organ damage among recently diagnosed patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and to assess the association between sociodemographic variables and total damage and organ-specific damage scores. METHODS: We eval ... Full text Link to item Cite

B cell depletion delays collagen-induced arthritis in mice: arthritis induction requires synergy between humoral and cell-mediated immunity.

Journal Article J Immunol · July 15, 2007 Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease. B cells are likely to play a critical role in arthritis pathogenesis, although it is unclear whether they are necessary for disease induction, autoantibody production, or disease progression. To assess ... Full text Link to item Cite

ANCA are detectable in nearly all patients with active severe Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article Am J Med · July 2007 BACKGROUND: The pathogenic significance of antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in Wegener's granulomatosis is controversial. Their presence is influenced by the extent, severity, and activity of the disease at the time of sampling. The objective ... Full text Link to item Cite

Changes in biomarkers of inflammation and bone turnover and associations with clinical efficacy following infliximab plus methotrexate therapy in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · July 2007 OBJECTIVE: To determine if changes in biomarkers of inflammation and bone turnover in response to treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate (MTX) versus MTX alone are associated with improvement in clinical measures of signs, symptoms, and structural dam ... Link to item Cite

Guidelines for assessing immunocompetency in clinical trials for autoimmune diseases.

Journal Article Clin Immunol · June 2007 Clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of immunosuppressive agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases should also be designed to evaluate immunocompetency. The most clinically relevant outcome for assessing immunocompetency is the infection ... Full text Link to item Cite

Antiendothelial cell antibodies in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis: prevalence and correlation with disease activity and manifestations.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · May 2007 OBJECTIVE: Previous studies in small cohorts of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) or antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis have yielded conflicting data regarding the prevalence of antiendothelial cell antibodies (AECA) ... Link to item Cite

New reagents on the horizon for immune tolerance.

Journal Article Annu Rev Med · 2007 Recent advances in immunology and a growing arsenal of new drugs are bringing the focus of tolerance research from animal models into the clinical setting. The conceptual framework for therapeutic tolerance induction has shifted from a "sledgehammer" appro ... Full text Link to item Cite

IgG and IgM anticardiolipin antibodies following treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 2006 OBJECTIVE: To assess the occurrence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving treatment with infliximab plus methotrexate (MTX) versus MTX alone. METHODS: The first 299 patients enrolled in the randomize ... Full text Link to item Cite

Reply [7]

Journal Article Arthritis and Rheumatism · July 1, 2006 Full text Cite

Solid malignancies among patients in the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · May 2006 OBJECTIVE: Etanercept is a soluble fusion protein designed to inhibit tumor necrosis factor (TNF). During the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial (WGET), a placebo-controlled trial of etanercept given in addition to standard therapy for remission ind ... Full text Link to item Cite

CTLA4Ig: bridging the basic immunology with clinical application.

Journal Article Immunity · March 2006 After a very long and windy road, in December of 2005 the FDA approved CTLA4Ig for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Orencia is the first-in-class antagonist of CD28 costimulation. In this perspective, we discuss the science that led to CTLA4Ig develo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infliximab treatment maintains employability in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · March 2006 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of infliximab therapy on the employment status of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Methotrexate (MTX)-naive patients with active early RA were randomly allocated to receive MTX plus placebo or MTX pl ... Full text Link to item Cite

Predictors of joint damage in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis treated with high-dose methotrexate with or without concomitant infliximab: results from the ASPIRE trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · March 2006 OBJECTIVE: To identify disease characteristics leading to progression of joint damage in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with methotrexate (MTX) versus those treated with infliximab plus MTX. METHODS: Patients who had not previously b ... Full text Link to item Cite

New therapeutics in rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Rheum Dis Clin North Am · February 2006 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disorder characterized predominately by a chronic inflammatory polyarthritis, with frequent progression to joint destruction and disability. Radiographic joint damage develops in as many as 75% of patients within the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Serum, urinary, and salivary nitric oxide in rheumatoid arthritis: complexities of interpreting nitric oxide measures.

Journal Article Arthritis Res Ther · 2006 Nitric oxide (NO) may play important roles in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is an inflammatory disease involving joints and other systems including salivary glands. To assess NO production in RA patients, we compared levels of serum, urine, and salivary ni ... Full text Link to item Cite

Herpes zoster in immunocompromised patients: incidence, timing, and risk factors.

