To monitor by power Doppler US (PDUS) the short-term response to anti-TNFα therapy in six target joints of RA patients; to correlate PDUS findings with clinical assessments and laboratory indices of disease activity.

To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of RF as a test for RA in primary care and its impact on referral times using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Cathepsin S and cathepsin L are endosomal proteolytic enzymes involved in the degradation of extracellular matrixes, angiogenesis and antigen presentation. Cathepsins could thus play several roles in the disease process of RA. The aim of this study was to examine differences in cathepsin S and cathepsin L levels in serum and SF of RA patients with and without ACPA and RF.

Substantial advances have been made in the field of imaging in spondyloarthritis, with respect to both the techniques themselves and their applications, but how should clinicians and radiologists make the most of these developments? New recommendations from EULAR could provide valuable guidance.

To report on the long-term follow-up, clinically and serologically, of 98 patients with SLE treated with B cell depletion (BCD) over a 12 year period, focusing on the duration of the depletion.

The inclusion of 'the anti-DNA antibody' by the ACR and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) as a criterion for systemic lupus erythematosus does not convey the diverse origins of these antibodies, whether their production is transient or persistent (which is heavily influenced by the nature of the inducing antigens), the specificities exerted by these antibodies or their clinical impact-or lack thereof. A substantial amount of data not considered in clinical medicine could be added from basic immunology evidence, which could change the paradigms linked to what 'the anti-DNA antibody' is, in a pathogenic, classification or diagnostic context.

Biomarkers are needed to guide treatment decisions for patients with rheumatic diseases. Although the phenotypic and functional analysis of immune cells is an appealing strategy for understanding immune-mediated disease processes, immune cell profiling currently has no role in clinical rheumatology. New technologies, including mass cytometry, gene expression profiling by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and multiplexed functional assays, enable the analysis of immune cell function with unprecedented detail and promise not only a deeper understanding of pathogenesis, but also the discovery of novel biomarkers. The large and complex data sets generated by these technologies--big data--require specialized approaches for analysis and visualization of results. Standardization of assays and definition of the range of normal values are additional challenges when translating these novel approaches into clinical practice. In this Review, we discuss technological advances in the high-dimensional analysis of immune cells and consider how these developments might support the discovery of predictive biomarkers to benefit the practice of rheumatology and improve patient care.

A hallmark of chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and oxidative stress, as occurs in chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions, is the presence of extensive protein post-translational modifications, including glycation, glycoxidation, carbonylation and nitrosylation. These modifications have been detected on structural cartilage proteins in joints and intervertebral discs, where they are known to affect protein folding, induce protein aggregation and, ultimately, generate microanatomical changes in the proteoglycan-collagen network that surrounds chondrocytes. Many of these modifications have also been shown to promote oxidative cleavage as well as enzymatically-mediated matrix degradation. Overall, a general picture starts to emerge indicating that biochemical changes in proteins constitute an early event that compromises the anatomical organization and viscoelasticity of cartilage, thereby affecting its ability to sustain pressure and, ultimately, impeding its overall bio-performance.

While systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) trials predominantly use forced vital capacity (FVC) as the primary outcome, combining individual outcomes may lead to a more comprehensive measure of treatment response and minimize the risk of type 1 error. The present analysis aimed to develop a composite outcome measure to assess treatment response in SSc-ILD patients.

To describe existing techniques of US-guided synovial biopsy (USG-SB) and critically appraise the literature on this technology through the OMERACT filter.