According to the forecasts of the Central Statistical Office of Poland, in 2030 people at the age of 65 and older will account for 23.8%, i.e. their number will amount to approx. 8.5 m people. Geriatric rheumatic patients more often decide to undergo surgical joint replacement. According to the National Health Fund, the number of joint replacement services provided in 2014 increased by 93%, as compared to 2005. Improving the physical performance of this constantly expanding group of patients requires taking into account many factors to raise their functional status, reduce the risk of falling, teach rules of proper functioning with an artificial joint and encourage unassisted physical activity. Restoring fitness and independence is a difficult but necessary task due to an increasing number of seniors with replaced joint.

Radionuclide synovectomy is a minimally invasive method of treating persistent joint inflammation. It involves intra-articular injection of radioactive colloids which induce necrosis and fibrosis of hypertrophic synovial membrane. The most common indication for radiosynovectomy is rheumatoid arthritis, although patients with seronegative spondyloarthropathies, unclassified arthritis, haemophilic arthropathy and other less common arthropathies can also benefit from this method. Radiosynovectomy is safe, well tolerated and efficacious. About 70-80% of patients respond well to the therapy. However, the therapeutic effects are considerably worse in patients with co-existent osteoarthritis and advanced joint degeneration. Despite its advantages, radionuclide synovectomy is not performed as often as it could be, so greater knowledge and understanding of this method are needed. The authors present the most important facts about radiosynovectomy that may help rheumatologists in their daily clinical practice.

Leptin is an adipose cells derived hormone that regulates energy homeostasis within the body. Energy metabolism of immune cells influences their activity within numerous pathological states, but the effect of leptin on these cells in unclear. On the one hand, it was observed that leptin induces neutrophils chemotaxis and modulates phagocytosis. On the other hand, neutrophils exposed to leptin did not display detectable Ca(2+) ions mobilization or β2-integrin upregulation. In this study, we investigated the effect of leptin on the redox homeostasis in lymphocytes and neutrophils.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by infections with Borrelia. Persons infected with Borrelia can be asymptomatic or can develop disseminated disease. Diagnosis and recognition of groups at risk of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi is of great interest to contemporary rheumatology. There are a few reports about Borrelia infection in Mexico, including lymphocytoma cases positive to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto by PCR and a patient with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. Veterinarians have an occupational risk due to high rates of tick contact. The aim of this work was to investigate antibodies to Borrelia in students at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, at Nuevo León, Mexico, and determine the antibody profile to B. burgdorferi antigens.

Alterations in phenotype and function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been associated with poor vascular outcomes and impaired vascular repair in various conditions. Our hypothesis was that patients with PM and DM have dysregulation of EPCs driven by type I IFN and IL-18 similar to other autoimmune diseases.

Binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) is a human endoplasmic reticulum-resident stress protein. In pre-clinical studies it has anti-inflammatory properties due to the induction of regulatory cells. This randomized placebo-controlled, dose ascending double blind phase I/IIA trial of BiP in patients with active RA, who had failed accepted therapies, had the primary objective of safety. Potential efficacy was measured by DAS28-ESR and changes in biomarkers.

To evaluate the impact and risk factors associated with an abnormal exercise test (ET) in systemic inflammatory rheumatic disease (SIRD) patients before commencing supervised physical exercise.

To quantify the preferences of patients with early RA (ERA) with the benefits and harms of DMARDs.

Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for RA and has been associated with increased disease severity and lower rates of disease remission. We hypothesized that inflammation and disease activity would be associated with smoking status and this would be related to levels of ACPA.

Two versions of a patient-based DAS (PDAS) 1 and 2 (with and without ESR) have been developed and validated in RA. The objective of this study was to define PDAS1- and PDAS2-based criteria for remission, low, moderate and high disease activity and responses to treatment.

The anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) are a heterogeneous group of rare syndromes characterized by necrotizing inflammation of small and medium-sized blood vessels and the presence of ANCAs. Several clinicopathological classification systems exist that aim to define homogeneous groups among patients with AAV, the main syndromes being microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and eosinophilic GPA (EGPA). Two main types of ANCA can be detected in patients with AAV. These ANCAs are defined according to their autoantigen target, namely leukocyte proteinase 3 (PR3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO). Patients with GPA are predominantly PR3-ANCA-positive, whereas those with MPA are predominantly MPO-ANCA-positive, although ANCA specificity overlaps only partially with these clinical syndromes. Accumulating evidence suggests that ANCA specificity could be better than clinical diagnosis for defining homogeneous groups of patients, as PR3-ANCA and MPO-ANCA are associated with different genetic backgrounds and epidemiology. ANCA specificity affects the phenotype of clinical disease, as well as the patient's initial response to remission-inducing therapy, relapse risk and long-term prognosis. Thus, the classification of AAV by ANCA specificity rather than by clinical diagnosis could convey clinically useful information at the time of diagnosis.