Journal Article Am J Med · December 2005 PURPOSE: To evaluate the risk factors for herpes zoster as well as the incidence and timing of this complication in patients who were treated with immunosuppression because of active Wegener's granulomatosis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We studied the 180 Wegene ... Full text Link to item Cite

Emerging treatments for rheumatoid arthritis: Update

Journal Article Consultant · August 1, 2005 Early treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)-alone or in combination-can prevent joint damage and minimize disability. Until recently, the DMARDs used predominantly in patients with rheumatoid arthritis had been methotrexate, sulfas ... Cite

Damage caused by Wegener's granulomatosis and its treatment: prospective data from the Wegener's Granulomatosis Etanercept Trial (WGET).

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · July 2005 OBJECTIVE: To analyze damage occurring in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) enrolled in the WG Etanercept Trial (WGET) and to correlate that damage with disease activity, adverse events, and quality of life. METHODS: The Vasculitis Damage Index ( ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cardiolipin polyspecific autoreactivity in two broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibodies.

Journal Article Science · June 24, 2005 The design of a human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) immunogen that can induce broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies is a major goal of HIV-1 vaccine development. Although rare human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) exist that broadly neutralize HIV-1, HI ... Full text Link to item Cite

Brief communication: high incidence of venous thrombotic events among patients with Wegener granulomatosis: the Wegener's Clinical Occurrence of Thrombosis (WeCLOT) Study.

Journal Article Ann Intern Med · April 19, 2005 BACKGROUND: Venous thrombotic events (VTEs) have been observed in Wegener granulomatosis, but the incidence rate is not known. OBJECTIVE: To measure the incidence of VTEs in patients with Wegener granulomatosis. DESIGN: Prospective, observational cohort st ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association of Epstein-Barr virus with systemic lupus erythematosus: effect modification by race, age, and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 genotype.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · April 2005 OBJECTIVE: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is hypothesized to play a role in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is important in regulating T cell-mediated immunity, encompassing the first li ... Full text Link to item Cite

A serum proteomic approach to gauging the state of remission in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · March 2005 OBJECTIVE: To identify serum ion patterns that distinguish remission from active disease in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). METHODS: Using sera collected in the WG Etanercept Trial, we selected samples from patients who either were undergoing ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infliximab for the treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Expert Opin Biol Ther · March 2005 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, chronic inflammatory disease characterised predominately by polyarthritis with frequent progression to permanent joint damage and disability. Evidence shows that starting treatment with disease-modifying antirheumat ... Full text Link to item Cite

Combination of infliximab and methotrexate therapy for early rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, controlled trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · November 2004 OBJECTIVE: To compare the benefits of initiating treatment with methotrexate (MTX) and infliximab (anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha [anti-TNFalpha] monoclonal antibody) with those of MTX treatment alone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of < or =3 ... Full text Link to item Cite

The American College of Rheumatology response criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus clinical trials: measures of overall disease activity.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · November 2004 OBJECTIVE: Improved standards for the evaluation of therapeutic interventions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are needed. The purpose of this study by a committee of the American College of Rheumatology was to define clinically meaningful improvement ... Full text Link to item Cite

Occupational risk factors for the development of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · October 2004 OBJECTIVE: There have been few studies of occupational exposures and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We examined the association between the risk of SLE and occupational exposures (mercury, solvents, and pesticides), specific jobs (ever worked in teach ... Link to item Cite

Effects of prasterone on disease activity and symptoms in women with active systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 2004 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prasterone administration results in improvement or stabilization of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disease activity and its symptoms. METHODS: Women with active SLE were treated with prasterone 200 mg/day plus standard ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic polymorphisms in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and TNF-beta in a population-based study of systemic lupus erythematosus: associations and interaction with the interleukin-1alpha-889 C/T polymorphism.

