New insights into immunological mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. There are still many unknown aspects in the pathogenesis of this disease, such as the immune system interaction with p-ANCAs and the release of inflammatory NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps), which are the origin of auto-antigens and tissue damage, manifesting as vasculitic purpura on the skin. The clinical presentation constitutes a challenge for the clinician to be able to distinguish it from small-vessel vasculitides. This paper intends to improve the understanding of this condition, exhibiting the broad clinical spectrum of local and systemic manifestations of cocaine-levamisole-induced vasculitis, to facilitate a timely diagnosis, in order to take corrective measures and avoid sequelae, along with tissue damage and the consequent deformities and permanent scars.

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies embody the largest group of acquired and potentially treatable causes of skeletal muscle weakness. The three major groups of this disorder are polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM), and inclusion body myositis. Corticosteroids continue to be the mainstay of initial treatment in the majority of cases of PM/DM. The treatment of refractory disease can be challenging despite the utilization of the medications currently available. We report two patients with refractory DM who were treated with infliximab. We describe their presentation, clinical course, treatment, and outcomes.

We report a 19-year-old female with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis who developed pulmonary hemorrhage (PH) refractory to conventional immunosuppressive treatment. She was initially treated with intravenous methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide pulses. She required mechanical ventilation due to a lack of responsiveness and her disease was considered refractory to conventional treatment. Rituximab was administered and this was followed by clinical improvement in both PH and nephritis. Rituximab may be a useful therapeutic option for the treatment of refractory PH.

Granulomatous vasculitis is a subset of systemic necrotizing vasculitis and has granulomatous inflammation as the main histopathologic feature. Etiopathogenesis remains poorly understood, although recent advances suggest an important role for certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha. They are a heterogeneous group of clinical disorders with protean manifestations. Serologic abnormalities are present, and the presence of granular cytoplasmic staining-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies is most important and is particularly useful for the diagnosis of active Wegener's granulomatosis. Corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide remain very useful in the treatment of most of these disorders.

ResumenEl objetivo de este estudio fue analizar, por un lado, los niveles de ansiedad, depresión, apoyo social, índice de actividad lúpica, fibromialgia, daño orgánico y renal, tiempo de diagnóstico de la enfermedad y factores sociodemográficos en 78 pacientes con diagnóstico de Lupus Eritematoso Sistémico; y analizar el efecto de estas variables sobre la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud. Se emplearon como instrumentos: el cuestionario de Salud MOS SF-36, la Escala Hospitalaria de Ansiedad y Depresión HAD, el cuestionario de Apoyo Social Funcional DUKE-UNK, el Índice de Actividad Lúpica SLEDAI y el Índice de Daño Orgánico SLICC-ACR; y se consideró además el diagnóstico médico de Fibromialgia y de Nefropatía. Los resultados señalaron que factores fisiopatológicos (actividad lúpica y daño orgánico), psicológicos (ansiedad-depresión) y sociodemográficos (ocupación y estado civil) y la interacción entre estos afectan la calidad de vida a nivel mental más que físico en los pacientes con lupus.Palabras clave: Lupus Eritematoso Sistémico, calidad de vida relacionada con la salud, ansiedad, depresión, Fibromialgia. AbstractThe aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of anxiety, depression, social support, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) disease activity index, fibromyalgia, organic and kidney damage, and time of diagnosis of disease on Health-related Quality of Life in 78 patients with SLE diagnosis. Participants completed the Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, the Duke-UNK Functional Social Support questionnaire, the SLEDAI (SLE Disease Activity Index), and the SLICC/ACR damage index for SLE. As a complementary measure, Fibromyalgia and Nephropathy diagnosis was considered. The results shown that in patients with lupus, pathophysiological (SLE disease activity index and organic damage), psychological (anxiety-depression) and sociodemographic factors (occupation and civil status) affect the quality of life in the mental domain rather than in the physical level.