Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of methotrexate (MTX), leflunomide (LEF) and low-dose MTX and LEF (MTX + LEF) combined treatment for psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods This was a 24 weeks, two-center, open-labeled, controlled trial All subjects fulfilled the moll and wright criteria for definite PsA. Subjects were given one of the 3 regimens, MTX, or LEF, or MTX + LEF. The primary end point was proportion of psoriatic arthritis response criteria(PsARC)response. The secondary end point was proportion of modified 20% improvement of American College of Rheumatolngy (ACR20) response. Results At week 24, the percent of patients achieving PsARC in MTX, LEF and MTX + LEF group were 75.0% ,68. 8% ,83.3% respectively, and the percent of patients achieving ACR20 were 66. 7% ,50. 0% ,83. 3% respectively. At week 24, tender joint counts, swollen joint counts, patient's assessment of pain, patient's global assessment (PGA), physician' s global assessment, health assessment questionnaire(HAQ)were significantly improved compared with base-line values(P <0. 05). At week 24, the improvement of patient's assessment of pain, HAQ, ESR were better in the MTX + LEF group compared with LEF group while the improvement of patient's assessment of pain, PGA, HAQ, ESR were better in the MTX group compared with LEF group (P < 0. 05). The incidence of treatment related adverse events was 38.5%, 38. 9% and 35% in MTX, LEF and MTX + LEF group respectively. There was no serious adverse reactions. Conclusion Low dose MTX + LEF regimen showed similar good efficacy and safety profde for PsA patients.

ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy and safety of infliximab combined withdiseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis.MethodsThis was an openlabeled trial.All subjects fulfilled the Moll and Wright criteria for definite PsA and-had poor response to DMARDs.The patients received combined infliximab and DMARDs.Infliximab 3 mg/kg was infused at weeks 0,2,6,14.After week 14,patients received infliximab 3 mg/kg every 8 weeks.The primary end point was the improvement of psoriatic arthritis response criteria(PsARC) response.The secondary end point was the percentage of patients who had 20％ improvement of modified American College of Rheumatology (ACR20)response.Parameters for efficacy for psoriatic rash was defined as the proportion of modified 50％ and 75％improvement of psoriasis area and severity index scores (PASI).All adverse reactions in the whole observation period were recorded.Chi-square test and repeated measurement data analysis of variance were used for the statistical analysis.ResultsTwenty-one patients completed the 14 weeks treatment.Five patients completed 26-104 weeks treatment,including 2 cases for 104 weeks.At week 14,the percentage of patients achieving PsARC was 84％,the percentage of patients achieving ACR20 was 77％,and the percentage of patients achieving PASI 50 was 76％.At week 14,tender joint counts,swollen joint counts,patient's assessment of pain,patient's global assessment(PGA),physician's global assessment,dermatology life quality index (DLQI),health assessment questionnaire(HAQ) were significantly improved compared with base-line(P＜0.05).Five patients received 26-104 weeks follow-up,including 2 cases for 104 weeks,four patients was stable,the rash and joint symptoms of 1 patient recurred at 104 weeks.The most frequently occurred adverse reactions were upper respiratory tract infection and skin as well as appendage damages.The second most common adverse effect was elevation of liver enzymes.ConclusionThe infliximab combined with DMARDs is effective and safe for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis.

Objective To assess the diagnostic value of anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin antibodies (anti-MCV) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and compare it with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP), rheumatoid factors (RF). Methods Commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit was used to detect anti-MCV antibodies in a group of 177 RA patients, 46 patients with other rheumatic diseases, and 48 healthy blood donors. At the same time, anti-CCP, RF were detected. T test and χ2 test were selected. Results The average concentration of anti-MCV was (523±376) U/ml in RA, (96± 55) U/ml in patients with other rheumatic diseases, (34±18) U/ml in healthy controls. Different threshold levels (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 U/ml) for positive results were calculated bythe areas under the ROC curve (the areas were 0.521, 0.706, 0.769, 0.791, 0.816, 0.826, 0.822), then the best diagnosis efficacy for RA was determined as more than 120 U/ml. At this level, the sensitivity and the specificity for anti-MCV were 80.1% and 80.9% for RA diagnosis. The positive and negative predictive value were 92% and 67.8%. Comparing with anti-CCP, anti-MCV showed comparable specificity but higher sensitivity. And it's also better than RF apparently. If all 3 antibodies were detected at the same time, or anti-MCV combine with one of them, the sensitivity would increase to 95.7%. In addition, Anti-MCV showed positive in 32 of 67(55.2%) patients with RA whose anti-CCP was negative, meanwhile 31 of 59 (52.5%) patients with RA whose RF was negative. Conclusion RF and anti-CCP are complementary in diagnosing RA. The combination detection of RF and anti-CCP could significantly improve the specificity for the diagnosis of RA.

