BACKGROUND Limited information exists on the impact of tumor necrosis factor inhibition on COPD exacerbations. This retrospective study characterized this impact among COPD patients with underlying autoimmune conditions, exposed to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) and/or non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). PATIENTS AND METHODS Adult COPD patients with ≥1 diagno...

BACKGROUND Galectin-3 (Gal-3) has been suggested as a prognostic biomarker in heart failure (HF) patients that may better reflect disease progression than traditional markers, including B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and cardiac troponins. To fully establish the utility of any biomarker in HF, its biologic variability must be characterized. METHODS To assess biologic variability, 59 patient...

The causes of cancer health disparities amongst Pacific Islanders and other racial groups are complex and multifactorial. Both biologic and non biologic determinants have been identified as causal factors. Racial/ethnic classification can be used as a surrogate for non biologic determinants such as place of geographic origin, socioeconomic status, cultural practices, and diet. Given that non bi...

OBJECTIVES To estimate annual direct costs of early RA by resource component in an inception cohort, with reference to four distinct treatment strategies: no disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), synthetic DMARDs only, biologic DMARDs in the first year ('first-year biologic', FYB), and biologic DMARDs from the second year after inclusion ('later-year biologic', LYB); to determine pred...

virilized? What causes the increased adrenal production of androgens at puberty? Why is aldosterone secretion markedly increased during pregnancy? How does cortisol protect against vascular collapse during stress? These are but a few of the many intriguing questions raised by the discussants. There are some errors in the book and one discussant in particular seemed to have a bad day. The book, ...

Abstract Background Prior exposure to biologics can influence response subsequent lines of advanced therapies. Previous analyses showed that patients who did not achieve clinical following 10 weeks ozanimod treatment in the phase 3 True North (TN) study benefited from extended induction with open-label TN extension (OLE) study. As impact prior biologic on outcomes is unknown, aim this analysis ...

109 Rev Bras Reumatol 2011;51(2):109-112 In this volume, the article Brazilian Biologic Registry: BiobadaBrasil implementation process and preliminary, the authors described the implementation of the registry “Monitoring the Brazilian Registry of Biological Therapies in Rheumatic Diseases – BiobadaBrasil” promoted by the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology (BSR), and presented data from the first...

Despite remarkable advances in therapy, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) still results in significant morbidity, mortality, and disability [1]. In addition to symmetrical joint swelling of the feet and hands, large joints such as the shoulders, hips, knees, and cervical spine can be affected. RA also may affect the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and ocular systems. Rheumatoid factor is present in up to 80...

BACKGROUND Biologic therapies are widely used in inflammatory diseases, and they are associated to an increased infection risk, especially to granulomatous and intracellular infections such as Legionella. RESULTS A review of the literature revealed 105 cases of Legionella pneumonia in patients taking biologic therapies. Sixty-four patients (65.3%) were treated with infliximab, 23 (23.5%) with...