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Zhu Z, Yu Q, Leng X, Han W, Li Z, Huang C, Gu J, Zhao Y, Wang K, Li T, Mei Y, Xu J, Zhang Z, Hunter D, Cicuttini F, Zeng X, Ding C. Can low-dose methotrexate reduce effusion-synovitis and symptoms in patients with mid- to late-stage knee osteoarthritis? Study protocol for a randomised, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial. Trials 2020; 21:795. [PMID: 32938470 PMCID: PMC7493135 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-020-04687-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disease in older adults. Currently, there are no effective therapies to reduce disease severity and progression of knee OA (KOA), particularly in mid- to late-stages. This study aims to examine the effect of methotrexate (MTX) on knee effusion-synovitis and pain in symptomatic patients with mid- to late-stage KOA. METHODS/DESIGN This protocol describes a multicentre randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial aiming to recruit 200 participants with mid- to late-stage symptomatic KOA and with effusion-synovitis grade of ≥ 2. Participants will be randomly allocated to the MTX group (start from 5 mg per week for the first 2 weeks and increase to 10 mg per week for the second 2 weeks and 15 mg per week for the remaining period if tolerated) or the placebo group. Primary outcomes are effusion-synovitis size measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and knee pain assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes are signal intensity alteration within infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) total score and subscores, and the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Arthritis Clinical Trials-Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OMERACT-OARSI) responders. Both intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses will be performed. DISCUSSION If MTX intervention can relieve symptoms and reduce inflammation in patients with mid- to late-stage KOA, it has the potential for significant clinical and public health impact as this low-cost and commonly used intervention would delay the time to knee replacement, leading to substantial cost savings and improve quality of life. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03815448 . Registered on 21 January 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaohua Zhu
- Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Qinghong Yu
- Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaomei Leng
- Department of Rheumatology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Weiyu Han
- Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhanguo Li
- Department of Rheumatology & Immunology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Cibo Huang
- Department of Rheumatology, Beijing Hospital, National Center of Gerontology, Beijing, China
| | - Jieruo Gu
- Department of Rheumatology, 3rd Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yet-Sen University Guangzhou, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yi Zhao
- Department of Rheumatology & Allergy, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Kang Wang
- Department of Rheumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Tianwang Li
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yifang Mei
- Department of Rheumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Jianhua Xu
- Department of Rheumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Zhiyi Zhang
- Department of Rheumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - David Hunter
- Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.,Department of Rheumatology, Royal North Shore Hospital and Institute of Bone and Joint Research, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Flavia Cicuttini
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Xiaofeng Zeng
- Department of Rheumatology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Changhai Ding
- Clinical Research Centre, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. .,Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. .,Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. .,Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
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Skiba MB, Hopkins LL, Hopkins AL, Billheimer D, Funk JL. Nonvitamin, Nonmineral Dietary Supplement Use in Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis. J Nutr 2020; 150:2451-2459. [PMID: 32805045 PMCID: PMC7540062 DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxaa197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over-the-counter, natural product-based (nonvitamin, nonmineral) dietary supplement (NVNM DS) use is common in adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a group at risk for drug-DS interactions, due to polypharmacy, but this use is underreported to health care providers. Recent dramatic changes in US sales of specific NVNM DS suggest that the prevalence and types of NVNM DS used in RA populations may also have shifted. OBJECTIVES A study was undertaken to identify current and past use of specific NVNM DS for RA disease treatment and to examine associations between use of NVNM DS, RA pharmaceuticals, and/or vitamin or mineral (VM) DS. METHODS We developed a survey instrument to capture current and ever use of specific NVNM DS, VM DS, and RA pharmaceuticals, with 696 subjects self-reporting an RA diagnosis recruited online or in clinic for survey participation. Analyses were limited to 611 subjects reporting RA diagnosis after age 18 y and treatment with specific RA pharmaceuticals. RESULTS Most participants reported DS use, with current usage prevalence 49.6% (n = 303), 83.5% (n = 510), or 87.6% (n = 535) for NVNM, VM, or any DS, respectively. While not having appeared in previous RA surveys, turmeric and ginger were among the top 3 NVNM DS in current use, along with fish oil/ω-3 (n-3) PUFA. Concurrent NVNM DS use was reported by 48.2% (n = 243) of participants currently using RA pharmaceuticals (n = 504) and was more common in those using disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs only (no biologics). Most methotrexate users (83%) reported concurrent folate supplementation, with one-third also using turmeric, which is notable because methotrexate and turmeric have been associated with hepatotoxicity. CONCLUSION Individuals with RA commonly use NVNM DS in combination with RA pharmaceuticals, including a previously undocumented but popular use of turmeric or ginger supplements with an unclear risk/benefit ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan B Skiba
- Department of Health Promotion Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA,Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Laura L Hopkins
- Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA,Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Allison L Hopkins
- Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Dean Billheimer
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Yu L, Gao L. Human Pathway-Based Disease Network. IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS 2019; 16:1240-1249. [PMID: 29990107 DOI: 10.1109/tcbb.2017.2774802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Constructing disease-disease similarity network is important in elucidating the associations between the origin and molecular mechanism of diseases, and in researching disease function and medical research. In this paper, we use a high-quality protein interaction network and a collection of pathway databases to construct a Human Pathway-based Disease Network (HPDN) to explore the relationship between diseases and their intrinsic interactions. We find that the similarity of two diseases has a strong correlation with the number of their shared functional pathways and the interaction between their related gene sets. Comparing HPDN with disease networks based on genes and symptoms respectively, we find the three networks have high overlap rates. Additionally, HPDN can predict new disease-disease correlations, which are supported by Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) benchmark and large-scale biomedical literature database. The comprehensive, high-quality relations between diseases based on pathways can further be applied to study important matters in systems medicine, for instance, drug repurposing. Based on a dense subgraph in our network, we find two drugs, prednisone and folic acid, may have new indications, which will provide potential directions for the treatments of complex diseases.