Journal Article Hum Immunol · June 2004 Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the role of TNF polymorphisms in SLE susceptibility remains unclear. Previous studies in different populations report an inconsistent association of the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sustained improvement over two years in physical function, structural damage, and signs and symptoms among patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab and methotrexate.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · April 2004 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of repeated administration of infliximab plus methotrexate (MTX) over a 2-year period in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who previously experienced an incomplete response to MTX. METHODS: Four hundred ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infliximab in active early rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · February 2004 OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of the combination of infliximab plus methotrexate (MTX) on the progression of structural damage in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Subanalyses were carried out on data for patients with early RA in ... Full text Link to item Cite

N-acetyl transferase genotypes in relation to risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · January 2004 OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between N-acetyl transferase (NAT) genotype (NAT1 and NAT2) and risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: DNA samples were collected from 243 recently diagnosed cases and 298 controls enrolled in ... Link to item Cite

CTLA-4 gene polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus in a population-based study of whites and African-Americans in the southeastern United States.

Journal Article Lupus · 2004 Cytotoxic lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) plays an important role in regulating T cell activation, and may help to limit T cell response under conditions of inflammation. Genetic variability in CTLA-4 has been implicated in the development of several autoimm ... Full text Link to item Cite

Systemic lupus erythematosus and genetic variation in the interleukin 1 gene cluster: a population based study in the southeastern United States.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · January 2004 BACKGROUND: Interleukin (IL)1alpha and IL1beta, and their endogenous receptor antagonist (IL1Ra), have been related to the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the role of IL1 polymorphisms in the aetiology of SLE is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To ... Full text Link to item Cite

Treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol · October 2003 Increasing attention has focused on the early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) because of the short time lag that can exist between the onset of synovitis and the development of joint damage and loss of function. For optimal benefit, treatment may ne ... Full text Link to item Cite

Informed consent in a clinical trial of a novel treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · June 15, 2003 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the informed consent process for a clinical trial of intravenous doxycycline for rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire about the consent process at baseline and 16 weeks following enr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Glutathione S-transferase M null homozygosity and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus associated with sun exposure: a possible gene-environment interaction for autoimmunity.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · February 2003 OBJECTIVE: Multiple genetic factors modulate predisposition to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 catalyze metabolic pathways for the excretion of reactive oxygen species that may be genera ... Link to item Cite

Infliximab treatment for rheumatic disease: Clinical and radiological efficacy

Conference Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases · November 1, 2002 Infliximab is a chimeric anti-tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) monoclonal antibody with high affinity and binding specificity for human TNFα. Results from several well designed, controlled clinical trials show repeated infusions of infliximab with concomita ... Cite

Infliximab treatment for rheumatic disease: clinical and radiological efficacy.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · November 2002 Infliximab is a chimeric anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) monoclonal antibody with high affinity and binding specificity for human TNFalpha. Results from several well designed, controlled clinical trials show repeated infusions of infliximab wi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Risk factors for development of systemic lupus erythematosus: allergies, infections, and family history.

Journal Article J Clin Epidemiol · October 2002 We examined risk factors for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 265 recently diagnosed patients in North Carolina and South Carolina and 355 control subjects identified through driver's license records and frequency matched to patients by age, sex, and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Tides of inflammation: impact of biologics.

Journal Article J Rheumatol Suppl · September 2002 Increased knowledge about the mechanisms of joint inflammation and damage has profoundly shaped the development of new therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The first stop on this remarkable bench-to-bedside journey has been the biologics targeting tumo ... Link to item Cite

Hormonal and reproductive risk factors for development of systemic lupus erythematosus: results of a population-based, case-control study.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · July 2002 OBJECTIVE: Estrogen and prolactin may accelerate the progression of murine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In humans, 85% of lupus patients are women, which also suggests the importance of hormonal factors in disease pathogenesis. The purpose of this s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Occupational exposure to crystalline silica and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus: a population-based, case-control study in the southeastern United States.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · July 2002 OBJECTIVE: Crystalline silica may act as an immune adjuvant to increase inflammation and antibody production, and findings of occupational cohort studies suggest that silica exposure may be a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We undertook ... Full text Link to item Cite

The relationship of serum infliximab concentrations to clinical improvement in rheumatoid arthritis: results from ATTRACT, a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · June 2002 OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between serum concentrations of infliximab, a monoclonal anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha antibody, and clinical improvement from infliximab therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Multiple blood samples w ... Full text Link to item Cite

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha blockade: a novel therapy for rheumatic disease.

Journal Article Clin Immunol · June 2002 Overproduction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other chronic inflammatory diseases. In RA, excessive production of TNF-alpha can drive synovial inflammation and proliferation as wel ... Full text Link to item Cite

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists for the treatment of rheumatic diseases.

