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The autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA) is a recently identified condition in which the exposure to an adjuvant leads to an aberrant autoimmune response. We aimed to summarize the results obtained from the ASIA syndrome registry up to December 2016, in a descriptive analysis of 300 cases of ASIA syndrome, with a focus on the adjuvants, the clinical manifestations, and the relationship with other autoimmune diseases. A Web-based registry, based on a multicenter international study, collected clinical and laboratory data in a form of a questionnaire applied to patients with ASIA syndrome. Experts in the disease validated all cases independently. A comparison study regarding type of adjuvants and differences in clinical and laboratory findings was performed. Three hundred patients were analyzed. The mean age at disease onset was 37 years, and the mean duration of time latency between adjuvant stimuli and development of autoimmune conditions was 16.8 months, ranging between 3 days to 5 years. Arthralgia, myalgia, and chronic fatigue were the most frequently reported symptoms. Eighty-nine percent of patients were also diagnosed with another defined rheumatic/autoimmune condition. The most frequent autoimmune disease related to ASIA syndrome was undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD). ASIA syndrome is associated with a high incidence of UCTD and positive anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) test. Clinical and laboratory features differ from the type of adjuvant used. These findings may contribute to an increased awareness of ASIA syndrome and help physicians to identify patients at a greater risk of autoimmune diseases following the exposure to vaccines and other adjuvants. The ASIA syndrome registry provides a useful tool to systematize this rare condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The induction of autoantibodies is common following therapy with anti-TNF-α agents. However, anti-TNF-α-induced lupus (ATIL) is rare. We assessed the clinical characteristics of three patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who were treated with infliximab and developed distinct subsets of ATIL. Also, we searched for similar cases in the published literature. We describe three patients with ATIL. The first patient had a classical drug-induced lupus (DIL) presented by thrombocytopenia that resolved after infliximab discontinuation. The second case experienced symmetric polyarthritis of 14 joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-like distribution accompanied by lymphopenia. The third one had a severe serositis including ascites and pleural and pericardial effusions along with pancytopenia. In this patient, ATIL coexisted with anti-TNF-α-induced hepatitis. The second and third patients met the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE. Nevertheless, all three cases exhibited ANA and anti-dsDNA positivity, and only the second patient had anticardiolipin (aCL IgG) and anti-histone antibodies. The coexistence of both lupus-like syndrome and hepatitis following anti-TNF-α therapy in the same patient is very rare, and to the best of our knowledge, only four such case reports are mentioned in literature. Patients with mild ATIL may tolerate another anti-TNF-α agent without recurrence of the disease. Rheumatologists should be aware of the distinct clinical presentations of ATIL and its coexistence with other rare anti-TNF-alpha complications such as hepatitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autoimmune disorders impose a high burden, in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vasculitis is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation and destruction of blood vessels. Harold Allen Ramis, a famous American actor, director, writer, and comedian, died on the February 24, 2014, of complications of an autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis. To investigate the relation between interests and awareness of an autoimmune disease after a relevant event such as the death of a celebrity, we systematically mined Google Trends, Wikitrends, Google News, YouTube, and Twitter, in any language, from their inception until October 31, 2016. Twenty-eight thousand eight hundred fifty-two tweets; 4,133,615 accesses to Wikipedia; 6780 news; and 11,400 YouTube videos were retrieved, processed, and analyzed. The Harold Ramis death of vasculitis resulted into an increase in vasculitis-related Google searches, Wikipedia page accesses, and tweet production, documenting a peak in February 2014. No trend could be detected concerning uploading YouTube videos. The usage of Big Data is promising in the fields of immunology and rheumatology. Clinical practitioners should be aware of this emerging phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coexistence of rheumatoid arthritis and gout is considered to be unusual. The current study was designed as a population-based cross-sectional study, utilizing the medical database of Clalit Health Services, the largest healthcare provider organization in Israel. Data of adult patients who were previously diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis was retrieved. For each patient, five age- and sex-matched control patients were randomly selected. Different parameters including BMI, socioeconomic status, and existence of gout as well as smoking and hypertension were examined for both groups. The study included 11,540 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 56,763 controls. The proportion of gout in the study group was high compared to controls (1.61 vs. 0.92%, P < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, rheumatoid arthritis was associated with gout (OR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.45-2.05, P = 0.00). The proportion of gout in rheumatoid arthritis patients is not lower than in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]