Oligoarticular Forms Research Articles

Assessment of Bone Mineral Density in a cohort of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis patients

Introduction: Low bone mass is encountered in patients with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) as a serious long-term complication of this pediatric condition and may be associated with fractures and its complications.
 The present study aimed to evaluate the frequency of low bone mineral density (BMD) and fragility fractures in patients with JIA in its polyarticular or oligo articular forms. Secondary, our aim was to identify factors associated with low bone mass.
 Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study conducted on 26 patients with JIA meeting the ILAR criteria for poly or oligoarticular form. Patients were divided into two groups according to their age : group1 including patients aged over 16 years-old and group 2 including patients aged under 16 years-old. Sociodemographic, clinical, biological and functional data were collected by consulting patient’s medical records. Bone mineral density was measured at three different sites: whole body, lumbar spine and hip using the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) equipment. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5 software.
 Results: Twenty-six JIA patients including 20 females (74.1%) and six males (22.2%) were enrolled with a mean disease duration of 20.23 years [2-54 years]. The mean age was 28.2 years [7-58 years]. The distribution of JIA subtypes among patients was as follows: 6 with oligo articular JIA and 20 with polyarticular JIA. Sixteen patients (59%) practiced regular physical activity. In our series, the frequency of low bone mineral density was 41% in children with JIA and 68 % in adults with JIA. Only two patients presented a fragility fracture in adulthood represented by a hip fracture following low-energy trauma and treated surgically in both cases. No patient received an anti-osteoporotic treatment. In-group 1, there was a significant correlation between low bone mass and weight (p=0.020), BMI (p=0.028), disease duration (p=0.045), positivity of AAN (p=0.050), disease activity (p=0.019), oral corticosteroid (p=0.034) and biologic treatment (p=0.043). In-group 2, a statistically significant correlation was found between low bone mass and age at the time of JIA diagnosis (p=0.041), weight (p=0.03), physical activity (p=0.05), disease duration (p=0.021), functional impact of the disease assessed by the HAQ score (p=0.018), oral corticosteroid therapy (p=0.014) and biological therapy (p=0.012).
 Conclusion: our study showed that a combination of factors contributed to compromise bone health in patients with JIA. Fragility fractures were rare and occurring mainly in adulthood. An adequate control of disease activity, proper management of treatment, adequate calcium and vitamin D intake, as well as regular physical activity, may contribute to preserve bone health in those patients.

Using Chromatin Architecture to Understand the Genetics and Transcriptomics of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

The presence of abnormal gene expression signatures is a well-described feature of the oligoarticular and polyarticular forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In this review, we discuss how new insights into genetic risk for JIA and the three dimensional architecture of the genome may be used to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms driving these gene expression patterns.

HLA-DRB1 alleles and juvenile idiopathic arthritis: Diagnostic clues emerging from a meta-analysis.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is characterized with a variable pattern of articular involvement and systemic symptoms and, thus, it has been classified in several subtypes. Genetic predisposition to JIA is mainly due to HLA class II molecules (HLA-DRB1, HLA-DPB1), although HLA class I molecules and non-HLA genes have been implicated, too. Here, we carried out a meta-analysis including selected studies designed to assess HLA genetic background of JIA patients, compared to healthy controls; particularly, we focused our attention on HLA-DRB1. In summary, our meta-analysis showed four main findings regarding HLA-DRB1 locus as a genetic factor of JIA: i) HLA-DRB1*08 is a strong factor predisposing to JIA, both for oligo-articular and poly-articular forms (oJIA>pJIA); ii) HLA-DRB1*01 and HLA-DRB1*04 may be involved in the genetic predisposition of Rheumatoid Factor (RF) positive forms of JIA; iii) HLA-DRB1*11 was confirmed to be predisposing to oligo-articular JIA; iv) HLA-DRB1*04 was confirmed to have a role in systemic JIA. Importantly, RF positivity seems to select the JIA clinical subset with the strongest immunogenetic similarities with adult rheumatoid arthritis.

Association of TRAF1-C5 with risk of uveitis in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

ObjectivesNumerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with JIA, but few of these studies were replicated. We conducted a candidate-gene approach study to assess if some SNPs could be related to clinical subtypes or other clinical features of the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) such as the risk of uveitis, ANA positivity and the age at onset. MethodsSNPs in six genes were analysed: PTPN22, STAT4, TRAF1-C5, TGFbeta, TNFAIP3, and C12orf30. We retrospectively included 104 JIA patients, fulfilling the ILAR classification criteria. Association between SNPs and JIA clinical subtypes, the presence of ANA, risk of uveitis and age at onset was evaluated using a Chi2 test or a Fischer test. ResultsNo associations between different clinical subtypes as well as presence of ANA and the 6 SNPs were found. However, the AA genotype of TRAF1-C5 appeared associated in a subgroup of patients with uveitis in oligoarticular and polyarticular forms [OR 3.77 (95% CI: 1.1067, 12.8527); P=0.066]. Furthermore, AA TRAF1-C5 was significantly more frequent in antinuclear antibodies (ANA) positive patients presenting uveitis, compared to patients without uveitis and without ANA (P<0.05). ConclusionTRAF1-C5 genotype could identify JIA patients with a risk to develop uveitis especially in oligo and polyarticular forms and among ANA-positive children. Given the moderate size of our cohort, this association has to be confirmed in other studies.