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Cheng HS, Rademaker M. Monitoring methotrexate-induced liver fibrosis in patients with psoriasis: utility of transient elastography. PSORIASIS-TARGETS AND THERAPY 2018; 8:21-29. [PMID: 29785393 PMCID: PMC5953305 DOI: 10.2147/ptt.s141629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Increasingly, existing evidence indicates that methotrexate-associated liver injury is related to comorbid risk factors such as diabetes, alcoholism, and obesity, rather than to methotrexate itself. Despite this fact, significant effort continues to be expended in the monitoring of low-dose methotrexate in patients with psoriasis. The gold standard investigation has been liver biopsy, but this is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. As methotrexate-induced liver injury is uncommon, the risk/benefit ratio of liver biopsy has been questioned. Fortunately, a number of new technologies have been developed for the diagnosis of chronic liver disease, including transient elastography (TE). TE is a type of shear wave ultrasound elastography, which measures the speed of shear waves used to estimate hepatic tissue stiffness. Several meta-analyses show very high pooled sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of hepatic cirrhosis (87% and 91%, respectively) in a variety of chronic liver disorders. It has a negative predictive value for cirrhosis of >90% and a positive predictive value of 75%. Recent European guidelines now advocate the use of TE as the first-line test for the assessment of fibrosis in alcohol- or hepatitis-related liver disease, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). As the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome, including NAFLD, is significantly elevated in patients with psoriasis, TE may be worth considering as a routine investigation for any patient with psoriasis. Although high-quality studies comparing TE with standard liver biopsy in the monitoring of psoriatics on low-dose methotrexate are lacking, the evidence from multiple small cohort studies and case series demonstrates its effectiveness. A recent Australasian position statement recommends that TE should be considered as a routine investigation for monitoring methotrexate therapy, repeated every 3 years if kPa <7.5 and yearly if kPa >7.5. Liver biopsy should be considered for patients with a kPa >9.5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harriet S Cheng
- Dermatology Service, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Marius Rademaker
- Waikato Clinical Campus, Auckland University Medical School, Hamilton, New Zealand
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Bhalla S, Malaviya A, Verma S, Rawat R. Supplementing pyridoxine and cobalamin in addition to folic acid in patients on methotrexate therapy. INDIAN JOURNAL OF RHEUMATOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.4103/injr.injr_29_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
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Schmajuk G, Tonner C, Miao Y, Yazdany J, Gannon J, Boscardin WJ, Daikh DI, Steinman MA. Folic Acid Supplementation Is Suboptimal in a National Cohort of Older Veterans Receiving Low Dose Oral Methotrexate. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168369. [PMID: 27977768 PMCID: PMC5158188 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 11/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Co-prescription of folic acid in patients receiving low dose oral methotrexate is recommended because it reduces adverse events and prolongs the use of methotrexate (MTX). However, little is known about how often new users of methotrexate are co-prescribed folic acid, and what factors are associated with its use. We aimed to determine the prevalence, predictors of, and persistence of folic acid use in a population-based cohort of MTX users with rheumatic diseases. Methods Using a national, administrative database of patients seen through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that included pharmacy and laboratory data, we performed an observational cohort study of veterans over 65 years old who were new users of MTX. We used log-binomial regression to identify independent predictors of folic acid use and Kaplan Meyer survival analysis to examine persistence of folic acid over time. Results We studied 2467 incident users of MTX. 27% of patients were not prescribed folic acid through the VHA pharmacy within 30 days of MTX initiation. Patients who did not see a rheumatologist were 23% less likely to receive folic acid compared to patients who did have a rheumatologist visit during the baseline period (RR (95% CI) 0.77 (0.72, 0.82). These results remained unchanged even after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and other factors (adjusted RR (95% CI) 0.78 (0.74, 0.85)). After 20 months, only 50% of patients continued to receive folic acid. Conclusions In a nationwide VHA cohort of new users of oral MTX, many patients did not receive folic acid or discontinued it over time. Rheumatologists were more likely to prescribe folic acid than other providers. These data highlight the need to improve patient safety for users of methotrexate by standardizing workflows for folic acid supplementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Schmajuk
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.,Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Chris Tonner
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Yinghui Miao
- Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Jinoos Yazdany
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Jacqueline Gannon
- School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - W John Boscardin
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - David I Daikh
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.,Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
| | - Michael A Steinman
- Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.,Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
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Abstract
Methotrexate is effective not only in treating psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis but also various other disorders. The use of methotrexate has been somewhat limited by concerns regarding its adverse effects, including its potential for hepatotoxicity. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of methotrexate-associated hepatotoxicity, including risk factors, pathogenesis and recommendations for monitoring it by US, UK and European guidelines, as well as providing a brief overview of its mechanism of action and of high-dose methotrexate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roopjeet K Bath
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
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