Autoimmune diseases

Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, a novel class of targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), have shown their safety and efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are being intensively tested in other autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Targeting several cytokines with a single small compound leads to blocking the physiological response of hundreds of genes, thereby providing the background to stabilize the immune response. Unfortunately, blocking many cytokines with a single drug may also bring some negative consequences. In this review, we focused on the activity of JAK inhibitors in the cardiovascular system of patients with RA. Special emphasis was put on the modification of heart performance, progression of atherosclerosis, lipid profile disturbance, and risk of thromboembolic complications. We also discussed potential pathophysiological mechanisms that may be responsible for such JAK inhibitor-associated side effects.

Toxoplasmosis, one of the most common zoonotic diseases worldwide, can induce various hormonal and behavioural alterations in infected hosts, and its most common form, latent toxoplasmosis, influences the course of pregnancy. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) belong to the well-defined risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a link between latent toxoplasmosis and maternal AITD in pregnancy. Cross-sectional study in 1248 consecutive pregnant women in the 9-12th gestational weeks. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb), and free thyroxine (FT4) were assessed by chemiluminescence; the Toxoplasma status was detected by the complement fixation test (CFT) and anti-Toxoplasma IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall, 22.5% of the women were positive for latent toxoplasmosis and 14.7% were screened positive for AITD. Women with latent toxoplasmosis had more often highly elevat...

Epidemiological data provide evidence of a steady rise in autoimmune disease throughout Westernized societies over the last decades. Multiple publications exist, describing past or actual incidences/prevalence of individual autoimmune diseases, however, long term studies on selected populations are scarce. Aims: to calculate the % increases per year of autoimmune diseases frequencies worldwide, analyze the differential increases per country and disease, and identify geoepidemiological trends. Methods: A systematic review was performed to identify incidence and prevalence of autoimmune diseases. 30 Studies from the last 30 years were identified using Medline, Google, and Cochrane Library databases. Only long-term regional or national follow-ups are reported. Results: The means ± s.d. of the net % increased /year incidence and prevalence of autoimmune diseases worldwide were 19.1±43.1 and 12.5±7.9, respectively. Rheumatic, endocrinological, gastrointestinal and neurological autoimmune diseases revealed the following annual % increases per year: 7.1, 6.3, 6.2, and 3.7, respectively. In all of these, differences between old vs new frequencies were highly significant (p< 0.0001). Comparing various autoimmune diseases, celiac disease increased the most and the highest increase in incidence, comparing old to new surveys is allocated to myasthenia gravis. Despite considerable variations between the countries, celiac, type 1 diabetes and myasthenia gravis frequencies increased the most in Canada, Israel and Denmark, respectively. Frequencies of the autoimmune diseases increased significantly in the West and North when compared to East and South, respectively. Conclusions: Despite multiple reports on autoimmune diseases frequencies, long-term longitudinal follow-ups are scarce. Incidences and prevalences have increased significantly over the last 30 years. Rheumatic, endocrinological and gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases in Israel, Netherlands, USA and Sweden increased the most. These observations point to a stronger influence of environmental factors as opposed to genetic factors on autoimmune disease development.