Anti-type II collagen antibodies detection and avidity in patients with oligoarticular and polyarticular forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) refers to a heterogeneous group of illnesses that have in common the occurrence of chronic joint inflammation in children younger than 16 years of age. The diagnosis is made only on clinical assessment. The identification of antibody markers could improve the early diagnosis, optimizing the clinical management of patients. Type II collagen is one potential autoantigen that has been implicated in the process of arthritis development. The aims of our study were to investigate the occurrence of anti-type II collagen antibodies and also to determine the avidity of the antibody–antigen binding. Ninety-six patients with oligoarticular or polyarticular JIA, 13 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and 61 healthy controls (HC) were tested for anti-type II collagen antibodies by ELISA and avidity ELISA. Sensitivity and specificity were determined by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Forty-two JIA patients (44%) were positive for antibodies against type II collagen. Its detection was significantly higher in JIA patients than in AS patients (p=0.006) and HCs (p<0.0001). Furthermore, anti-type II collagen antibody detection was significantly more frequent in patients with JIA of ≤6 months duration (p=0.0007). Antibodies displaying high avidity to type II collagen were associated with disease activity (p=0.004). This study demonstrates that antibodies against type II collagen are present in the serum of patients with oligoarticular and polyarticular JIA, being its presence more prevalent in patients with early disease. It also demonstrates that JIA patients with active disease present antibodies with high avidity against type II collagen.

A9.8 Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): findings in videocapillaroscopy

BackgroundVideocapillaroscopy allows for the detection of changes in microcirculation characteristic of connective tissue diseases. Differences in the capillaroscopic findings have been found between healthy adults and healthy children. Currently there...

The Region Centromeric toHLA-CIs a Key Region for Understanding the Phenotypic Variability of Psoriatic Arthritis

With the aim of clarifying the role of several polymorphisms around the HLA-C locus in the clinical expression of PsA, the distribution of several polymorphic markers and genes located around the HLA-C locus was analyzed in a well-established cohort of 110 patients with PsA, 50 patients with psoriasis alone, and 110 healthy controls. The frequency of these genes was also analyzed by PsA articular models, based on three main subgroups: oligoarthritis, polyarthritis, and spondylitis. Distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) involvement was associated with the presence of MICB-CA20 (OR 6.0, 95% CI: 1.58–22.69, P = 0.005). HLA-DRB∗07 was associated with oligoarticular forms of PsA (OR 4.1, 95% CI: 1.8–9.3, P = 0.0007). The spondylitic forms overexpressed the antigen HLA-B∗27 (OR 5.7, 95% CI: 2.4–13.6, P = 0.0001). MICA-A5.1 showed association with polyarthritis (OR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.5–8.8, P = 0.006). Genes telomeric to HLA-C were overexpressed in psoriasis but not in PsA subphenotypes. This study shows that the region centromeric to HLA-C is a key region that expresses not only disease risk genes but also genes that help explain the phenotypic variability of PsA.

Serum tumor necrosis factor alpha increased during remission with Etanercept

Results TNF-a was measurable in 39 serum samples and in all SF samples. Only 19% of serum samples had greater TNF-a levels than controls. The most elevated levels of serum TNF-a were found in patients during clinical remission with Etanercept. In one patient with seropositive polyarticular disease, Etanercept administration for 6 months resulted in important elevation of serum TNF-a, regardless of clinical improvement. SF levels were significantly higher than simultaneously serum levels (p=0.02), with no significant differences among oligoarticular and polyarticular forms of JIA. We found no correlation of serum TNF-a values with disease activity and severity. In our patients the circulating TNF-a values were significantly correlated only with hemoglobin levels (r=-0.30; p=0.04) in the oligoarticular group and with serum Immunoglobulin G (r=0.70; p<0.01) in the systemic group.