Journal Article Current opinion in rheumatology · May 2002 Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists have rapidly emerged as a valuable class of antirheumatic agents. Etanercept, a dimerized version of the soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor II, and infliximab, a chimeric anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal ant ... Full text Cite

Open label study to assess infliximab safety and timing of onset of clinical benefit among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · April 2002 OBJECTIVE: To assess the timing of onset of clinical benefit following the initial infusion of infliximab and to obtain additional safety experience of infliximab when given in an office setting to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition, the ... Link to item Cite

Differences by race, sex and age in the clinical and immunologic features of recently diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients in the southeastern United States.

Journal Article Lupus · 2002 We examined the prevalence of clinical and immunologic features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by race, sex and age in a population-based study of 265 SLE patients. Patients fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria. The ... Full text Link to item Cite

Smoking and use of hair treatments in relation to risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · December 2001 OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between smoking and hair treatments (dyes, permanents) and risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Patients (n = 265) diagnosed between January 1, 1995, and July 31, 1999, were recruited through ... Link to item Cite

The effects of intravenous doxycycline therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · May 2001 OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility, safety, and potential clinical efficacy of intravenous (IV) doxycycline therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as well as its possible effects on serum and urinary markers of collagen breakdown. METHODS: The explora ... Full text Link to item Cite

A disease-specific activity index for Wegener's granulomatosis: modification of the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score. International Network for the Study of the Systemic Vasculitides (INSSYS).

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · April 2001 OBJECTIVE: To refine and validate the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) as a disease-specific activity index for Wegener's granulomatosis (WG). METHODS: Sixteen members of the International Network for the Study of the Systemic Vasculitides (INSS ... Full text Link to item Cite

Immunoglobulin GM and KM allotypes in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article Exp Clin Immunogenet · 2001 Genetic variation in immunoglobulin gamma (GM) and kappa (KM) chains was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in some studies. However, the data are conflicting, and only one study examined associations in African-Americans. We examined GM an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Infliximab and methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Trial in Rheumatoid Arthritis with Concomitant Therapy Study Group.

Journal Article N Engl J Med · November 30, 2000 BACKGROUND: Neutralization of tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-alpha) for three to six months reduces the symptoms and signs of rheumatoid arthritis. However, the capacity of this approach to effect a more sustained benefit and its effect on joint damage are n ... Full text Link to item Cite

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with a DR4/1 peptide.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · August 2000 OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and potential clinical efficacy of primary and booster injections of a DR4/1 peptide in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite methotrexate therapy. METHODS. Subjects with active RA were enrolled in a rand ... Link to item Cite

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha blockade: a new era for effective management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Expert Opin Pharmacother · July 2000 Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors have emerged as a new treatment option for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The scientific rationale for targeting TNF-alpha in RA derives from extensive work in the laboratory, showing the importance of this pro-inf ... Full text Link to item Cite

Serum levels of soluble CD44 in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · June 2000 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether elevated soluble CD44 (sCD44) levels serve as a marker of inflammation and lymphoproliferation in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). METHODS: We measured sCD44 levels by ELISA in serum samples from a cross section of healthy i ... Link to item Cite

Chimeric anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha monoclonal antibody treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving methotrexate therapy.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · April 2000 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of single and multiple doses of a chimeric anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibody (infliximab) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had active disease despite therapy with methotrexate (MTX). METHODS: Tw ... Link to item Cite

Interleukin 10 treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

Journal Article Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases · December 16, 1999 Cite

Infliximab (chimeric anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha monoclonal antibody) versus placebo in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving concomitant methotrexate: a randomised phase III trial. ATTRACT Study Group.

Journal Article Lancet · December 4, 1999 BACKGROUND: Not all patients with rheumatoid arthritis can tolerate or respond to methotrexate, a standard treatment for this disease. There is evidence that antitumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) is efficacious in relief of signs and symptoms. We the ... Full text Link to item Cite

Therapy of rheumatoid arthritis: new developments and trends.

Journal Article Curr Rheumatol Rep · December 1999 The medical therapy of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been influenced strongly during the past decade by the recognition that many patients develop joint damage within the first year of disease. This observation has motivated rheumatologists to initiate dis ... Full text Link to item Cite

A case of sustained massive gabapentin overdose without serious side effects.