Objective To explore the clinical value of early diagnosis of atherosclerosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using vascular echo-tracking technique and to detect changes of elastieity of carotid artery quantitatively in SLE patients.Methods Fifry patients with SLE were divided into SLE1 group(duration≤1 year),and SLE2 group(duration>1 year)based on different course.An ultrasonic echo-tracking method was used to measure patients'pressure strain elastic modulus (Ep),the stiffness constant(β),arterial compliance(AC),augmentation index(AI),pulse wave velocity (PWVβ) and intimamedia thickness(IMT)of the common carotid arteries in 50 patients with SLE and in 25 healthy control subjects.Results Among carotid artery elasticity indicators of three groups,there was no significant difference in AI(P>0.05).Ep,β,PWVβ parameters of SLE1 group and SLE2 group were statistically higher than that of the control group[Ep of SLE1 group,SLE2 group,control group was (69±20),(103±40),(48±18)kPa respectively;β was 5.2±1.9,8.0±3.1,4.2±1.3 respectively;PWVβ was 5.2±0.7,6.3±1.1,4.5±0.7]respectively,but AC(AC of SLE1 group,SLE2 group,control group was(1.1±0.3),(0.8±0.3),(1.2±0.6)mm2/k respectively]lower than the controls(P<0.01).Ep,β,PWVβ in SLE2 group was significantly increased compared with SLE1 group,but AC was decreased (P<0.01).Conclusion The application of echo-tracking technology can be used to diagnose early atherosclerosis.Complications of cardiovascular disease in SLE have high clinical value.

Objective To evaluate the safety and tolerance of tumor necrosis factor-or (TNF-α)antagonists in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Methods The incidence of adverse events and their ultimate outcomes based on the clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory parameters of patients treated with etanereept or infliximab during January 2007 to October 2008 were analyzed. Results Severty eight patients were included. Most were rheumatoid arthritis (35%) and ankylosing spondylitis (41%) patients. Few of them were psoriasis arthritis (17%) patients and undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (6%) patients. Among those patients, 59 patients were treated with etanercept, 7 patients (12%) had adverse events in which the majority were injection reactions, upper respiratory tract infection and tuberculosis. Nineteen patients were treated with infliximab, in which 3 patients (16%) had adverse events. One patient (AS) had upper respiratory tract infection. One case (AS) had red papules all over the body and palpitations in the first 24 hours after two infusions. One patient (RA) had fever without identifiable causes after the 4th infusion. Some of the adverse reactions might subside without intervention, while others were controlled after proper treatment. Conclusion Both etanercept and infliximab have good safety and tolerance in treating rheumatic diseases, the adverse reactions are generally mild and can be controlled by appropriate treatment.

