Improvement of clinical and radiological manifestations of coxitis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis treated with tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor golimumab: Results of a 24-Month prospective observation study (GO-COX Study).

AIM: The hip joint is the most commonly affected non-axial joint in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Data on the effects of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNFi) in AS patients with coxitis are limited. The aim of this study was evaluation of coxitis treated with the TNFi golimumab in real-world settings. METHODS: This study was a prospective non-interventional cohort study. A total of 39 patients newly prescribed with golimumab were enrolled and followed for up to 24 months. The data collected included BASFI, BASMI, ASDAS-CRP, BASDAI indices. BASRI-hip X-ray score was assessed at baseline, and at 12 and 24 months. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound examination data were obtained at baseline, and at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: Significant improvements in BASFI, BASMI, ASDAS-CRP, BASDAI scores were observed (P ≤ 0.0001), but the BASRI-hip score remained stable. After 6 months of treatment, MRI signs of joint effusion were found in a smaller percentage of patients compared with baseline (P = 0.005 for the right and P = 0.015 for the left hip joints). After 12 months, this percentage was significantly lower than at baseline for the right hip joint (P = 0.005) and numerically lower for the left hip joint (P = 0.098). Ultrasound showed a significant increase in the percentage of patients without inflammatory changes after 6 and 12 months compared with baseline (right hip joint: P = 0.026 and P = 0.045, respectively; left hip joint: P = 0.026 for both time points). CONCLUSION: Golimumab therapy in AS patients with coxitis was accompanied by improvement in clinical scores, and in MRI and ultrasound findings without obvious radiographic progress.

Influence of the Dielectric Coating of the Outer Side of the Cathode in the Anode-Cathode Pairs of a Molecular Electronic Sensitive Element on the Conversion Coefficient.

Molecular electronic sensors of motion parameters use miniature electrochemical cells as a sensitive element, in which the interelectrode current is sensitive to external mechanical influences. New approaches for creating conversion elements are based on precision methods of micromachining materials. The use of new technologies has opened up the possibility of creating sensitive elements with configurations that have not been previously studied, and for which there is no clear understanding of the regularities that determine the output parameters depending on the geometry of the conversion elements. This work studies the influence of the dielectric coating on the surface of the cathodes on the conversion coefficient. The transforming structure has been made from three plates. The outer plates were an anode-cathode electrode pair. The middle plate served as a separator between the pairs of electrodes. It was found that an insulating layer on the side of the cathode facing away from the adjacent anode allows the conversion factor to be doubled. This result is applicable for a wide class of conversion elements made with microelectronic technologies, as well as structures made of mesh electrodes.