Arthritis in sarcoidosis: A multicentric study from India.

INTRODUCTION: Ten to 15% of patients with sarcoidosis have associated arthritis. Chronic arthritis is fairly uncommon. There is a paucity of data on articular manifestations of the disease from India. METHODS: Case records of adult patients with sarcoidosis presenting to 11 rheumatology centers from 2005 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Joint involvement was assessed clinically, classified as acute or chronic depending on duration of symptoms less or greater than 6 months, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients with sarcoid arthritis were reviewed. Forty-five patients were classified as having Lofgren's syndrome. The pattern of joint involvement revealed the ankle to be most commonly affected in both the groups. Shoulder, wrist, metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal joints of hands and knee joint involvement were significantly more common in chronic sarcoid arthritis. Peripheral lymphadenopathy and uveitis were significantly more frequent in chronic sarcoid arthritis. Forty out of 49 patients with acute arthritis followed up over a median of 1.8 years had achieved complete remission. Twelve out of 16 chronic sarcoid arthritis (median follow up 2.5 years) had achieved complete remission with 15, 12 and five patients on steroids, methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine, respectively. One patient with acute sarcoid arthritis with concomitant interstitial lung disease had died due to lung infection. CONCLUSION: Acute oligoarthritis was the commonest presentation with the ankle being the most commonly affected joint. Upper limb joint (predominantly distal) and knee involvement were more common as reported in our largest series worldwide of chronic sarcoid arthritis in adults. Hilar adenopathy and erythema nodosum were common extra-articular features in both acute and chronic sarcoid arthritis. A limitation of the study was the retrospective nature of the analysis.

Juvenile onset systemic sclerosis: a single center experience of 23 cases from Asia.

The aim of this paper was to study the spectrum of juvenile scleroderma (JSSc) seen at a tertiary care referral center in Asia. Retrospective analysis of case records of patients with systemic sclerosis, having age of onset less than 16 years and seen at our hospital from 1988 to 2004, was done. Patients with linear scleroderma and morphea were excluded. There were 23 patients (19 girls, 4 boys) with median age of onset of 12 years (range 5-16 years). The median age at presentation was 17 years (range 10-34 years). The median time from first symptoms to presentation was 4 years (range 0.2-26 years). Among these, 14 had diffuse systemic sclerosis (DSSc), while 9 had limited scleroderma (LSSc). The clinical features seen at presentation in patients were: Raynaud's phenomenon in 19, digital ulcers in 14, loss of finger tip pulp in 12, reflux in 8, dysphagia in 7, arthritis in 8, digital gangrene in 2, and pulmonary artery hypertension in 1. Antinuclear antibody was positive in 15 out of 18 patients tested. Interstitial lung disease was seen in 15 patients, 6 of whom had diffuse disease. The median skin score was 22 (range 7-48) . One patient died of primary pulmonary hypertension within 1 year of onset of symptoms. At a mean follow-up of 34 months, 14 patients were stable or had improvement in skin score or dyspnea on exertion. DSSc and LSSc in childhood have a clinical presentation similar to adult patients, with cardiopulmonary involvement being the major predictor of outcome. The short-term prognosis of JSSc is good.

Osteopenia is common in adult male patients with active juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of osteopenia in Southeast Asian men with active juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to identify predictors of reduced bone mineral density (BMD). METHODS: BMD of 30 men with active JIA and 23 healthy men was assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scans. Clinical variables that influence bone mass were also analyzed. T scores were calculated based on Caucasian normative data. RESULTS: Absolute BMD (g/cm(2)) was significantly lower in men with active JIA compared to controls at all measured sites, i.e., lumbar spine (p = 0.018), hip (p = 0.018), and distal third of forearm (p = 0.044). More subjects in the JIA group had low BMD (T score

Correlation between methotrexate efficacy & toxicity with C677T polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate gene in rheumatoid arthritis patients on folate supplementation.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: C677T polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene has been proposed as a pharmacogenomic marker for toxicity of methotrexate (MTX). We studied the relationship between the C677T gene polymorphism and toxicity and efficacy of MTX in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on folate supplementation. METHODS: A total of 150 RA patients fulfilling American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria and on MTX treatment were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 42.9 +/- 11.1 yr, mean disease duration was 7.65 +/- 5.2 yr and the mean duration of MTX treatment was 26.1 +/- 20.6 months. Genotype analysis of MTHFR gene was done by PCR and restriction enzyme method. Primary endpoint for treatment efficacy was change in disease activity score 28 (DAS28) from baseline. Drug toxicity was evaluated by blood count, renal and liver function tests and a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean DAS at baseline was 5.02 +/- 0.8. All patients received 10 mg/wk folic acid supplementation. Forty two per cent (63/150) of the patients had C677T polymorphism of which 4 were homozygous (T/T) and 59 were heterozygous (C/T). The baseline characteristics of the patients with or without polymorphism were comparable. The frequency of adverse events was not increased in patients with C677T polymorphism with 11 patients experiencing adverse events as compared to 19 in the group without polymorphism (of whom 4 and 7 patients respectively discontinued treatment). The C677T polymorphism was not associated with any difference in response to treatment. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that C677T polymorphism in the MTHFR gene is not predictive of toxicity or efficacy of MTX treatment in RA patients receiving folate supplementation. Further studies need to be done to look at polymorphisms in other enzymes that may have association with MTX clinical efficacy and toxicity.