Journal Article Ther Drug Monit · December 1999 Gabapentin is an antiepileptic agent that is indicated for use as adjunctive therapy for partial seizures. It has a relatively benign side effect profile, but little data exists on massive overdoses with this agent. The authors present a case of a patient ... Full text Link to item Cite

Interleukin 10 treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Ann Rheum Dis · November 1999 Full text Link to item Cite

Early undifferentiated connective tissue disease (CTD). VI. An inception cohort after 10 years: disease remissions and changes in diagnoses in well established and undifferentiated CTD.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · April 1999 OBJECTIVE: (1) To review the diagnoses after 10 years in patients who were identified within 12 months of the onset of well established and undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (CTD). (2) To examine the death rates and disease remissions in these pa ... Link to item Cite

The use of analgesics in the management of pain in rheumatic diseases.

Journal Article Rheum Dis Clin North Am · February 1999 Pain is the most common complaint of patients who see rheumatologists. In this article, the current treatment options for pain are reviewed; these include acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, new specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, opioid ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cogan's syndrome.

Journal Article Curr Opin Rheumatol · January 1999 Work originating in the 1940s led to the characterization of a rare, chronic inflammatory disorder with a unique predilection for the cornea and vestibuloauditory apparatus, now called Cogan's syndrome (CS) after the ophthalmologist who first described it. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Reduction of NOS2 overexpression in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha monoclonal antibody (cA2).

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · December 1998 OBJECTIVE: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have increased expression of nitric oxide synthase type 2 (NOS2) protein and enhanced formation of nitric oxide (NO) that correlate with disease activity. NO ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disseminated histoplasmosis in systemic lupus erythematosus: case report and review of the literature.

Journal Article Semin Arthritis Rheum · December 1998 OBJECTIVES: To report a patient who developed both central nervous system systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and disseminated histoplasmosis and to review the literature regarding histoplasma infection in patients with SLE. METHODS: MEDLINE review of the m ... Full text Link to item Cite

A cross sectional analysis of 5 different markers of collagen degradation in rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · August 1998 OBJECTIVE: To compare 5 different assays measuring collagen degradation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Daily serum samples and 3 consecutive 24 h urine samples were obtained from 25 patients with RA and 20 control subjects. Levels of pyridinoline ( ... Link to item Cite

Nitric oxide--friend or foe in arthritis?

Journal Article J Rheumatol · August 1998 Link to item Cite

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with oral type II collagen. Results of a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · February 1998 OBJECTIVE: Oral administration of cartilage-derived type II collagen (CII) has been shown to ameliorate arthritis in animal models of joint inflammation, and preliminary studies have suggested that this novel therapy is clinically beneficial and safe in pa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical, laboratory, radiographic, and histopathologic features of methotrexate-associated lung injury in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a multicenter study with literature review.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · October 1997 OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and histopathologic features of methotrexate (MTX)-induced lung injury in a combined cohort of selected patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and all cases reported in the English-language lite ... Full text Link to item Cite

Risk factors for methotrexate-induced lung injury in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A multicenter, case-control study. Methotrexate-Lung Study Group.

Journal Article Ann Intern Med · September 1, 1997 BACKGROUND: Toxicity limits the use of methotrexate. OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for methotrexate-induced lung injury in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: One private and five academic rheumatology practices. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Systemic lupus erythematosus. Diagnosis and treatment.

Journal Article Med Clin North Am · January 1997 Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multisystem inflammatory disease characterized by antinuclear antibody production. The diagnosis of this disease is established on the basis of a constellation of clinical and serologic features. Therapy is directed to spe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical, biochemical and pathological predictors of poor response to intravenous cyclophosphamide in patients with proliferative lupus nephritis.

Journal Article Clin Nephrol · September 1996 BACKGROUND: Reports in the literature on the outcome of lupus nephritis (LN) treated with intravenous (i.v.) cyclophosphamide have varied considerably. Previous studies have suggested that less than 25% of patients with LN will progress to end stage renal ... Link to item Cite

Increased expression of blood mononuclear cell nitric oxide synthase type 2 in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Journal Article J Exp Med · September 1, 1996 Nitric oxide (NO) is an important inflammatory mediator in nonhuman animal models of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether blood mononuclear cells from patients with active RA (as compared to control subjects) ... Full text Link to item Cite

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of anti-CD5 immunoconjugate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The Xoma RA Investigator Group.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · July 1996 OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of an anti-CD5 ricin-linked immunoconjugate (CD5-IC) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A total of 104 evaluable patients were enrolled in a multicenter, double-blind, multiple-dose, placebo-controlled ... Full text Link to item Cite

In vitro RNA selection of an autoimmune epitope on stem-loop II of U1 RNA.

