Correspondence on 'Variants in urate transporters, ADH1B, GCKR and MEPE genes associated with transition from asymptomatic hyperuricaemia to gout: results of the first gout versus asymptomatic hyperuricaemia GWAS in Caucasians using data from the UK Biobank
Sandoval-Plata et al1 report 13 independently associated genetic variants in the ABCG2, SLC2A9, SLC22A11, GCKR, MEPE, PPM1K-DT, LOC105377323 and ADH1B genes in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of gout using people with asymptomatic hyperuricaemia as the comparison group. Eight of the genetic variants (representing four of the genes: ABCG2, MEPE, PPM1K-DT, LOC105377323) mapped to a 658 kb region on Chr4. This locus is the strongest for gout with the missense ABCG2 variant (rs2231142, p.Gln141Lys), an extremely likely causal variant.2 3 This variant was the lead-associated variant at the ABCG2 locus (OR=1.65 (95% CI 1....
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Takei, R., Sumpter, N. A., Phipps-Green, A., Cadzow, M., Topless, R. K., Reynolds, R. J., Merriman, T. R. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on: 'Warfarin use and risk of knee and hip replacements by He et al
We thank the authors for their interest in our work.1–3 Their approach and results provide yet additional support to the adverse impact of warfarin on osteoarthritis outcomes, as compared with direct oral anticoagulants. Data availability statement Deidentified data were used for this work. These data are not publicly available. The IMRD dataset used in this work is a subscription-based dataset with a legal contract requiring data to remain onsite and analysed at Boston University Medical Center. We are therefore legally unable to make these data publicly available. We would be able to collaborate with potential exte...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Ballal, P., Peloquin, C., Boer, C. G., Neogi, T. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Warfarin use and risk of knee and hip replacements
Warfarin, the traditional oral anticoagulant (OAC), functions by inhibiting the biological activity of vitamin K, and thus inhibiting the carboxylation of coagulation factors. Meanwhile, warfarin also interacts with the formation of active vitamin K-dependent bone and cartilage proteins, including osteocalcin, matrix Gla protein and Gla-rich protein.1 2 Therefore, warfarin can be hypothesised to be associated with adverse musculoskeletal events.2 In contrast, novel OACs (NOACs) act independently of vitamin K. We have read with great interest the article by Ballal et al3 who conducted a nested case–control study and r...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: He, N., Fang, Z., Li, X., Zhai, S. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on 'Which factors are associated with bone marrow oedema suspicious of axial spondyloarthritis as detected by MRI in the sacroiliac joints and the spine in the general population? by Su et al
We would like to thank our colleagues from Taiwan for their interest in our work and their comments.1 The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) cohort is a population-based epidemiological study which was designed to investigate common risk factors, subclinical disorders and manifest diseases with no interest in one specific disease but rather in data relevant for the prevalence and incidence of common diseases and their risk factors. Importantly, this was the first population-based cohort study worldwide which included whole-body MRI, which raised our interest many years ago. We appreciate the comments of our colleagues fro...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Baraliakos, X., Richter, A., Schmidt, C. O., Braun, J. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Which factors are associated with bone marrow oedema suspicious of axial spondyloarthritis as detected by MRI in the sacroiliac joints and the spine in the general population?
This study identified that HLA-B27 +, delivery during the last year in female adult, high body mass index (BMI) and presence of back pain in the last 3 months were strongly associated with the extent of SIJ BME, while age and physically demanding work were the predictors for spinal BME. We agree with the hypothesis that mechanic strain such as delivery, high BMI and physically demanding work contribute to BME since multiple other researches also report the same results,2 3 and interestingly, unlike previous studies,4 high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) is found not associated with SIJ-BME in this study. However, we...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Su, C.-L., Chen, J.-W., Wei, J. C.-C. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on 'Efficacy and safety of brodalumab, an anti-IL17RA monoclonal antibody, in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: 16-week results from a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial by Zhao and Huang
We thank Dr Zhao and Dr Huang for their interest in our article.1 2 The approved dosage of brodalumab for plaque psoriasis includes a loading treatment of 210 mg every week at weeks 0, 1 and 2 followed by a dose of 210 mg every 2 weeks thereafter.3 The brodalumab dosage administered in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in our study1 was the same as that approved for plaque psoriasis. Therefore, the rapid improvement in Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society 40/20 as early as week 2 in patients with axSpA in our study and similar to the improvement observed in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index in ...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Wei, J. C.-C., Kim, T.-H., Kishimoto, M., Ogusu, N., Jeong, H., Kobayashi, S. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Efficacy and safety of brodalumab, an anti-IL17RA monoclonal antibody, in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: 16-week results from a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial
We read with great interest the article ‘Efficacy and safety of brodalumab, an anti-IL17RA monoclonal antibody, in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: 16-week results from a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial’ by Wei et al.1 As the first multicentre randomised controlled trial in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) of brodalumab, it makes a remarkable contribution to treatment of this novel interleukin-17 (IL-17) inhibitor in two disease subtypes, which shows a great remission rate and short-term safety. However, there are some aspects that need to be discussed. First, regarding the stud...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Zhao, Y., Huang, J.-X. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on 'Efficacy of a tight-control and treat-to-target strategy in axial spondyloarthritis: results of the open-label, pragmatic, cluster-randomised TICOSPA trial by Cai and Peng
