Association among Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) and Fibromyalgia: A Prospective Study.

The disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) have been associated with Fibromyalgia (FM). However, there are no data about the relationship between FM and DGBI using Rome IV criteria. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of FM in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and/or Functional Dyspepsia (FD) and the prevalence of IBS and FD in FM patients using Rome IV criteria. DGBI patients and FM patients were recruited from two outpatient clinics devoted to DGBI and FM. All patients underwent a standardized gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms questionnaire. FM symptoms in DGBI patients were assessed through Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST) and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Thereafter, the rheumatologists evaluated them. 49.0% of FM patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for IBS, 81.6% for FD with an overlap for both IBS/FD in 44.9%. IBS-C was the most prevalent IBS-subtype in DGBI patients, whereas IBS-M was the most prevalent in FM patients (p = 0.01). 45.3% of DGBI patients reported pathological FiRST scores. DGBI patients with FM showed the highest score at the standardized GI questionnaire followed by FM patients with DGBI and DGBI without FM. In conclusion DGBI are common in FM patients and vice versa. The presence of FD is extremely frequent in FM patients. A multidisciplinary approach should be routinely used for the management of these patients.

COVID 19: a clue from innate immunity.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our lives and has rapidly expanded to reach more than 4 million cases worldwide by May 2020. These cases are characterized by extreme variability, from a mild or asymptomatic form lasting for a few days up to severe forms of interstitial pneumonia that may require ventilatory therapy and can lead to patient death.Several hypotheses have been drawn up to understand the role of the interaction between the infectious agent and the immune system in the development of the disease and the most severe forms; the role of the cytokine storm seems important.Innate immunity, as one of the first elements of guest interaction with different infectious agents, could play an important role in the development of the cytokine storm and be responsible for boosting more severe forms. Therefore, it seems important to study also this important arm of the immune system to adequately understand the pathogenesis of the disease. Research on this topic is also needed to develop therapeutic strategies for treatment of this disease.

Is spleen circulation impaired in systemic sclerosis and what is the role of liver fibrosis?

AIM: To investigate the spleen vascular involvement and the presence of liver fibrosis in a population of subjects with established systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: In a cross-sectional fashion, 17 patients with SSc were compared with 18 patients suffering from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver cirrhosis, grade A and B Child-Pugh classification. Eighteen non elderly subjects, apparently healthy, were used as the control group. Splenic artery resistivity index (SARI) at Doppler ultrasound, transient elastography of liver and nailfold capillaroscopy were the main outcomes. RESULTS: Transient elastography values of SSc patients were similar to those of controls; 5.2 ± 1.1 vs 4.5 ± 1, (P = 0.07). Median Alanine amino transferase (ALT) concentrations of cirrhotic patients were greater than those of controls and SSc patients, i.e. 66.5 (36-89) U/L vs 29 (22-34) U/L and 31 (22-41) U/L, respectively, (P = 0.005). SARI determinations in cirrhotic patients, although significantly higher than those found in controls and SSc patients, showed some degree of overlap with SSc patients, i.e. 0.59 vs 0.52 and 0.57, respectively, (P = 0.04). Mean systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in SSc patients than in cirrhotics and controls, i.e. 142 mmHg vs 128.2 mmHg and 127 mmHg, respectively, (P = 0.005). Mean diastolic blood pressure behaved in a similar fashion, i.e. 84 mmHg vs 72.2 mmHg and 76.9 mmHg (P = 0.005). Nailfold Capillaroscopy grades and diastolic blood pressure values correlated well with SARI results. CONCLUSION: An enhanced resistivity of the splenic artery was found in patients suffering from SSc; they did not have evidence of splenomegaly as well as no liver fibrosis or any other form of liver damage.

[Osteoarticular scintigraphy in comparison with clinical evidence]. / Scintigrafia osteoarticolare a confronto con l'obiettività clinica.

Bone scintigraphy is a technique which is often resorted to in diagnostic rheumatology. There are few data on the effective relevance of bone scintigraphy in the evaluation of chronic inflammatory diseases of the joints. The aim of this study was to compare the results of bone scintigraphy with clinical evidence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Seventy-five patients were submitted to total body bone scintigraphy (44 rheumatoid arthritis, 31 osteoarthritis). The nuclear medicine specialist indicated the list of joints showing uptake. For the same patients a rheumatologist indicated the number of affected joints. The laboratory and clinical data were recorded. The patients were first stratified according to the prevalence of the clinical evidence and scintigraphic uptake. The distribution was found to be not significant. Only 5.3% of patients showed no uptake. Thirty-three patients had no clinical evidence of disease; among these, 30 showed joint uptake. Considering only the patients with clinical evidence, 97.6% showed joint uptake. These results were confirmed even when the data were analyzed by sex, disease and therapy. Considering the patients with clinical evidence, the uptake/clinical ratio did not show any significant correlation. The number of joints with clinical evidence correlated with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The number of joints showing uptake correlated only with age. In conclusion, on average, scintigraphy, performed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, highlights a significantly higher number of joints involved as compared to what would be expected on the basis of clinical evaluation. It remains to be defined whether this is an overestimation related to the characteristics of the scan or whether it is sign of a higher sensitivity in highlighting the site of inflammation. Against the latter hypothesis is the absence of correlation with the inflammatory indexes.