Journal Article Clin Immunol Immunopathol · April 1996 Autoantibodies to U1 RNA occur frequently in sera from patients with SLE and SLE-overlap syndromes. These autoantibodies have been previously shown to recognize major epitopes on stem-loops II and IV of U1 RNA. To further define these recognition sites, in ... Full text Link to item Cite

CAMPATH-1H in rheumatoid arthritis--an intravenous dose-ranging study.

Journal Article Br J Rheumatol · March 1996 Forty-one patients with active and refractory rheumatoid arthritis(RA) received a total of 100, 250 or 400 mg of CAMPATH-1H (CAMPATH is a trademark of Glaxo-Wellcome group companies, registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office) over 5 or 10 days in an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lack of correlation between serum soluble Fas/APO-1 levels and autoimmune disease.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · December 1995 OBJECTIVE: To determine whether elevated soluble Fas/APO-1 (sFas/APO-1) levels are associated with either autoimmune disease or evidence of flares in autoimmune disease. METHODS: Thirty-seven serum samples were retrospectively obtained from normal controls ... Full text Link to item Cite

Bedside science reduces laboratory art.

Journal Article Circulation · November 1, 1995 Link to item Cite

Treatment of active refractory rheumatoid arthritis with humanized monoclonal antibody CAMPATH-1H administered by daily subcutaneous injection.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 1995 OBJECTIVE: To investigate the dose tolerance and potential clinical activity of a humanized antilymphocyte monoclonal antibody, CAMPATH-1H (C1H), in patients with active, refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Thirty adult patients with active, ref ... Full text Link to item Cite

Specificity of autoantibodies for recombinant 60-kd and 52-kd Ro autoantigens.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · September 1994 OBJECTIVE: To compare patterns of Ro autoantigen recognition in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Sera were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoprecipitation for reactivity with recom ... Full text Link to item Cite

The anti-La response of a single MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mouse: specificity for DNA and VH gene usage.

Journal Article Eur J Immunol · June 1994 Autoantibodies to ribonucleoproteins (RNP) occur prominently in human systemic lupus erythematosus and murine lupus models. In previous studies we demonstrated a relationship in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) mice between antibodies to Sm, an RNP autoantigen, an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Presentation of multicentric Castleman's disease with sicca syndrome, cardiomyopathy, palmar and plantar rash.

Journal Article J Rheumatol · September 1993 Multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD), or multicentric angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia, is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disorder which typically present with constitutional symptoms, multicentric lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, effusions, a ... Link to item Cite

New developments in Sjögren's syndrome.

Journal Article Curr Opin Rheumatol · September 1993 The growing number of conditions associated with sicca manifestations and focal sialadenitis has shed further light on the heterogeneity of Sjögren's syndrome. Viral and retroviral infections, lymphoproliferative disorders, as well as various autoimmune sy ... Full text Link to item Cite

The future of rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Journal Article Bull Rheum Dis · April 1993 Research into the molecular mechanisms of immunological diseases and the development of more specific therapies are moving ahead simultaneously at a rapid pace. This information may provide a better paradigm for understanding the pathogenesis and the prosp ... Link to item Cite

Assessing housestaff diagnostic skills using a cardiology patient simulator.

Journal Article Ann Intern Med · November 1, 1992 OBJECTIVE: To assess the cardiovascular physical examination skills of internal medicine housestaff. DESIGN: Cross-sectional assessment of housestaff performance on three valvular abnormality simulations conducted on the cardiology patient simulator, "Harv ... Full text Link to item Cite

Anti-La antibodies.

