Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has emerged as a powerful neuroimaging modality for noninvasive assessment of brain activity and connectivity. It is well-established in the evaluation of numerous neurological and psychiatric conditions. Encouraged by its diagnostic advantages in these domains, there is growing interest in applying fMRI to rheumatologic disease conditions increasingly recognized to involve the central nervous system through mechanisms such as chronic pain, neuroinflammation, and dysregulation of brain-body interactions. This review summarizes recent evidence supporting the potential of fMRI to serve as a biomarker for central changes in common immune-mediated diseases. Functional alterations in brain regions involved in pain, mood, and cognition may reflect disease activity and hold promise for early diagnosis or therapeutic monitoring. Nonetheless, challenges such as signal variability, technical limitations, and a lack of standardization currently restrict clinical implementation. Further research is needed to validate fMRI biomarkers in rheumatology and to integrate them into a broader, multimodal diagnostic framework. Not applicable.
Infectious spondylodiscitis (ISD) represents a serious spinal infection with significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. In Tunisia, where tuberculosis and brucellosis are endemic, accurate discrimination between pyogenic and specific etiologies is essential to guide appropriate antimicrobial. This study aims to identify clinical, laboratory, and radiological features that enable accurate pathogen differentiation in cases lacking microbiological confirmation. A bicentric retrospective study conducted in Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases departments in Mahdia and Monastir, Tunisia (2012–2024). In total, 131 patients with ISD, diagnosed on the basis of integrated clinical, biological, radiological, and microbiological criteria, were included in the study: 86 with pyogenic spondylodiscitis (PSD) and 45 with specific spondylodiscitis (SSD). PSD predominantly affected older patients (median age 64 vs 50 years, p < 0.001), presenting with acute onset (58.1
Abstract Background Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic multisystemic vasculitis associated with significant physical and psychological morbidity, including depression and anxiety. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of depression and anxiety among BD patients and to examine variations by assessment tools and geographic regions. Method Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus was conducted up to April 2025. Data were extracted and quality-assessed using standardized tools, and pooled prevalence rates were calculated via random-effects meta-analysis. Results A total of 17 studies were included in the systematic review, of which 16 contributed to the meta-analysis of depression and 11 to the meta-analysis of anxiety among patients with BD. The results revealed a high pooled prevalence of depression at 47.44% (95% CI: 34.09–60.97%) and anxiety at 48.48% (95% CI: 35.40–61.67%), both with substantial heterogeneity (I² > 90%). Depression prevalence varied significantly by diagnostic instrument, with PHQ-9 and HADS reporting higher rates compared to DSM-IV and MINI. Geographic differences were marked, with Egypt showing the highest prevalence for both depression (88.83%) and anxiety (92.00%), while France reported the lowest prevalence for depression (5.00%) and Brazil reported the lowest for anxiety (29.31%). No publication bias was detected. Conclusion The findings underscore a high burden of mental health comorbidities in BD, with pooled prevalence rates of 47.44% for depression and 48.48% for anxiety, reflecting significant psychological morbidity. Geographic disparities, suggest cultural, healthcare, or socioeconomic moderators requiring further investigation. These results advocate for integrating routine mental health screening into BD management to address unmet psychiatric needs in this population.
To evaluate the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis infection (TBI), as well as the occurrence of tuberculosis disease (TBD), in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis (CIA) at the initiation of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and through 12 months of follow-up. This real-life, prospective, multicenter, observational, study included patients classified as having rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) enrolled in the Pan-American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR) Registry of Rheumatic Diseases (PANRED). Data from 590 patients receiving targeted synthetic (ts), conventional synthetic (cs), or biologic (b) DMARDs were analyzed. Among the 590 participants, 460 (78.0
The relationship between anti-thrombospondin-1 antibodies (anti-TSP-1) and the clinical manifestations of Sjögren disease (SjD) has not been fully clarified. This study aimed to analyze the clinical relevance of anti-TSP-1 in SjD. Serum anti-TSP-1 antibody levels were detected by ELISA in 70 SjD patients and 21 healthy controls (HCs). Anti-TSP-1 antibody levels were significantly higher in SjD patients (10.63 ± 4.92 vs.7.64 ± 4.70, t = 2.403, P = 0.019). The positivity rates of anti-TSP-1 in SjD patients and HCs were 51.4