We would like to thank Cai and Peng1 for the interest they have expressed in our recently published article ‘Efficacy of a tight-control and treat-to-target strategy in axial spondyloarthritis: results of the open-label, pragmatic, cluster-randomised TICOSPA trial’2 and the ARD editorial team to give us the opportunity to address their comments. First, Cai and Peng pinpoint another reason behind the lack of statistical significance of our primary outcome, that is, the shortage of our sample size. As suggested by Cai and Peng we have performed a post-hoc power calculation based on our estimated results (and samp...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Molto, A., van der Heijde, D., Van den Bosch, F. E., Dougados, M. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Efficacy of a tight-control and treat-to-target strategy in axial spondyloarthritis: results of the open-label, pragmatic, cluster-randomised TICOSPA trial
We read with great interest the article by Molto et al.1 The authors conducted a pragmatic, cluster trial evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a tight-control/treat-to-target (TC/T2T) strategy versus usual care (UC) over 48 weeks in 160 patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The results showed that the percentage of patients achieving ≥30% improvement on the Axial SpondyloArthritis International Society-Health Index (the primary outcome) was not statistically significantly different between the two groups (TC/T2T vs UC: 47.3% vs 36.1%, p=0.07). Despite this, 13 prespecified secondary outcomes perfor...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Cai, G., Peng, X. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on 'Safety and efficacy of faecal microbiota transplantation for active peripheral psoriatic arthritis: an exploratory randomised placebo-controlled trial by McGonagle et al
We thank McGonagle et al1 for their insightful comments on our manuscript on faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in active peripheral psoriatic arthritis (PsA), known as the FLORA trial.2 We agree that the clinical findings of this first double-blind, randomised, trial of FMT in immune-mediated arthritis warrant further investigation into the underlying biological mechanisms coupling gut composition, the intestinal barrier–microbiotal interaction, and systemic inflammation in PsA and related chronic inflammatory diseases. Indeed, evidence linking the composition of the gut microbiota and initiation/progression of...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Kragsnaes, M. S., Kjeldsen, J., Horn, H. C., Munk, H. L., Pedersen, J. K., Just, S. A., Ahlquist, P., Davidsen, J. R., Nilsson, A. C., Röttger, R., Kruhoffer, M., Marchesi, J. R., Kristiansen, K., Christensen, R., Ellingsen, T. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Safety and efficacy of faecal microbiota transplantation for active peripheral psoriatic arthritis: an exploratory randomised placebo-controlled trial
Did the first randomised trial of faecal microbiotal transplantation in psoriatic arthritis have a negative outcome due to the paradoxical triggering of a reactive type arthritis disease flare? We read with great interest the report by Kragsnaes et al on faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).1 The authors cited the example of reactive arthritis (ReA) as an exemplar of how dysregulation of the intestinal microbiome may contribute to the immunopathogenesis of human arthritis by disturbance of the gut–joint axis. We appreciate that limitations in word count may have constrained Krag...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: McGonagle, D. G., Bridgewood, C., Marzo-Ortega, H. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on 'Five-year treat-to-target outcomes after methotrexate induction therapy with or without other csDMARDs and temporary glucocorticoids for rheumatoid arthritis in the CareRA trial by Jain and Dhir et al
We thank Dr Dhir et al for their kind words and would like to address some of the points raised.1 First, in patients without markers of poor prognosis, the COBRA-Slim scheme with methotrexate (MTX) and prednisone bridging led to a more rapid response than initial MTX monotherapy in the first 16 weeks.2 Subsequently, remission rates did not differ until year 5, but patients starting a COBRA-Slim scheme had a lower disease activity and better functionality longitudinally over 5 years.3–5 This long-term effect of prednisone bridging seems counterintuitive to Dr Dhir, given the results of the 'BehandelStrategieën...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Stouten, V., Westhovens, R., Pazmino, S., De Cock, D., Van der Elst, K., Joly, J., Bertrand, D., Verschueren, P. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Five-year treat-to-target outcomes after methotrexate induction therapy with or without other csDMARDs and temporary glucocorticoids for rheumatoid arthritis in the CareRA trial
The 5-year follow-up data of the Care-RA cohort are interesting.1 However, a few points merit consideration and clarification. Findings in the high-risk group reaffirm the fact that upfront combination disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are not needed even in patients of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with poor prognostic factors, provided a treat-to-target strategy is followed. However, we wish to draw attention to the low-risk group which compared initial methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy to MTX+prednisolone bridging (COBRA-Slim). The results in the low-risk group seem counterintuitive to previous landmark trials (in...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Jain, S., Dhir, V. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: 'Correspondence on 'Role of joint damage, malalignment and inflammation in articular tenderness in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis by Dumoulin et al
We thank Dumoulin et al for their interest in our paper.1 Validation of research findings is an important step especially in clinical research, where results have implications for clinical decisions. The conclusion of our paper was that tenderness in non-swollen joints should be considered as a symptom of inflammation in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).2 On one hand, the results of Dumoulin et al support our data with a different imaging method magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); on the other hand, they extended our observation to an even earlier cohort: that of clinically suspect arthralgia (CS...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Gessl, I., Aletaha, D., Mandl, P. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Role of joint damage, malalignment and inflammation in articular tenderness in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis
With great interest we read the article of Gessl et al that studied whether tenderness of non-swollen small hand joints was explained by subclinical inflammation as detected by ultrasound (US). Interestingly, the findings in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were dependent on the disease stage: tenderness in longstanding RA (mean disease duration 7.2 years) was not associated with subclinical inflammation, while in early RA (disease duration <2 years) tenderness of hand joints was associated with subclinical inflammation (54.5% of tender joints vs 48.4% of non-tender joints showed inflammation; OR 2.22).1 Since validation of re...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Dumoulin, Q. A., Matthijssen, X. M. E., Wouters, F., Krijbolder, D. I., Niemantsverdriet, E., van der Helm-van Mil, A. H. M. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
