ARP Rheumatology

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Portugal
Lisbon
ARP Rheumatology

The official journal of the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology (). Indexed to PubMed. Both basic research and clinical papers may be submitted.

ARP Rheumatology succeeds Acta Reumatológica Portuguesa, originally founded in 1973 as the official journal of the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology. It is a scientific double-blinded peer-reviewed and open-access journal devoted to progress in the research, diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The journal aims at serving the interest of both practising clinicians an

d research workers. Editorials, short communications and review articles covering recent developments are included. Controversial techniques and issues on health policy are frequently discussed and serve as tools for encouraging debate. It also concerns about guidelines and clinical protocols related to the practice of rheumatology. The submission has no fees and all articles are available for free.

17/06/2026

🦠 Not every case of inflammatory arthritis is an autoimmune disease.

A nationwide study has shown that parvovirus B19 infection can closely resemble early inflammatory rheumatic diseases, often presenting with acute symmetrical polyarthritis affecting multiple joints.

Interestingly:

✅ 32% of patients had positive ANA tests
✅ Nearly 20% had positive rheumatoid factor
✅ Most patients improved within weeks
✅ Anti-CCP antibodies were negative in all patients

These findings highlight the importance of considering viral causes when evaluating new-onset inflammatory arthritis.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1643

15/06/2026

🩺 Can IVIG help in severe gastrointestinal complications of systemic sclerosis?

A fascinating case presented at EULAR 2026 describes a patient with rapidly progressive diffuse systemic sclerosis who developed severe gastrointestinal involvement, including recurrent pseudo-obstruction and repeated episodes of colonic volvulus—a rare but potentially life-threatening complication.

Despite surgery and supportive care, the episodes continued to recur.

Following treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), the patient showed substantial clinical and radiological improvement, with resolution of the obstructive episodes.

Although this is a single case report, it is believed to be the first description of successful IVIG treatment in systemic sclerosis complicated by mechanical colonic volvulus.

The case highlights the diverse and sometimes unexpected manifestations of systemic sclerosis and suggests that IVIG may have a role in selected patients with severe, refractory gastrointestinal disease

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1644

12/06/2026

🦋 A positive Direct Coombs test may indicate increased disease activity in lupus—even without haemolytic anaemia.

Researchers presented data at EULAR 2026 examining the significance of Direct Coombs test (DCT) positivity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who did not have autoimmune haemolytic anaemia.

Key findings:

✅ One-third of patients were DCT-positive despite having no evidence of haemolysis

✅ DCT-positive patients had significantly higher disease activity scores

✅ Arthritis was more common in the DCT-positive group

✅ Higher anti-dsDNA antibody levels were also observed

These results suggest that DCT positivity may reflect increased immune activation and immune complex burden at a given point in time, potentially serving as a simple marker of active disease.

Further studies are needed to determine whether DCT positivity can predict future flares or help monitor disease progression over time.
https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1645

10/06/2026

🧬 New advances are changing the treatment landscape of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM).

These rare autoimmune diseases can affect muscles, skin, lungs, heart, and other organs, often causing significant disability and reduced quality of life.

While corticosteroids and conventional immunosuppressive therapies remain the foundation of treatment, recent years have brought several exciting developments:

✅ Stronger evidence supporting intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), particularly in dermatomyositis

✅ Growing experience with biologic therapies such as rituximab and abatacept

✅ Promising early results with JAK inhibitors targeting specific immune pathways

✅ Improved disease classification through myositis-specific autoantibodies, paving the way for more personalised treatment strategies

Researchers are increasingly focusing on precision medicine approaches that match therapies to individual disease characteristics rather than relying on broad immunosuppression alone.

At the same time, multidisciplinary care, pulmonary and cardiac monitoring, rehabilitation, exercise, and patient-reported outcomes remain essential components of comprehensive myositis management.

The future of myositis treatment is moving towards more targeted, personalised, and patient-centred care.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1646

08/06/2026

📢 Can lung ultrasound help detect interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis?

New research suggests that lung ultrasound (LUS) may be a highly effective tool for the early detection of rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD), even before symptoms develop.

🔍 Key findings:
• 147 patients with RA were evaluated against HRCT findings.
• Abnormal lung ultrasound findings were strongly associated with ILD.
• In asymptomatic patients, LUS achieved:
✅ 95.4% sensitivity
✅ 77.7% specificity
• Clinical risk scores alone showed limited diagnostic performance.
• Combining LUS with risk scores increased sensitivity to 100%.

