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Chronic pain is nowadays considered not only the mainstay symptom of rheumatic diseases but also “a disease itself.” Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon, and in inflammatory arthritis, it derives from multiple mechanisms, involving both synovitis (release of a great number of cytokines) and peripheral and central pain-processing mechanisms (sensitization). In the last years, the JAK-STAT pathway has been recognized as a pivotal component both in the inflammatory process and in pain amplification in the central nervous system. This paper provides a summary on pain in inflammatory arthritis, from pathogenesis to clinimetric instruments and treatment, with a focus on the JAK-STAT pathway.

Background: The advent of Internet and World Wide Web has created new perspectives toward interaction between patients and healthcare professionals. Telemonitoring patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an emerging concept to guide the collaborative management treatment and improve outcomes in patients. The objective of this study was to investigate whether an intensive treatment strategy, according to a telemonitoring protocol, is more effective than conventional management strategy in reaching remission and comprehensive disease control (CDC) after 1 year in early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) patients.

ObjectivesThis study was designed (a) to evaluate an improved quantitative lung fibrosis score based on a computer-aided diagnosis (CaM) system in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc),—related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), (b) to investigate the relationship between physiologic parameters (forced vital capacity [FVC] and single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide [DLCO]), patient-centred measures of dyspnea and functional disability and CaM and visual reader-based (CoVR) methods, and (c) to identify potential surrogate measures from quantitative and visual HRCT measurement.Methods126 patients with SSc underwent chest radiography, HRCT and PFTs. The following patient-centred measures were obtained: modified Borg Dyspnea Index (Borg score), VAS for breathing, and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI). HRCT abnormalities were scored according to the conventional visual reader-based score (CoVR) and by a CaM. The relationships among the HRCT scores, physiologic parameters (FVC and DLCO, % predicted) results and patient-centred measures, were calculated using linear regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation. Multivariate regression models were performed to identify the predictor variables on severity of pulmonary fibrosis.ResultsSubjects with limited cutaneous SSc had lower HAQ-DI scores than subjects with diffuse cutaneous SSc (p <0.001). CaM and CoVR scores were similar in the 2 groups. In univariate analysis, a strong correlation between CaM and CoVR was observed (p <0.0001). In multivariate analysis the CaM and CoVR scores were predicted by DLco, FVC, Borg score and HAQ-DI. Age, sex, disease duration, anti-topoisomerase antibodies and mRSS were not significantly associated with severity of pulmonary fibrosis on CaM- and CoVR methods.ConclusionsAlthough a close correlation between CaM score results and CoVR total score was found, CaM analysis showed a more significant correlation with DLco (more so than the FVC), patient-centred measures of perceived dyspnea and functional disability. Computer-aided tomographic analysis is computationally efficient, and in combination with physiologic and patient-centred measures, it could allow a means for accurately assessing and monitoring the disease progression or response to therapy.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune arthritis, occurring in patients with psoriasis (Pso), that may affect the whole musculoskeletal system but also nails, eye, and gastrointestinal tract. Dermatologists and rheumatologists usually manage Pso and PsA separately, but early diagnosis and integrated management could achieve better outcomes of both skin and musculoskeletal manifestations, thus improving the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients. In this work, we have described a model of integrated dermo-rheumatologic approach for the early diagnosis of PsA and to present the outcomes of the multidisciplinary management of PsA patients after 48 weeks of follow-up. Pso patients complaining musculoskeletal symptoms were enrolled in a DErmo-Rheumatologic Clinic (DERC) in order to screen, classify, and treat patients with PsA, employing an operative working procedure and a specific flowchart. The integrated dermatologic and rheumatologic management of PsA patients allowed a prompt establishment of the diagnosis and the best therapeutic approach in these patients, with a significant improvement of skin and articular diseases and, eventually, a consistent amelioration of HRQoL. Dermatologists and rheumatologists usually manage the "psoriatic disease" in separated outpatient clinics. In our study, we have demonstrated that a combined DERC, by means of a tight cooperation between the dermatologist and the rheumatologist, which use a specific working procedure and treatment flowchart, may achieve the optimal clinical management of these patients, with a consistent clinical remission of the disease and a significant amelioration of the HRQoL.