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.

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

22/04/2026

🧬 A rare complication of VEXAS syndrome

VEXAS syndrome is a recently described inflammatory condition linked to mutations in the UBA1 gene. It can affect multiple systems, causing symptoms such as fever, joint pain, lung involvement, skin changes, and blood abnormalities.

In this case, a 69-year-old man developed a rare and serious complication—an aortic–renal aneurysm, which is associated with a worse prognosis.

Encouragingly, treatment with tocilizumab led to a good clinical response.

➡️ This case highlights the importance of recognizing unusual complications and exploring targeted therapies in complex inflammatory diseases.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1634

20/04/2026

🧬 Rare complication of Behçet’s disease

A 67-year-old woman developed progressive dysphagia, recurrent food impaction, and weight loss, caused by severe inflammation and narrowing of the oesophagus—a very rare manifestation of the disease.

Standard treatments were not effective, and procedures such as dilation were considered unsafe. However, treatment with adalimumab led to stabilization and prevented further worsening.

➡️ This case highlights the importance of recognizing rare presentations and the potential role of biologic therapies in difficult-to-treat disease.

📢 Increasing awareness of symptoms like unexplained swallowing difficulties may help prevent serious complications.

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/article_abstract.php?id=1626

04/04/2026

Did you know a rare infection can mimic common rheumatic diseases?

🦠 Whipple’s disease can present as arthritis for years before diagnosis—often resembling conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or polymyalgia rheumatica.

🔎 In a Portuguese multicenter study:

Diagnosis was delayed by ~4 years
Many patients had weight loss and anaemia
Standard tests can be negative → PCR is key
Treatment with antibiotics led to rapid recovery

👉 Important reminder:
If symptoms don’t fit or don’t respond to treatment, think outside the box!

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/section.php?id=1812

02/04/2026

❤️ Did you know heart involvement in systemic sclerosis can be early and severe?

In a recent study:

In over 40% of patients, heart disease was the first sign of systemic sclerosis
Some patients presented with life-threatening conditions like cardiac tamponade
Even advanced imaging (MRI) can sometimes miss myocarditis

🔍 This highlights an important message:
Doctors need to stay alert—especially when symptoms don’t fully match test results.

👉 Early diagnosis can make a big difference in outcomes

🔗https://www.arprheumatology.com/section.php?id=1804

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