Prevalence of overweight among Moroccan children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Objective We aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight among Moroccan children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods Fifty-eight patients with JIA according to the International League of Association of Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria were included consecutively in this study. The median age of patients was 11 ± 3.3 years (range 2–16). Overweight and obesity were defined by using the Body Mass Index (matched on age and sex and in reference to the French curves. Following data were collected: age, gender, age at onset, disease duration, subtype of JIA, functional disability (determined using the Moroccan version of Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire [CHAQ]), disease activity (assessed using a 0–10 visual analogical scale, the number of tender and swollen joints and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate); medical treatment and socioeconomic status of patients. Results Twenty-four patients (41.4%) were overweight, 13 (22.4%) were obese and 21(36.2%) have normal. Patients with normal weight, obese and overweight represented successively 16.7%, 33.3% and 50% of systemic forms, 33.3%, 8.3% and 58.3% of seronegative polyarticular forms, 40%, 40% and 20% of seropositive polyarticular forms, 36.4%, 27.3% and 36.4% of persistent oligoarticular forms, 75%, 25% and 0% of extensive oligoarticular forms and 57.1%, 0% and 42.9% of forms with arthritis and enthesitis. In our data, there was no psoriatic arthritis. Overweight and obesity were more prevalent in older patients ( P = 0.01), with significant functional impairment ( P = 0.04) and with active disease (increased VAS) ( P = 0.005). There were no relationships with the subtype of JIA or with corticosteroid treatment ( P = 0.451). Conclusion Approximatively more than 60% of our patients were overweight. Severe functional limitation and active disease are the most correlated parameters with overweight. Better management of the activity and functional status of the disease seems to be of interest to prevent overweight in children with JIA. More studies with a larger number of patients seem to be necessary in order to confirm our results.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): a screening study to measure class II skeletal pattern, TMJ PDS and use of systemic corticosteroids

To screen patients with oligoarticular and polyarticular forms of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) to determine (i) the severity of their class II skeletal pattern; (ii) temporomandibular joint signs and symptoms and (iii) use of systemic corticosteroids. Cross-sectional screening. Sixty-eight children with JIA aged between 9 and 16 years old who were screened at four regional treatment centres in the UK. Patients were screened clinically and radiographically for the presence of class II skeletal pattern and temporomandibular (TMJ) pain dysfunction syndrome. In addition, the JIA sub-type and history of disease activity and medication were recorded. Class II skeletal pattern, TMJ signs and symptoms, use of systemic corticosteroids. The mean ANB values were 4.2 degrees (SD = 2.9 degrees) in the oligoarticular group and 5.1 degrees (SD = 3.8 degrees) in the polyarticular group. Just under one-third of children had a moderate or severe class II skeletal pattern and a further quarter of children had a mild class II skeletal pattern. Clinical signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint pain dysfunction syndrome were low (<20%), except for crepitus and click which affected between 24 and 40% of JIA children. Radiographically, 57% of oligoarticular and 77% of polyarticular cases exhibited condylar erosion. Use of systemic corticosteroids varied between centres, but overall, was prescribed more in polyarticular cases (P = 0.001). Just under one-third of oligoarticular and polyarticular JIA patients exhibited a moderate or severe class II skeletal pattern. It is, therefore, likely that any future clinical trial to investigate the effect of functional appliance treatment in JIA patients, will need multicentre co-operation to fulfil potential sample size requirements. Clinical signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint pain dysfunction syndrome were low except for crepitus and click. However, radiographic evidence of condylar erosion was high particularly in the polyarticular group. Use of systemic corticosteroids was prescribed more in polyarticular cases and this is likely to reflect the severity of the disease.

Sonographic evaluation of the temporomandibular joints in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Introduction Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) may cause damage to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). In oligoarticular forms of JIA, TMJ involvement is often asymptomatic and consequently overlooked. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of TMJ joint effusion (JE) by ultrasonography (US) in patients with early arthritis. Materials and methods We examined 68 children (57 girls, 11 boys, age range 9.1–16.0 years, mean age 11.0 years) recently diagnosed with JIA. None had received any specific treatment for inflammation. Symptomatic TMJ involvement was diagnosed when one or more of the following were present: 1) recurrent pain (spontaneous or on movement of the jaw); 2) crepitation; 3) feeling of stiffness or fatigue of the jaw; 4) intermittent locking. US of the TMJ was performed in static and dynamic phases with a General Electric LOGIQ7 scanner and a linear transducer (8.5 MHz) positioned along the axis of the mandibular ramus. JE was diagnosed when the joint capsule was ≥1.5 mm thick. Results Forty-six out (68%) of 68 children had US evidence of TMJ effusions (bilateral in 16 [35%] cases), but only 2/46 were symptomatic. Conclusions These data suggest that children with early stage oligoarticular JIA children are likely to have inflammation of the TMJs even in the absence of symptoms. US is a simple-to-use, noninvasive, radiation-free tool that can provide useful information in the assessment and follow-up of TMJ involvement in children and young adults with JIA.

