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Environmental Factors in Pediatric Systemic Autoimmune Diseases
Systemic autoimmune diseases are thought to result from immune dysregulation in genetically susceptible individuals who were exposed to environmental risk factors. Many studies have identified genetic risk factors for these diseases, but concordance rates among monozygotic twins are 25–40%, suggesting that nonheritable environmental factors play a more prominent role.1,2 Through carefully conducted epidemiologic and other…
Industrial Fine Particulate Air Pollution Linked to Increased ACPA Positivity
Researchers investigating the effects of air pollutants on a biomarker for rheumatic autoimmune diseases have found a significant correlation between anti-citrullinated protein antibody positivity in the general population and exposure to industrial fine particulate matter…
Atmospheric & Environmental Changes Tied to Organ-Specific Lupus Flares
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Changes in atmospheric and environmental factors may contribute to organ-specific disease exacerbation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a new study. The study found “strong associations between atmospheric variables and fine particulate matter concentration over the 10 days prior to a patient visit and organ-specific lupus flares at the…
2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting: RA Pathogenesis and Prevention
SAN FRANCISCO—Evolving research into the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is increasingly showing that rather than a single causative dysfunctional pathway leading to disease, multiple pathways are involved, the study of which can shed additional light on what is occurring in a person’s body prior to developing symptoms of disease. Saying it another way, no…