Extra-articular rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that mainly affects the joints, though a consistent proportion of patients may also display extra articular manifestations (EAMs). From rheumatoid nodules to interstitial lung disease, from cardiovascular events to vasculitis, the spectrum of EAMs encompasses various conditions with different prognoses. EAMs may also occur as first RA manifestation, therefore the coordination with other health professionals, including general practitioners, is needed. The aim of this article is to provide an overview on EAMs in RA with particular focus on the recognised risk factors and the available recommendations for managing them, as well as comorbidities in RA patients.

Role of Inflammatory Diseases in Hypertension.

Chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) are characterized by an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Several mechanisms, including early acceleration of subclinical atherosclerotic damage, inflammatory markers and immune system deregulation factors, have been demonstrated to strictly interplay for development and progression of atherosclerosis. Moreover, traditional CV risk factors are likely to explain at least some of the excess of CV risk in these patients. Among traditional CV risk factors, compelling evidence suggests a higher incidence and prevalence of hypertension in patients with CID in comparison to the general population. Moreover, hypertension represents an important predictor of CV events in these patients. Pathogenic mechanisms underlying the rise of blood pressure in CID are multifactorial and still poorly investigated. Indeed, multiple disease-related factors may affect blood pressure control in these patients and hypertension may affect disease prognosis and increase CV risk. Better knowledge of the complex interplay between hypertension and CID will be important to elucidate pathogenic mechanisms and to improve CV outcome in these patients. Aim of this review is to highlight available evidence on the relationship between hypertension and CID and to elucidate the multiple factors that may affect blood pressure control in these disorders.

Ultrasonography of salivary glands in primary Sjögren's syndrome: a comparison with contrast sialography and scintigraphy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare ultrasonography (US) of salivary glands with contrast sialography and scintigraphy, in order to evaluate the diagnostic value of this method in primary SS (pSS). METHODS: The diagnostic value of parotid gland US was studied in 77 patients with pSS (male/female ratio 3/74; mean age 54 yrs) and in 79 with sicca symptoms but without SS. The two groups were matched for sex and age. Imaging findings of US were graded using an ultrasonographic score ranging from 0 to 16, which was obtained by the sum of the scores for each parotid and submandibular gland. The sialographic and scintigraphic patterns were classified in four different stages. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) was employed to evaluate the screening method's performance. RESULTS: Of the 77 patients with pSS, 66 had abnormal US findings. Mean US score in pSS patients was 9.0 (range from 3 to 16). Subjects without confirmed pSS had the mean US score 3.9 (range from 0 to 9) (P < 0.0001). Results of sialography showed that 59 pSS patients had abnormal findings at Stage 1 (n = 4), Stage 2 (n = 8), Stage 3 (n = 33) or Stage 4 (n = 14), and 58 patients had abnormal scintigraphic findings at Stage 1 (n = 11), Stage 2 (n = 18), Stage 3 (n = 25) or Stage 4 (n = 4). Through ROC curves US arose as the best performer (AUC = 0.863 +/- 0.030), followed by sialography (AUC = 0.804 +/- 0.035) and by salivary gland scintigraphy (AUC = 0.783 +/- 0.037). The difference between AUC-ROC curve of salivary gland US and scintigraphy was significant (P = 0.034). Setting the cut-off score >6 US resulted in the best ratio of sensitivity (75.3%) to specificity (83.5%), with a likelihood ratio of 4.58. If a threshold >8.0 was applied the test gained specificity, at the cost of a serious loss of sensitivity (sensitivity 54.5%, specificity 97.5%, likelihood ratio 21.5). CONCLUSIONS: Salivary gland US is a useful method in visualizing glandular structural changes in patients suspected of having pSS and it may represent a good option as a first-line imaging tool in the diagnostics of the disease.