Rheumatoid Arthritis: Loustaud-Ratti V

Fauchais AL, Boumediene A, Lalloue F, Gondran G, Loustaud-Ratti V, Vidal E, Jauberteau MO. · EA 3842 (IFR 145), University of Limoges, France. · Scand J Rheumatol. · Pubmed #18830907 No free full text.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Identification of factors associated with disease activity and B and T cell activation is a challenge in primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS). Neurotrophins (NTs), recently reported as B cell antiapoptotic, and T-cell activation factors seem to be implicated in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Samples from 18 pSS patients and 12 control subjects were studied to determine serum levels of nerve-growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and their relationships with T- and B-cell activation and disease activity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with pSS and controls were examined by flow cytometry for HLA-DR expression by activated T cells. B cell activation was evaluated by B cell activating factor (BAFF) serum levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoglobulin (Ig) and free light chain (FLC) levels. RESULTS: Mean serum levels of BDNF in pSS patients were significantly higher than in healthy controls and correlated directly with disease activity. NGF levels were associated with the subgroup of patients with hypergammaglobulinaemia. The pSS group was characterized by peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T cell activation that correlated positively with BDNF and NGF levels, respectively. CONCLUSION: NT levels are potential biomarkers for lymphocyte activation in pSS patients.

Gondran G, Fauchais A, Lambert M, Ly K, Launay D, Queyrel V, Benazahari H, Liozon E, Loustaud-Ratti V, Hachulla E, Jauberteau M, Hatron P, Vidal E. · Internal Medicine Department, Limoges University Hospital, France. · Scand J Rheumatol. · Pubmed #18612931 No free full text.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there were any clinical and biological differences between male and female patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) in a large bicentric series of patient. METHODS: We studied 419 consecutive patients (mean age at onset 53.6 years, mean disease outcome 73 months) with pSS according to American-European criteria, attending two different Departments of Internal Medicine in France. The 42 (9%) male patients in this cohort comprised the male group described in this study. RESULTS: Extraglandular manifestations during the course of the disease were present in 37 (89%) of our male patients with pSS. The extraglandular manifestations were similar among the two groups except that the male patients showed a lower frequency of depression or asthaenia (5% vs. 20%, p = 0.014) compared with the females. A significantly greater percentage of women reported lymphopaenia (26% vs. 8%, p = 0.02) and leucopaenia (18% vs. 3%, p = 0.015) at onset, but thrombopaenia was more common in the male patients (21% vs. 6%, p = 0.001). Lymphoma development was slightly more common in the male patients, but with no statistical significance (10% vs. 3%, p = 0.06), and occurred earlier after the SS diagnosis (log rank test p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Although pSS is typically a disease affecting women, clinicians should be aware that it may be diagnosed in male patients. Except for haematological presentation, we could not find any notable differences in clinical and immunological characteristics between male and female patients with pSS.

Ramos-Casals M, Loustaud-Ratti V, De Vita S, Zeher M, Bosch JA, Toussirot E, Medina F, Rosas J, Anaya JM, Font J, Anonymous00012. · Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomédiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. · Medicine (Baltimore). · Pubmed #15758837 No free full text.

Abstract: To define the clinical and immunologic pattern of expression of Sjögren syndrome (SS) associated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, we conducted a multicenter study aiming to collect a large number of patients with SS and HCV infection. Inclusion criteria were the fulfillment of at least 4 of the classification criteria for SS proposed by the European Community Study Group and repeated positive HCV serology, confirmed by recombinant immunoblot assay and/or detection of serum HCV-RNA by polymerase chain reaction. One hundred thirty-seven patients were included (104 female and 33 male; mean age, 65 yr). Seventy-nine (58%) patients presented a systemic process with diverse extraglandular manifestations, with articular involvement (44%), vasculitis (20%), and neuropathy (16%) being the most frequent features observed. The main immunologic features were antinuclear antibodies (65%), hypocomplementemia (51%), and cryoglobulinemia (50%). Cryoglobulins were associated with a higher frequency of cutaneous vasculitis, rheumatoid factor, and hypocomplementemia. Thirty-two (23%) patients had positive anti-Ro/SS-A and/or anti-La/SS-B antibodies; these patients were predominantly women and had a higher prevalence of some extraglandular features and a lower frequency of liver involvement. Nineteen (14%) patients developed neoplasia, with hematologic neoplasia (8 cases) and hepatocellular carcinoma (6 cases) being the most frequent types. Eighty-five percent of SS-HCV patients also fulfilled the recently proposed 2002 classification criteria for SS.In conclusion, HCV-associated SS is indistinguishable in most cases from the primary form using the most recent set of classification criteria. Chronic HCV infection should be considered an exclusion criterion for the classification of primary SS, not because it mimics primary SS, but because the virus may be implicated in the development of SS in a specific subset of patients. We propose the term "SS secondary to HCV" when these patients fulfill the 2002 classification criteria for SS.

Doffoël-Hantz V, Loustaud-Ratti V, Ramos-Casals M, Alain S, Bezanahary H, Liozon E, Fauchais AL, Vidal E. · Service de médecine interne A, CHU de Limoges, 87000 Limoges, France. · Rev Med Interne. · Pubmed #15710254 No free full text.