Objective To explore the value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-metrics (fractional anisotropy, FA; mean diffusivity, MD; axial diffusivity, AD and radial diffusivity, RD) in assessing the neonatal neurobehavioral development. Methods From November 2010 to September 2017, 101 neonates (gestational age range, 30-42 weeks;male/female, 69/32) with no abnormalities on conventional MRI were retrospectively included. DTI scalar maps (FA, MD, AD and RD) were calculated by using FMRIB's diffusion toolbox. The tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to investigate the relationships between white matter (WM) DTI-metrics and neurobehavioral scores (i.e. behavioral and active tone). Automated fiber quantification (AFQ) was used to extract the CST (corticospinal tract), OR (optic radiation), AR (auditory radiation) and thal-PSC (thalamus-primary somatosensory cortex); Pearson correlation was further used to explore the relationships between neurobehavioral scores and DTI-metrics along the four tracts. Results TBSS results indicated that behavior scores showed significant correlations with DTI-metrics in almost the whole WM, e. g. corpus callosum, CST, OR, AR and etc (P<0.05, TFCE-FWE corrected). Significant correlations of active tone with MD, AD and RD were just observed in local WM regions, i. e. cerebral peduncle, anterior and posterior limb of internal capsule (P<0.05, TFCE-FWE corrected); while FA just showed boundary significant correlations in the above regions (P=0.055, TFCE-FWE corrected). AFQ results indicated that DTI-metrics along the almost entire CST, OR and thal-PSC showed significant correlations with behavior scores (P<0.05); while significant correlations mainly located in the initial and middle segments of AR (P<0.05). For active tone, significant correlations were only observed in the initial and middle segments of CST. Conclusions Neonatal brain WM DTI-metrics in specific sensorimotor regions, to a certain extent, could reflect the corresponding neurobehavior abilities, suggesting the potential value of DTI in assessing the neonatal neurodevelopment.

Objective Endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are direct indicator of endothelial cell activation or apoptosis,and may also reflect endothelial inflammation,increased coagulation,and vascular tone.The aim of this study is to investigate whether EMPs would be able to evaluate systemic involvement and be a new indicator of disease activity in Beh(c)et's disease (BD).Methods Thirty-nine consecutive BD patients (who fulfilled the modified International Study Group on BD in 1990 or International Criteria for BD in 2006) and 67 age and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled (Including 37 patients with hypertension and 30 healthy subjects).The plasma levels of EMPs were measured by flow cytometry utilizing specific labels for endothelial MPs (CD31+ and CD42b-).The measurement data of each group were expressed as-x±s,and the comparison data betwen groups were analyzed by independent sample t test and analysis of variance,Spearman/Pearson correlation analysis,P＜0.05 was statistically significant.Results The levels of circulating EMPs (CD31 + and CI42b-) were significantly elevated in the case group compared with the healthy control group and hypertension (F=6.845,P＜0.05).Moreover,BD patients plasma EMPs were positively correlated with active BD (r=0.802,P＜0.05).Vascular involvement in BD patients was higher than in patients without vascular EMPs,t=4.707,P＜0.05.Gastrointestinal involvement in BD patients was more frequent than that in patients without Gastrointestinal involvement,t=2.673,P＜0.05.Conclusion Levels of circulating EMPs are elevatedd in BD patients and correlated with disease activity in BD.Elevated EMPs may be a potential indicator to predict disease activity of BD.The plasma level of EMPs is increased,which indicats increased risk of vascular and digestive tract involvement in BD.

Objective To evaluate the value of 2012 classification criteria for early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA),2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) classification criteria,and 1987 ACR classification criteria in the diagnosis of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods Patients who had at least one swollen and tender joint with disease duration no more than 2 years,and age more than 16 years were enrolled.The patients were diagnosed as RA or other non-RA by 2 experienced rheumatologists.The clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded.The sensitivity and specificity of three RA classification criteria were compared by McNemar test,The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve (AUC) of each RA classification criteria were analyzed using MedCalc software.Results Atotal of 310 patients were enrolled in this study,including 182ERA and 128 non-RA.The sensitivity(88.5％) of ERA criteria was much higher than that of the 1987 ACR criteria (45.6％,x2=75.013,P＜0.05),and not significantly different with the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria (91.8％,X2=1.042,P＞0.05).The specificity of ERA criteria (91.4％) of 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria (87.5％,x2=1.8,P＞0.05) was similar to that of the 1987 ACR criteria (96.1％,x2=3.1,P＞0.05).The AUC of ERA criteria was 0.962 [95％CI(0.934,0.980)],which was slightly better than that of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria 0.959 [95％CI(0.931,0.978)],Z=0.380,P=0.7038,and much higher than that of the 1987 ACR criteria 0.885 [95％CI (0.845,0.919)],Z=4.517,P＜0.01.Conclusion Overall evaluation,the diagnostic value of ERA criteria is better than 1987 ACR and 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria in early rheumatoid arthritis.Compared to 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria,ERA criteria is more simple and practical.