Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics in of different antibody subtypes in of patients with antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) complicated with interstitial lung disease (ILD).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 132 ASS-ILD patients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (Jiangsu Provincial People′s Hospital), encompassing a period from December 2019 to June 2023. The data included were basic demographic information, clinical features, laboratory test results, chest computed tomography (CT) scans, and pulmonary lung function tests. Patients were categorized into distinct subtypes based on anti-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase (ARS) antibodies. Statistical analysis was performed using a t-test for comparing means between two samples with equal variance, the Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed continuous data, and the chi-square ( χ2) test or Fisher′s exact test for categorical variables. Results:The most prevalent subtype of anti-synthetase antibody was anti-histidine antibody (Jo-1), accounting for 60 of 132 cases (45.5%), followed by anti-glycine-based tRNA synthetase antibody (EJ) (33/132, 2 5.0%), anti-tRNA synthase antibody (PL-7) (26/132, 19.7%), anti-alanine-based tRNA synthetase antibody (PL-12) (7.6%, 10/132), anti-isoleucine-tRNA synthase antibody (OJ) (3/132, 2.2%). The presence of anti-Ro-52 antibodies was significantly associated with rapidly progressive ILD. In patients with different subtypes of ASS-ILD, the presence of anti-Jo-1 antibodies is was positive in 28 cases (46.7%), and the combination of infection is was more common than in other groups ( χ2=0.15, P=0.047). The group with positive anti-EJ antibodies has had a significant decline in lung function, and cough is was more common in 31 cases (93.9%) than in other groups ( P<0.05); the group with positive anti-PL-12 antibodies has had a more pronounced decline in lung function than other groups ( P<0.05), and fever (7 cases, 70.0%) wais more common than in other groups ( χ2=0.02, P=0.022). Conclusion:Anti-Jo-1, Anti-PL-7, and Anti-PL-12 antibodies were are observed more frequently in patients with ILD. Furthermore, a significant deterioration in lung function was is observed in patients testing positive for anti-PL-12 and anti-EJ antibodies.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features of MDA5 antibody positive dermatomyositis (MDA5-DM) and to provide evidence for early diagnosis and treatment.Methods:From March 2019 to June 2021, 272 patients with anti-MDA5-DM from the Nanjing Medical University myositis-associated interstitial lung disease cohort were enrolled, with 76 patients with anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS) as the control group. The clinical characteristics and the occurrence of interstitial lung disease were analyzed. T-test was used for normally distributed and variance-homogeneous independent samples, Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed data, and chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test for dichotomous variables. Results:Among the 272 anti-MDA5-DM patients, 88.6% (241/272) developed interstitial lung disease (ILD), and 33.8% (92/272) developed rapidly progressive ILD (RP-ILD). The six-month all-cause mortality rate of anti-MDA5-DM patients was 16.9% (46/272), and it was as high as 47.8% (44/92) for those with RP-ILD. Compared with ASS patients, anti-MDA5-DM patients had a significantly higher proportion of males, arthritis, Gottron's sign, heliotrope rash, V-sign, periungual erythema, and skin ulcers ( P<0.05). The levels of ALT, AST, and ferritin were significantly increased ( P<0.05). Compared with non-RP-ILD patients, RP-ILD patients had a significantly higher proportion of males [35.9%(33/92) vs. 23.3%(42/180), χ2=4.79, P=0.029], higher levels of LDH [387 (276, 547) U/L vs. 310 (245, 400) U/L, Z=-3.67, P<0.001], ESR [45.5 (29.25, 63.25) mm/1 h vs. 31.2 (20, 51) mm/1 h, Z=-3.71, P<0.001], CRP [10.9 (4.1, 25.2) mg/L vs. 4.54 (2.58, 9.08) mg/L, Z=-4.97, P<0.001], ferritin [1 340 (650, 2 000) ng/ml vs. 556 (203, 1 186) ng/ml, Z=-4.40, P<0.001], and a higher proportion of anti-Ro52 antibody and anti-MDA5 antibody co-positivity [87.0%(80/92) vs. 52.2%(94/180), χ2=31.87, P<0.001]. Conclusion:Anti-MDA5-DM patients are prone to develop RP-ILD and have poor prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical characteristics of 57 patients diagnosed with anti-glycyl tRNA synthetase (anti-EJ) positive antisynthetase syndrome (ASS), a subtype of anti-glycyl tRNA positive ASS, complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD), and to investigate the factors asso-ciated with ILD recurrence. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 57 anti-EJ positive ASS patientswho were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2024. The data collected included demographic information, clinical characteristics, laboratory test results, chest CT findings, and pulmonary function tests. The characteristics of ILD recurrence were also analyzed. RESULTS: All the 57 patients with anti-EJ positive ASS were diagnosed with ILD. The mean age at disease onset was (58.18±10.27) years, with a mean disease duration of 3.00 (2.00, 16.00) months. Among the patients, 70. 18% were female, 87.72% experienced a cough, 70. 18% had expectoration, 89.47% reported respiratory difficulties, and 14.04% developed respiratory failure. The results of pulmonary function test showed that the percentage of forced vital capacity (FVC) in the normal predicted value (FVC%), the percentage of forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) in the normal predicted value (FEV1%) and the percentage of diffusion lung carbon monoxide (DLCO) in the normal predicted value (DLCO%) were 59.36±21.41, 58.34±19.46 and 58.17±27.95, respectively. The oxygenation index was (363.24±99.42) mmHg. Chest CT imaging showed that nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) was the most common radiographic pattern. Among the 46 patients who completed a follow-up of more than 12 months, 21 cases (45.65%) showed recurrence of ILD. The average age of onset for the recurrence group was (61.38±8.63) years, while that for the non-recurrence group was (55.28±11.85) years, with a difference approaching statistical significance (P=0.056). Further analysis showed that the ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) level was significantly higher in the recurrence group than in the non-recurrence group [(50.48±29.64) mm/h vs. 30.28±23.97) mm/h, P=0.025], and the IgM (immune globulin M) level was also significantly higher in the recurrence group (P=0.042). Moreover, the CD8+T proportion was significantly higher in the recurrence group than in the non-recurrence group (25.48±11.81 vs. 18.59± 8.53, P=0.027). Despite the fact that the recurrence group had a higher baseline age, higher ESR, IgM, and CD8+T proportion, multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that these indicators were not independent risk factors for ILD recurrence. CONCLUSION ILD is the most common clinical manifestation in patients with anti-EJ positive ASS, with a significant impact on pulmonary function. Although the patients responded well to a combination of glucocorticoid and immunosuppressive therapies, the recurrence rate remains high, particularly in those with increased sputum production, and elevated ESR. Close monitoring and early intervention for high-risk patients are essential to improving long-term outcomes.
Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Myositis/diagnosis* ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Glycine-tRNA Ligase ; Recurrence ; Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Autoantibodies/blood*