Abstract: Hepatitis C virus is one of the most likely candidates as a potential pathogenic agent causing Sjogren's syndrome (SS) in a subset of patients. Nobody has until now described the evolution of SS associated with HCV when chronic hepatitis C is treated with antiviral therapy, interferon being an auto-immunity inductor. This is the purpose of our study. METHODS: Prospective study of 12 patients with a HCV-associated SS defined as certain according to the first european criteria and treated with interferon or interferon/ribavirin for their chronic hepatitis C. RESULTS: More than fifty percent of these patients developed a severe immunological complication especially when they were treated with interferon alone. Ribavirin may have had a protective role on interferon-mediated immunological complications. These complications went on after cessation of therapy. Sicca syndrome was improved only in the patients treated with the association (in 50% of the cases), but these patients also had a sustained virological response. It is difficult to tell if this improvement was due to the hepatitis C virus eradication or ribavirin treatment. CONCLUSION: Hepatitis C virus is implicated in the development of SS in a specific subset of patients for which we can propose the term SS "secondary to HCV" and this disease is not utterly benign especially after the introduction of interferon therapy. Ribavirin when associated with interferon gives a significative sustained virological response and could lower the incidence of immunological interferon-mediated complications with a favorable outcome of sicca syndrome.

Liozon E, Loustaud-Ratti V, Soria P, Bezanahary H, Fauchais AL, Nadalon S, Rhaiem K, Ly K, Vidal E. · Service de médecine interne A, Hôpital universitaire Dupuytren, Limoges (87). · Presse Med. · Pubmed #15615235 No free full text.

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Miscellaneous disorders have been described in association with temporal (giant cell) arteritis (TA), most often anecdotally, except with arteriosclerosis. METHOD: In a retrospective study, we reported our personal experience of disease associations in a series of 250 patients diagnosed with TA and followed-up in the department between 1976 and 2003. RESULTS: Disease associations were found in 43 patients, i.e. 17% of cases: concurrent malignancy (23 patients: 17 cancers and 6 blood diseases), primary Gougerot-Sjögren's syndrome (6 cases), endocrine disease other than Hashimoto's thyroiditis (7 cases: 3 hyperparathyroidism [HPP], 3 hyperthyroidism, 1 association HPP + hyperthyroidism), polyneuropathy (3 cases), essential thrombocythaemia (2 cases), anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic (anti-myeloperoxidase) antibodies (2 cases), and miscellaneous associations (1 case of RS3PE syndrome, nephrotic syndrome, myasthenia, sarcoidosis, and macro-creatine kinase type 2). More than one disease associated was present 5 patients. In 77% of the patients, there was a strong temporal association between TA and the alternate illness. No systemic necrotizing vasculitis or rheumatoid arthritis was observed in any patient. CONCLUSION: In our experience, there was a frequent, non-fortuitous, association between TA and malignancy. Auto-immune conditions were rare, but the prevalence of Gougerot-Sjögren's syndrome might have been underestimated. Hyperthyroidism and HPP are not exceptional and must be recognised in order to avoid severe bone loss induced by corticosteroids.

Loustaud-Ratti V, Riche A, Liozon E, Labrousse F, Soria P, Rogez S, Babany G, Delaire L, Denis F, Vidal E. · Department of Internal Medicine, Limoges University Hospital, France. · J Rheumatol. · Pubmed #11669164 No free full text.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and clinical and laboratory characteristics of sicca syndrome and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS: Forty-five consecutive HCV infected patients referred for liver biopsy were enrolled in a prospective study. Subjective and objective criteria of xerophthalmia or xerostomia were systematically investigated and the patients classified according to 3 sets of criteria (European, Manthorpe, and Fox criteria) for the diagnosis of SS. RESULTS: Sicca syndrome was present in 28 (62%) patients; all had oral dryness and 14 had both oral and ocular dryness. Twenty-four (53%) patients had SS by the European criteria, 25 (56%) by Manthorpe criteria, and 4 (8%) by Fox criteria. Salivary gland biopsy was positive for SS (grade III or IV by Chishom classification) in 21 samples (47%); 9 samples (21%) were classified grade 0, and 15 (32%) grade I or II. No patient had anti-SSA or anti-SSB antibodies. The presence of SS or sicca syndrome was associated with older age and liver disease activity according to the METAVIR scoring system, but not with the presence of other extrahepatic manifestations or with HCV genotype. A high METAVIR activity score was only statistically associated with primary SS. CONCLUSION: HCV infection appears to account for a subgroup of patients with sicca syndrome in which half the cases meet the definition for SS according to European and Manthorpe criteria. This subgroup is characterized by the constant finding of xerostomia, the absence of classical systemic manifestations observed in primary SS, and the absence of anti-SSA or anti-SSB antibodies. Such characteristics delineate a distinctive, virus associated entity that differs from primary SS.

Loustaud-Ratti V, Lunel F. · Service de médecine interne A CHRU Hôpital universitaire Dupuytren, Limoges. · Rev Prat. · Pubmed #10905094 No free full text.

Abstract: HCV virus is associated with various immunological disorders. Some of them like mixed cryoglobulinemia, are proved by molecular biology and virology. Others are presumed auto-immune: auto-antibodies production (antinuclear, anti-smooth muscle, anti-liver-kidney microsomal antibodies...) has generally no pathological significance; however, true auto-immune diseases such as auto-immune hepatitis type 1 or 2, Sjögren's syndrome, lichen planus and auto-immune thyroiditis can be associated with HCV related liver disease. Finally, the association of some extra-hepatic manifestations like porphyria cutanea tarda with hepatitis C virus are only based on epidemiological data. Alpha interferon, the reference treatment of chronic hepatitis C, can be efficient on manifestations such as cryoglobulinemia which are directly linked to the virus. However, because of its immunological effect, the same treatment can severely worsen auto-immunological diseases associated with hepatitis C virus (autoimmune hepatitis, thyroiditis...). In practice, it's of great importance to identify and classify these extra-hepatic manifestations to optimize the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

Liozon E, Ouattara B, Loustaud-Ratti V, Vidal E. · No affiliation provided · Scand J Rheumatol. · Pubmed #18092275 No free full text.

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