Belimumab treatment in rhupus: A case report with severe skin involvement

Rhupus syndrome: a unique disease overlapping systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis

Background though considered to have characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) theoretically, Rhupus Syndrome (RS) owns its unique clinical features. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we included 41 newly diagnosed Rhupus syndrome patients (NRSP). 160 new-diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients (NSLEP) and 709 new-diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients (NRAP) were admitted as positive control groups. The clinical, serological, and radiological features among groups were compared, the disease activity of RA and SLE was evaluated, and the proportion of lymphocyte subsets in NRSPs under similar disease activity levels was explored. The initial onset age of RS patients was significantly younger than RA patients (P = 0.032), older than SLE patients (P = 0.008). 19.5% (8/41) RS patients initially presented with SLE symptom, while 12.2% RS patients presented with symptoms of both diseases. Hematopoietic dysfunction was the most prominent systemic manifestation in RS (61.0%, 25/41), only 9.8% patients experienced renal damage, and neurological disease were even rarer. Moreover, RS exhibited immunological characteristics different from NRAPs and NSLEPs, mainly manifested in decreased CD4+ T cell and NK cell counts, increased ratio of CD8 + T (%) and total B cells, and decreased ratio of NK cells. RS is characterized by a higher incidence of interstitial lung disease and significant hyperglobulinemia besides the typical clinical characteristics of RA and SLE, which may be associated with a re-imbalanced lymphocyte subset. Evaluation of disease activity of RS cannot only rely on either SLEDAI-2 K or DAS28-ESR/-CRP, but more comprehensive assessment tools.

Examining the clinical and radiological landscape of rhupus: navigating the challenges in disease classification

Rhupus, in the broad sense, refers to an overlap between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus. However, there is a paucity of data on the appropriate diagnostic/classification criteria that should be used to define rhupus. Hence, we undertook this narrative review to analyze the clinical characteristics, radiology, and treatment with a focus on diagnostic challenges and defining features of rhupus. The databases of Medline/PubMed, Scopus, and DOAJ were searched for relevant articles using the following keywords: ("Rhupus"), ("lupus" AND "erosive" AND "arthritis"), and ("lupus" AND "rheumatoid arthritis" AND "overlap"). Studies have used a variety of classification criteria for rhupus of which a combination of the latest classification criteria for RA and lupus along with positive anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, anti-Smith, and anti-dsDNA antibodies seem most relevant. The majority of rhupus cohorts report the onset of the disease as RA (two-thirds of rhupus patients) followed by the development of features of lupus at an average interval of 3-11.3 years. The radiographic features and distribution of erosions are similar to RA. However, ultrasonography and MRI reveal erosions in pure lupus related arthritis as well. This makes the reliability of radiologic tools for the evaluation of rhupus supportive at the most. Extra-articular features in rhupus are mild with major organ involvement in the form of neuropsychiatric lupus and lupus nephritis being rare. We have further discussed the fallacies of the various classification criteria and proposed a theme for classifying rhupus which needs to be tested and validated in future studies. Our current state of understanding supports rhupus as an overlap of SLE and RA with articular disease similar to RA with the extra-articular disease being milder than SLE. Developing standardized classification criteria for rhupus will help in the early diagnosis and prevention of articular damage in patients with rhupus.

Use of belimumab in real-world in Spain: a scoping review about characteristics of SLE patients

BACKGROUND

Belimumab was the first biological drug approved for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). There is not a review focusing on all real-life experience with belimumab to date that could help to describe how this drug behaves in the Spanish clinical setting.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the characteristics of SLE patients treated with belimumab added to standard of care in real-clinical setting in Spain.

METHODS

We conducted a comprehensive scoping review of real-world data (RWD) according to PRISMA Scoping Reviews Checklist and the framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley. PubMed and EMBASE were searched without language restriction and hand searches of relevant articles were examined.

RESULTS

We included data from 222 patients treated with belimumab for SLE included in 19 RWD studies conducted in Spain. The mean age was 40.9 years, 84.2% were female, and baseline scores SELENA-SLEDAI ranged between 5.9 and 12. Lupus nephritis basal prevalence was of 2.7%. The main reason for belimumab initiation was previous treatments lack of efficacy (69.7%) and the most common laboratory abnormalities were hypocomplementemia (40.9%), ANA + (34.2%), and anti-DNA (33.3%). The addition of belimumab to standard therapy was associated with a reduction of daily glucocorticoids intake in 1.4-11.1 mg at 6 months. Belimumab discontinuation was observed in 18.6% of patients.

CONCLUSION

Our study helps to further explore the profile of SLE patients most likely to be treated with belimumab.