These findings highlight the potential of lung ultrasound as an accessible, non-invasive screening tool that could help identify RA-ILD earlier and support timely intervention.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1640

14/05/2026

🧬 Understanding vascular complications in Behçet’s disease

Behçet’s disease can sometimes affect blood vessels, leading to serious complications. This study looked at how often this happens and who is most at risk.

📊 What did they find?
• About 15% of patients developed vascular involvement
• Most cases affected veins, especially:
– Deep vein thrombosis
– Superficial thrombophlebitis
• Some patients also developed arterial problems like aneurysms
• Many had recurrent or multiple vessel involvement

⚠️ Who is at higher risk?
• Men
• Patients whose disease started with eye involvement

💡 Why is this important?
Recognizing these risk factors early can help doctors monitor patients more closely and potentially prevent serious complications.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1630

11/05/2026

🧬 A rare autoimmune disease appearing during asthma treatment

A patient treated with dupilumab (a biologic used for severe asthma and nasal polyps) developed a rare condition called relapsing polychondritis—a disease that causes inflammation of cartilage in the nose, airways, and joints.

🩺 She presented with:
• Breathing difficulties and chest pain
• Collapse of the nasal bridge (“saddle nose”)
• Joint inflammation
• Airway cartilage involvement

🔬 Tests for typical autoimmune antibodies were negative, but immune studies showed activation of a different pathway (Th17).

💡 What does this mean?
While dupilumab is very effective for allergic diseases, it may shift the immune system in ways that can unmask other inflammatory conditions in susceptible individuals.

✔️ Symptoms improved after stopping the drug and starting immunosuppressive treatment

👉 This case highlights the importance of close monitoring and collaboration between specialists when using advanced therapies.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1625

07/05/2026

🧬 When cancer immunotherapy causes “Sjögren-like” symptoms… but it’s not Sjögren’s

Treatments like pembrolizumab (used for cancers such as melanoma) can sometimes trigger immune-related side effects that resemble autoimmune diseases.

This case describes a patient who developed:
• Dry mouth and dry eyes
• Salivary gland swelling
• Joint pain

➡️ At first glance, it looked like Sjögren’s disease—but deeper testing showed a different mechanism, driven mainly by T cells rather than the typical antibody pattern.

💡 Why is this important?
Because the condition can be treated effectively without stopping cancer therapy, which is crucial for patient outcomes.

✔️ Symptoms improved with anti-inflammatory treatment (glucocorticoids + hydroxychloroquine)
✔️ Immunotherapy could be continued with careful monitoring

👩‍⚕️ This highlights the need for collaboration between oncologists and rheumatologists to ensure both cancer control and quality of life.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1639

04/05/2026

🧬 New study: Validation of SLE-DAS in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Assessing disease activity accurately is key to improving outcomes in people living with lupus. This study evaluated the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Score (SLE-DAS) in a Russian cohort of 200 patients—and the results are very promising.

🔍 What did they find?
• Strong agreement with existing measures (SLEDAI-2K & Physician Global Assessment)
• High accuracy in identifying active disease (AUC up to 0.97)
• Excellent sensitivity (96%) and specificity (98%)
• Reliable in detecting changes over time

💡 Why does this matter?
SLE-DAS is a continuous, weighted score that may offer a more precise way to monitor lupus activity and support treat-to-target strategies in daily clinical practice.

📊 Overall, this study supports SLE-DAS as a valid and responsive tool that could help clinicians better track disease and guide treatment decisions

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1641

27/04/2026

🚀 Coming Soon: ARP Peer Mentoring Program 2025 🇵🇹

Are you a member of the Portuguese Rheumatology Society interested in improving your scientific peer review skills?

ARP Rheumatology & Sociedade Portuguesa de Reumatologia (SPR) invite you to be part of the first ARP Peer Mentoring Program — a unique opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with leading experts in the field.

✨ What to expect:
🔹 Mentorship from experienced rheumatologists
🔹 Training in scientific peer review
🔹 Exposure to multiple subspecialties
🔹 A chance to strengthen our scientific community

📚 Areas include:
SpA/PsA | Rheumatoid Arthritis | Connective Tissue Diseases | Vasculitis | Paediatric Rheumatology | Epidemiology & Methodology

📢 Applications opening soon — stay tuned!

👉 Follow ARP & SPR for updates and don’t miss your chance to join this exciting initiative

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