Pathogenesis of Extraarticular Manifestations in Rheumatoid Arthritis-A Comprehensive Review.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is among the most prevalent and debilitating autoimmune inflammatory chronic diseases. Although it is primarily characterized by destructive peripheral arthritis, it is a systemic disease, and RA-related extraarticular manifestations (EAMs) can affect almost every organ, exhibit a multitude of clinical presentations, and can even be asymptomatic. Importantly, EAMs largely contribute to the quality of life and mortality of RA patients, particularly substantially increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) which is the leading cause of death in RA patients. In spite of known risk factors related to EAM development, a more in-depth understanding of its pathophysiology is lacking. Improved knowledge of EAMs and their comparison to the pathogenesis of arthritis in RA could lead to a better understanding of RA inflammation overall and its initial phases. Taking into account that RA is a disorder that has many faces and that each person experiences it and responds to treatments differently, gaining a better understanding of the connections between the joint and extra-joint manifestations could help to create new treatments and improve the overall approach to the patient.

Urethral pressure profile before radical prostatectomy as a predictor of early postoperative continence.

OBJECTIVE: Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common complications of radical prostatectomy (RP). Impaired urethral sphincter function is generally considered to be the most important contributing factor for UI; however, the mechanism of onset and recovery of urinary continence has not been fully elucidated. The objective of this research was to evaluate preoperative functional urethral length (FUL) and maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) as early continence recovery predictors after open retropubic RP (ORRP). METHODS: The research was conducted on a group of 43 patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa) in the period from July 2019 to May 2021. The urodynamic method of urethral pressure profile (UPP) was used to assess FUL and MUCP, and correlate with the postprostatectomy continence recovery. The severity of UI and bothersome were assessed using fully validated International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) and number of pads used in 24 h. Patients were interviewed about the use of urinary pads and asked to fill out the ICIQ-UI SF before and 2, 8, 16 and 24 weeks after ORRP. RESULTS: The median value of FUL (mm) and MUCP (cmH2O) was 69 (28-94) and 76 (16-223), respectively. Correlation and linear regression showed a statistically significant negative correlation between preoperative values of FUL and MUCP with ICIQ symptom score and the number of pads used per day at the four observed time intervals (p < 0.05). Such a result showed that patients with higher preoperative FUL and MUCP values were more likely to recover urinary continence earlier. A value of 65 mm for FUL and 80 cmH2 O for MUCP proved to be the cut-off values for continence recovery in 24 weeks after ORRP. CONCLUSION: Preoperatively evaluated FUL and MUCP seem to be valuable prognostic factors for early continence recovery after ORRP. Further investigation on a larger patient cohort is needed to evaluate the role of UPP in the preoperative management of patients with PCa.

PELVIC REHABILITATION FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE AFTER RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY.

Radical prostatectomy (RP) performed by open, laparoscopic, or robotic approach is considered the gold standard for localized prostate cancer (PCa). However, it carries the risk of postprostatectomy urinary incontinence (UI) and erectile dysfunction (ED) which significantly reduce patients' satisfaction with surgery and quality of life (QoL), therefore it is important to decrease the possibility or severity of these complications to a minimum. There are several preoperative prognostic factors such as urethral length and closing pressure obtained by magnetic resonance imaging and profilometry, as well as several variations in the surgical approach such as preservation of the neurovascular bundle (NVB) and puboprostatic ligaments, sparing or reconstruction of bladder neck, Retzius-sparing approach, and meticulous surgical dissection, used to predict or prevent unwanted side effects of RP. In addition, there are postoperative methods that can help reduce complications. In this review, we will present the role of pelvic rehabilitation with an emphasis on pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) in reducing consequences of radical surgery.

Anti-TNF Therapy and the Risk of Malignancies and Infections in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases - Our Experience.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases and the use of conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD) and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) or biologics have substantially contributed to better disease control. Biological drugs have been approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile arthritis (JIA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study involved 79 adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (USpA) - the last three clinical entities belong to a common group called spondyloarthropathies (SpA); receiving anti-TNF therapy at the department of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb. The duration of therapy was a minimum of 1 month, with the mean duration of 32.0±24.0 months. The infections recorded were infections that appeared during treatment or soon after the treatment was stopped. RESULTS: During the course of therapy 17 patients (21.5%) experienced an infection, with the total number of 21 infections. This resulted in an overall incidence rate (IR) of 9.9/100 patient-years. Of the patients with RA 76.5% developed an infection, which was significantly higher than for patients with SpA (p<0.001). The IR/100 patient-years for all infections in RA patients was 23.7 compared to 2.8 in patients with SpA. Female gender was associated with a significantly higher infection rate (70.6%, p=0.005). There were 8 infections that were considered serious, yielding an IR of 3.8/100 patient-years. There was only one malignancy case in our study. CONCLUSION: Every fifth patient developed an infection during the course of anti-TNF therapy, and more than one third of all infections were serious. RA and female gender was associated with a significantly increased number of infections.

Improvement of Quality of Life after Radical Prostatectomy.

Prostate cancer screening has increased the number of patients eligible for radical prostatectomy (RP), but this curable surgery also increases the risk of postprostatectomy erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, and although these adverse effects may vary depending on their incidence, severity and duration they are present in most men who undergoing RP, exposing them to psychosocial problems, increasing health care costs and reducing labour productivity, therefor it is of great importance to reduce or even prevent them. Pelvic physical rehabilitation is a relatively simple, non-invasive, outpatient method that, if applied properly before and/or after RP, can significantly reduce adverse effects, increase patient quality of life and satisfaction with surgery, but also reduce health care costs and accelerate return to work. It is therefore important that our patients and physicians are aware of the benefits of a pelvic muscle training program.