@article{StephanTascilarYalcinMutluetal.2023, author = {Stephan, Marlene and Tascilar, Koray and Yalcin-Mutlu, Melek and Hagen, Melanie and Haschka, Judith and Reiser, Michaela and Hartmann, Fabian and Kleyer, Arnd and Hueber, Axel J. and Manger, Bernhard and Figueiredo, Camille and Cobra, Jayme Fogagnolo and Tony, Hans-Peter and Finzel, Stephanie and Kleinert, Stefan and Wendler, J{\"o}rg and Schuch, Florian and Ronneberger, Monika and Feuchtenberger, Martin and Fleck, Martin and Manger, Karin and Ochs, Wolfgang and Schmitt-Haendle, Matthias and Lorenz, Hannes Martin and N{\"u}sslein, Hubert and Alten, Rieke and Henes, Joerg and Kr{\"u}ger, Klaus and Schett, Georg and Rech, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Physical function of RA patients tapering treatment — a post hoc analysis of the randomized controlled RETRO trial}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {12}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {11}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm12113723}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319349}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Several studies have shown that tapering or stopping disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in sustained remission is feasible. However, tapering/stopping bears the risk of decline in physical function as some patients may relapse and face increased disease activity. Here, we analyzed the impact of tapering or stopping DMARD treatment on the physical function of RA patients. The study was a post hoc analysis of physical functional worsening for 282 patients with RA in sustained remission tapering and stopping DMARD treatment in the prospective randomized RETRO study. HAQ and DAS-28 scores were determined in baseline samples of patients continuing DMARD (arm 1), tapering their dose by 50\% (arm 2), or stopping after tapering (arm 3). Patients were followed over 1 year, and HAQ and DAS-28 scores were evaluated every 3 months. The effect of treatment reduction strategy on functional worsening was assessed in a recurrent-event Cox regression model with a study-group (control, taper, and taper/stop) as the predictor. Two-hundred and eighty-two patients were analyzed. In 58 patients, functional worsening was observed. The incidences suggest a higher probability of functional worsening in patients tapering and/or stopping DMARDs, which is likely due to higher relapse rates in these individuals. At the end of the study, however, functional worsening was similar among the groups. Point estimates and survival curves show that the decline in functionality according to HAQ after tapering or discontinuation of DMARDs in RA patients with stable remission is associated with recurrence, but not with an overall functional decline.}, language = {en} } @article{ElsnerKunzWagneretal.2023, author = {Elsner, Clara and Kunz, Andreas Steven and Wagner, Nicole and Huflage, Henner and H{\"u}bner, Stefan and Luetkens, Karsten Sebastian and Bley, Thorsten Alexander and Schmitt, Rainer and Erg{\"u}n, S{\"u}leyman and Grunz, Jan-Peter}, title = {MRI-based evaluation of the flexor digitorum superficialis anatomy: investigating the prevalence and morphometry of the "chiasma antebrachii"}, series = {Diagnostics}, volume = {13}, journal = {Diagnostics}, number = {14}, issn = {2075-4418}, doi = {10.3390/diagnostics13142406}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-362631}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Recent dissection studies resulted in the introduction of the term "chiasma antebrachii", which represents an intersection of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) tendons for digits 2 and 3 in the distal third of the forearm. This retrospective investigation aimed to provide an MRI-based morphologic analysis of the chiasma antebrachii. In 89 patients (41 women, 39.3 ± 21.3 years), MRI examinations of the forearm (2010-2021) were reviewed by two radiologists, who evaluated all studies for the presence and length of the chiasma as well as its distance from the distal radioulnar and elbow joint. The chiasma antebrachii was identified in the distal third of the forearm in 88 patients (98.9\%), while one intersection was located more proximally in the middle part. The chiasma had a median length of 28 mm (interquartile range: 24-35 mm). Its distances to the distal radioulnar and elbow joint were 16 mm (8-25 mm) and 215 mm (187-227 mm), respectively. T1-weighted post-contrast sequences were found to be superior to T2- or proton-density-weighted sequences in 71 cases (79.8\%). To conclude, the chiasma antebrachii is part of the standard FDS anatomy. Knowledge of its morphology is important, e.g., in targeted injections of therapeutics or reconstructive surgery.}, language = {en} }