ABSTRACT
Functional infrared imaging (fIRI) is used to provide information on circulation, thermal properties and thermoregulatory function of the cutaneous tissue in several clinical settings. This study aims to evaluate the application of fIRI in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) assessment, evaluating the thermoregulatory alterations due to joint inflammation in RA patients both in basal conditions and after a mild functional (isometric) exercise, using the same protocol we projected in our recent work on psoriatic arthritis (PsA); fIRI outcomes were compared with those provided by power-Doppler ultrasonography. Ten patients with RA and 11 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The cutaneous temperature dynamics of 20 regions of interest located on the dominant hand were recorded by means of high-resolution thermal imaging at baseline and after a functional exercise. RA patients showed lower thermal parameters compared to healthy controls, suggesting that the RA-related inflammatory state alters the normal thermal properties of the skin overlying inflamed joints. These results are different from PsA data observed in the previous study. fIRI applied to the study of the response to a functional stimulus may represent an innovative, non-invasive, and operator-independent method for the assessment of early RA.
Subject(s)
Arthritis, Psoriatic/diagnostic imaging , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/diagnostic imaging , Arthritis, Psoriatic/physiopathology , Arthritis, Rheumatoid/physiopathology , Body Temperature , Female , Humans , Infrared Rays , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Functional infrared imaging (fIRI) is used to provide information on circulation, thermal properties and thermoregulatory function of the cutaneous tissue in several clinical settings. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the application of fIRI in Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) assessment, evaluating the thermoregulatory alterations due to joint inflammation in PsA patients both in basal conditions and after a mild functional (isometric) exercise; fIRI outcomes were compared with those provided by Power Doppler Ultrasonography (PWD-US). METHODS: 10 patients with PsA and 11 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The cutaneous temperature dynamics of 20 regions of interest located on the dominant hand were recorded by means of high-resolution thermal imaging at baseline and after a functional exercise. RESULTS: Higher temperature values and faster temperature variations characterized the PsA group compared to healthy controls, confirming that the PsA-related inflammatory state alters the normal thermal proprieties of the skin overlying inflamed joints. fIRI outcomes correlated with the PWD-US findings. CONCLUSIONS: fIRI applied to the study of the response to a functional stimulus may represent an innovative, non-invasive, and operator-independent method for the assessment of peripheral PsA.
Subject(s)
Arthritis, Psoriatic/physiopathology , Adult , Aged , Arthritis, Psoriatic/diagnostic imaging , Body Temperature Regulation , Case-Control Studies , Exercise/physiology , Female , Humans , Infrared Rays , Joints/diagnostic imaging , Joints/physiopathology , Male , Middle Aged , Skin/diagnostic imaging , Skin/physiopathology , Skin Temperature , Thermography , Ultrasonography, DopplerABSTRACT
Fas and Fas ligand (FasL), members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and TNF-receptor (TNFR) families of molecules, are involved in apoptosis. They are expressed in membrane-associated as well as soluble forms (sFas, and sFasL). Apoptotic defects underlie some models of autoimmune diseases, and they have been proposed in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) a prototypic autoimmune disorder. We measured the serum levels of sFas and sFasL in a series of well characterized SLE patients and devised an index of the two forms which resulted to be associated with age, indicating that apoptosis resistance is modulated during aging, thus explaining the conflicting observations made in previous studies.