Journal Article Rheum Dis Clin North Am · May 1992 Anti-La antibodies usually occur in sera with anti-Ro antibodies and represent important serologic markers of Sjögren's syndrome and neonatal lupus erythematosus. In addition to their diagnostic and prognostic significance, anti-La antibodies have proved v ... Link to item Cite

Expression of cell-adhesion molecules in the salivary gland microenvironment of Sjögren's syndrome.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · January 1992 OBJECTIVE: The potential role of cell adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) was assessed by examining their expression in salivary gland (SGL) tissue. METHODS: Intercellular adhesion molecule type 1 (ICAM-1), lymphocyte function ... Full text Link to item Cite

Sjögren's syndrome and autoimmunity.

Journal Article Concepts Immunopathol · 1992 Link to item Cite

Anti-La antibody production by MRL-1pr/1pr mice. Analysis of fine specificity.

Journal Article J Immunol · March 15, 1991 In evaluating the origin of autoantibodies, patterns of self-Ag recognition have been interpreted to reflect the relative role of Ag in stimulating a response. Few studies, however, have assessed whether human autoantibodies display patterns of autoantigen ... Link to item Cite

The fine specificity of anti-La antibodies induced in mice by immunization with recombinant human La autoantigen.

Journal Article J Immunol · May 15, 1990 Because of increasing evidence suggesting that anti-La autoantibodies are induced in humans by an Ag-specific mechanism, we investigated the antibody response of animals immunized with the human La Ag and studied its relationship to the anti-La response of ... Link to item Cite

Expression of autoantibodies to recombinant (U1) RNP-associated 70K antigen in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article Clin Immunol Immunopathol · February 1990 To determine the specificity of antibodies to the (U1) ribonucleoprotein antigen in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), patient sera were tested for binding to a recombinant human 70K antigen. By solid-phase immunoassay, we detected anti-70K reactivity in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Temporal correlation of antibody responses to different epitopes of the human La autoantigen.

Journal Article J Clin Invest · February 1990 To investigate the temporal relationship of antibody responses to different La epitopes, sequential sera from nine patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjogren's syndrome were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibody binding to a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Epitope specificity of anti-La antibodies from patients with Sjögren's syndrome.

Journal Article J Autoimmun · August 1989 To investigate patterns of autoreactivity in Sjögren's syndrome, the epitope specificity of anti-La antibodies was determined using recombinant antigens bearing sequences of the amino, middle, and carboxyl portions of the La molecule. Sera from patients wi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of autoantibody binding to different regions of the human La antigen expressed in recombinant fusion proteins.

Journal Article J Immunol · December 15, 1988 To determine the specificity of autoantibodies for various antigenic sites on a self-protein molecule, sera from 19 patients with anti-La antibodies were tested for their reactivity with molecularly cloned La protein fragments. By quantitative ELISA, anti- ... Link to item Cite

Quantitative immunoassay of anti-La antibodies using purified recombinant La antigen.

Journal Article Arthritis Rheum · April 1988 A purified recombinant La fusion protein was tested in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantitate anti-La responses. This protein contained the immunodominant region of the La molecule fused to beta-galactosidase. In solid-phase assays, recombinant ... Full text Link to item Cite

Correction of hypoprothrombinemia by immunosuppressive treatment of the lupus anticoagulant-hypoprothrombinemia syndrome.

Journal Article Am J Med · September 1987 A 66-year-old man with the lupus anticoagulant-hypoprothrombinemia syndrome was treated with cyclophosphamide and prednisone to correct a factor II deficiency prior to elective major surgery. Whereas the lupus anticoagulant activity persisted, functional f ... Full text Link to item Cite

Therapeutic approaches to the treatment of rheumatoid disease.

Journal Article Med Clin North Am · March 1986 Successful treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis demands an understanding of the rationale, clinical use, and side effects of the various antirheumatic modalities. Most patients can be treated effectively with salicylates or other nonsteroidal an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pneumonitis complicating low-dose methotrexate therapy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Journal Article Arch Intern Med · November 1985 Three of 95 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were being treated with low-dose (5 to 15 mg/wk) methotrexate sodium developed the clinical, radiographic, and pathologic features of methotrexate-associated pulmonary injury. Marked hypoxemia emphasized t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Deep venous thrombosis and a circulating anticoagulant in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Journal Article Am J Dis Child · March 1981 We describe deep venous thrombosis and a circulating anticoagulant in a male adolescent with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The association of deep vein thrombosis with SLE in a pediatric patient has not, to our knowledge, been previously reported. Th ... Full text Link to item Cite