These data suggest that AD may play an anti-inflammatory role in the pathophysiology of RA.

Serum leptin/BMI levels were increased and significantly associated with IL-6 levels and disease activity in men with AS, suggesting a possible role for leptin in the inflammatory reactions of AS.

Overproduction of BMP-2 and BMP-7 was noted in AS patients, and serum BMP-7 levels reflected radiographic damage observed in AS.

Brain involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a significant source of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the early detection and treatment of brain involvement in SLE is of utmost importance; however, a confirmative diagnostic tool for neuropsychiatric SLE is yet to be developed. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of (18)F-FDG-PET for detection of brain involvement in patients with SLE with normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Twenty patients with SLE, who presented with neuropsychiatric symptoms despite normal brain MRI findings and who underwent brain (18)F-FDG-PET, were enrolled. The most common neuropsychiatric manifestation was headache (45%), followed by seizure (20%) and mood disorder (20%). (18)F-FDG-PET revealed significant glucose metabolic abnormalities in 15 of 20 patients (75%). The temporal (55%) and the occipital (55%) lobes were the most susceptible brain regions, followed by the frontal lobe (50%). However, neuropsychiatric symptoms were not geographically correlated to (18)F-FDG-PET findings. Two patients with abnormal (18)F-FDG-PET findings underwent follow-up brain (18)F-FDG-PET after remission, which showed complete resolution of abnormal glucose metabolism. Our data suggest that (18)F-FDG-PET may be an additional diagnostic modality complementary to MRI, when MRI is unable to provide evidence of brain involvement in patients with SLE.

Fever is a common symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and because of this it is difficult to discriminate between SLE flare and infection. The delta neutrophil index (DNI), automatically determined by the ADVIA 2120 electronic cell analyzer, has been reported to reflect the fraction of circulating immature granulocytes and to be associated with the presence of infection. In this study, we investigated the utility of DNI in discriminating infections from SLE flares in febrile SLE patients. In total, 111 episodes in 92 febrile SLE patients were reviewed. The infection group showed significantly higher white blood cell counts, neutrophil counts, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin than the SLE flare group. Complement (C)3 and C4 levels were decreased significantly in the SLE flare group. Patients in the SLE flare group had significantly lower DNI than those in both infection groups, with or without bacteremia. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, only DNI was a significant independent factor for the presence of infection (odds ratio (OR): 18.9). When we selected a DNI value of 2.8% as the cutoff for infection, SLE patients with DNI ≥ 2.8% were found to be at higher risk for infection than those with DNI <2.8% (relative risk 8.48-fold). Our data suggest that DNI may be a marker to differentiate infections from SLE flares in febrile SLE patients.