Influencia de la historia natural de la enfermedad en el diagnóstico previo en pacientes con gota

The clinical diagnosis of gout can be quite precise in clinically typical forms. However, in chronic or atypical forms, such precision tends to be diminished in clinical practice. A cohort of 248 patients with a diagnosis of urate crystal arthropathy was studied, sent with a definite clinical evaluation, and data such as severity of the disease, joint distribution and the presence of tophi were gathered. Precision data was analyzed with respect to the referral diagnosis according to the severity parameters and the type of physician sending the patient. The best diagnostic precision was seen in the monoarticular forms that were sent both by the emergency room as well as by family physicians, but not in those sent by other specialists. The presence of oligoarticular forms reduced significantly the diagnostic precision in all of the specialties referring patients. The presence of tophi did not improve diagnostic precision. Chronic and severe forms of gout are frequently wrongly evaluated from the clinical standpoint.

Influence of the natural history of disease on a previous diagnosis in patients with gout

The clinical diagnosis of gout can be quite precise in clinically typical forms. However, in c hronic or atypical forms, such precision tends to be diminished in clinical practice.A cohort of 248 patients with a diagnosis of urate crystal arthropathy was studied, sent with a definite clinical evaluation, and data such as severity of the disease, joint distribution, and the presence of tophi were gathered. Precision data was analyzed with respect to the referral diagnosis according to the severity parameters and the type of physician sending the patient.The best diagnostic precision was seen in the monoarticular forms that were sent both by the emergency room as well as by family physicians, but not in those sent by other specialists. The presence of oligoarticular forms reduced significantly the diagnostic precision in all of the specialties referring patients. The presence of tophi did not improve diagnostic precision.Chronic and severe forms of gout are frequently wrongly evaluated from the clinical standpoint.

IL-18 is involved in systemic JIA, but not in oligoarticular or polyarticular forms

IL-18 is involved in systemic JIA, but not in oligoarticular or polyarticular forms

Rheumatic Manifestations Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Rheumatic manifestations, in particular joint complaints, are frequent features in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with a prevalence varying from 10 to 35%. Their spectrum is almost wide, involving bone, tendons, entheses and joints. Joint manifestations may be seen as arthralgia and/or inflammatory arthropathies. These latter may in turn be found in three principal forms: the peripheral, the axial or spondylitis and that overlapping between these two varieties. Peripheral arthritis may be classified in oligoarticular (type I) and polyarticular (type II) forms. Oligoarthritis is the most frequent. Usually asymmetric, involving large joints of lower limbs, it is transient, commonly associated with IBD flares, and may disappear after few weeks, although in 10% of cases it may evolves to chronic arthritis. Type II arthritis is polyarticular and symmetric, involving hands and feet but also large joints. The prevalence is about 2-4% of IBD patients, its course is independent from IBD flares and usually evolves in chronic disease. Peripheral arthritis is classically nondeforming, non erosive, and seronegative for the rheumatoid factor. Axial involvement is equally frequent in both CD and UC and varies in different studies from 10 to 30% for sacroiliitis and from 3 to 10% for ankylosing spondylitis. Its course is independent from IBD state, the extension of IBD involvement and the occurrence of flares. The treatment of rheumatic manifestations in IBD is frequently problematic, due to the possibility of frequent side effects. Among drugs used for IBD, corticosteroids, also effective in joint complaints, may have osteopenic effects; sulfasalazine, sometimes able to control peripheral arthritis, is ineffective for the axial involvement. A potential gut toxicity is associated with the use of NSAIDs, which in some patients may induce asymptomatic lesions causing small gut bleeding and loss of proteins. Local injections with steroid may be used for tendonitis, monoarthritis or isolated sacroiliac inflammation. In patients with peripheral arthritis, especially when involving several joints and/or refractory to other therapies, disease modifying drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (DMARDs) should be used. Among these, methotrexate is also useful for CD while it seems inefficacious in UC. Cyclosporin, administrated alone or in association, may contain flares of steroid refractory UC. Azathioprine is commonly used to induce and maintain remission in refractory CD while its role on arthritis is marginal. Aminobisphosphonates seem effective for both axial and peripheral involvements and probably, it may represent a good option for the future in the management of enteropathic arthritis, because of their anti-osteopenic effect. Finally, the most promising opportunities derive from the recently introduced biologic agents, in particular anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) . Infliximab, a chimeric anti-TNFα monoclonal IgGI antibody, has largely demonstrated its efficacy in refractory CD and in all rheumatic manifestations. Other biologic agents are proposed, including the human anti-TNF monoclonal antibody adalimumab, antibodies to integrins (anti-α 4 β7), anti-ICAM-1 (intracellular adhesion molecule 1) and IL-10. Concerning the surgical options, the colectomy may be protective on type I peripheral arthritis but is not influent on the course of axial disease, while the surgery on small intestine usually do not prevent the appearance of peripheral arthritis. In the case of destructive arthritis, like coxitis, joint prosthesis may be necessary. Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, enteroarthritis, arthritis, heumatic manifestations, anti-TNF therapy