Objective:To investigate the role of HIS (hyperinflammatory syndrome) score in predicting the prognosis of anti-melanoma differentiation associated gene 5(MDA5) antibody-positive dermatomyositis (DM) patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD).Methods:A total of 43 patients with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis and 228 connective tissue disease (CTD) patients with ILD hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to April 2021 were enrolled into this study. All patients were complicated with ILD and their HIS score were assessed. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared test, Fisher exact probability and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for data analysis. Results:The HIS score of 43 patients with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermat-omyositis were collected. Among 228 CTD-ILD patients in the control groups, the primary disease consisted of 33(14.5%) anti-synthetase antibody syndrome (ASS), 44(19.3%) rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 65(28.5%) Sj?gren's syndromes (SS), 43 (18.9%) systemic sclerosis (SSc) and 43 (18.9%) systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). The HIS score of anti-MDA5-positive DM-ILD patients [2(1, 3)] was higher than those in ASS patients [1(0, 2), Z=-2.06, P<0.05] and significantly higher than those in RA-ILD [1(0, 2), Z=-2.87, P<0.01], SS-ILD [0(0,1), Z=-5.78, P<0.01], SSC-ILD [1(0, 1), Z=-3.84, P<0.01] and SLE-ILD [1(0, 2), Z=-3.81, P<0.01]. Comparing HIS score of anti-MDA5-positive DM-ILD patients, the 3-months mortality rate in the low, medium and high groups was 0(0/15), 38.1%(8/21) and 85.7%(6/7). The area under ROC curve (95% CI) was 0.857[(0.747, 0.967), P<0.001] for HIS score in predicting 3-months mortality probability of anti-MDA5-positive DM-ILD. Conclusion:HIS score of anti-MDA5-positive DM-ILD is higher than that in CTD-ILD patients and the baseline level is related to the 3-months mortality rate.

BACKGROUNDTraditional Chinese medical treatment of primary Sjögren's syndrome has advantages over Western medicine in terms of fewer side effects and improved patient conditions. This study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the efficacy and safety of ShengJinRunZaoYangXue granules for the treatment of primary Sjögren's syndrome, including the symptoms of dry mouth and dry eye.

METHODSWe undertook a 6-week, double-blind, randomized trial involving 240 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome at five centers in East China. A computer-generated randomization schedule assigned patients at a 2:1 ratio to receive either ShengJinRunZaoYangXue granules or placebo once daily. Patients and investigators were blinded to treatment allocation. The primary endpoints were the salivary flow rate, Schirmer test results, and sugar test results. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were performed.

RESULTSAll 240 patients were randomly allocated to either the treatment group (n = 160, ShengJinRunZaoYangXue granules) or placebo group (n = 80) and were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. After program violation and loss to follow-up, a total of 199 patients were included in the per-protocol analysis. At six week, intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses of the left-eye Schirmer I test results showed an improved difference of 1.36 mm/5 min (95% CI: 0.03 to 2.69 mm/5 min) and 1.35 mm/5 min (95% CI: 0.04 to 2.73 mm/5 min), respectively, and those of the right-eye Schirmer I test results showed an improved difference of 1.12 mm/5 min (95% CI: 0.02 to 2.22 mm/5 min) and 1.12 mm/5 min (95% CI: -0.02 to 2.27 mm/5 min), respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups before treatment. After treatment, the between-group and within-group before-and-after paired comparison results were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses showed an improved salivary flow rate by 0.04 ml/15 min (95% CI: -0.49 to 0.58 ml/15 min) and 0.04 ml/15 min (95% CI: -0.52 to 0.60 ml/15 min), respectively, but the differences were not significant. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses showed that the sugar test results were improved by 1.77 minutes (95% CI: 0.11 to 3.44 minutes) and 1.84 minutes (95% CI: 0.12 to 3.55 minutes), respectively, but the differences were not significant. For the secondary endpoint, intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses showed significant improvement in the integrated evaluation of treated patients with dry eye and dry mouth after six weeks of treatment. The incidence of adverse events was 15.6% in the treatment group and 10.0% in the placebo group. Most (94%) adverse events were mild to moderate in the two groups, and only two cases of serious adverse events occurred in the treatment group; both were caused by autoimmune liver disease.

CONCLUSIONSSix-week treatment with ShengJinRun ZaoYangXue granules for primary Sjögren's syndrome in this large-scale study improved the symptoms of dry mouth, dry eyes, and low tear flow rate with minimal adverse events.

China ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Models, Theoretical ; Sjogren's Syndrome ; drug therapy