Disease activity, imaging, lung function, biopsy inflammation and fibrocyte levels
| ERA | HC | |||||
| Visit at baseline | Visit at 3 months | Visit at 6 months | Test for trend, p | Baseline | P values* | |
| n | 20 | 19 | 20 | 16 | ||
| DAS28CRP | 5.2 (1.0) | 2.9 (1.2) | 2.6 (1.12) | <0.001 | ||
| CRP | 20.4 (19.8) | 12.0 (13.7) | 8.7 (12.8) | 0.01 | 1.77 (2.2) | 0.001 |
| Hand Larsen score† | 0.65 (1.4) | 1.00 (1.63) | 0.09 | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.05 | |
| Pulmonary function test‡ | ||||||
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 111 (25) | 109 (21) | 0.36 | |||
| FVC (% predicted) | 122 (23) | 120 (19) | 0.40 | |||
| TLC (% predicted) | 112 (18) | 110 (18) | 0.38 | |||
| DLCOc (% predicted) | 91 (16) | 88 (14) | 0.08 | |||
| MRI RAMRIS score, Radiocarpal joint§ | ||||||
| Synovitis (0–3)** | 1.15 (0.93) | 0.80 (0.52) | 0.02 | 0.30 (0.48) | 0.003 | |
| Bone erosions (0–10) | 0.15 (0.37) | 0.15 (0.37) | 1.00 | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.08 | |
| Bone oedema (0–3) | 0.11 (0.32) | 0.05 (0.22) | 0.31 | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.16 | |
| US EULAR-OMERACT, Radiocarpal joints | ||||||
| Combined score (0–3) | 2.1 (0.8) | 1.9 (0.7) | 1.6 (0.6) | 0.07 | ||
| SH score (0–3) | 1.9 (0.8) | 1.9 (0.7) | 1.6 (0.6) | 0.17 | ||
| CD score (0–3) | 1.7 (1.0) | 1.2 (0.9) | 1.0 (0.7) | 0.001 | ||
| Synovial biopsy from Radiocarpal joint | ||||||
| Inflammation score (Krenn) | 6.0 (1.5) | 5.0 (1.4) | 0.01 | 4.2 (1.7) | 0.002 | |
| Circulating fibrocytes | ||||||
| CD45+ CD34+ CD11b+ /µL | 7.2 (3.3) | 6.0 (2.0) | 5.5 (2.0) | 0.08 | 4.0 (1.8) | 0.001 |
| Cultured fibrocytes¶ | ||||||
| Fibrocytes/105 monocytes | 3503 (2097) | 3334 (1453) | 6313 (4666) | 0.08 | 2522 (2218) | 0.24 |
| Synovial fibrocytes | ||||||
| Fibrocytes/mm2 | 39.7 (17) | 39.5 (18) | 0.95 | 22.4 (12.3) | 0.001 | |
| LRA | HC | |||||
| n | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | ||
| DAS28CRP | 4.26 (0.64) | 3.17 (1.04) | 2.56 (1.05) | <0.001 | ||
| CRP | 15.6 (18.9) | 10.3 (11.4) | 10.3 (16.3) | 0.08 | 1.77 (2.2) | 0.002 |
| Hand Larsen score† | 8.55 (9.8) | 8.68 (10.0) | 0.46 | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.001 | |
| Pulmonary function test‡ | ||||||
| FEV1 (% predicted) | 102 (17) | 102 (21) | 0.89 | |||
| FVC (% predicted) | 109 (16) | 109 (17) | 0.75 | |||
| TLC (% predicted) | 104 (17) | 103 (16) | 0.67 | |||
| DLCOc (% predicted) | 90 (10) | 88 (12) | 0.22 | |||
| MRI RAMRIS score, Radiocarpal joint § | ||||||
| Synovitis (0–3) | 1.95 (1.23) | 0.30 (0.48) | <0.001 | |||
| Bone erosions (0–10) | 1.20 (1.32) | 0.00 (0.00) | <0.001 | |||
| Bone oedema (0–3) | 0.30 (0.73) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.08 | |||
| US EULAR-OMERACT, Radiocarpal joints | ||||||
| Combined score (0–3) | 2.3 (0.8) | 2.1 (0.9) | 1.9 (0.8) | 0.17 | ||
| SH (0–3) | 2.1 (0.8) | 2.0 (0.9) | 1.9 (0.8) | 0.24 | ||
| CD (0–3) | 2.0 (1.0) | 1.6 (1.0) | 1.3 (1.1) | 0.02 | ||
| Synovial biopsy from Radiocarpal joint | ||||||
| Inflammation score (Krenn) | 6.75 (1.9) | 6.10 (1.6) | 0.17 | 4.19 (1.68) | <0.001 | |
| Circulating Fibrocytes | ||||||
| CD45+ CD34+ CD11b+/µL | 6.8 (2.0) | 6.3 (2.8) | 6.4 (1.6) | 0.43 | 3.98 (1.8) | <0.001 |
| Cultured fibrocytes¶ | ||||||
| Fibrocytes/105 monocytes | 5942 (3130) | 4802 (2328) | 7297 (4001) | 0.24 | 2522 (2218) | 0.003 |
| Synovial fibrocytes | ||||||
| Fibrocytes/mm2 | 47.7 (22.2) | 41.9 (18) | 0.18 | 22.4 (12.3) | <0.001 | |
Mean (SD) unless otherwise indicated.
*P value control value vs respectively ERA and LRA baseline. Significant p values in bold.
†Total Larsen score of the hand undergoing USNB.
‡Four out of 80 (5%) missing pulmonary function test, 2 in ERA and 2 in LRA.
§n=6 in HC had an MRI without contrast and n=1 in ERA no MRI due to claustrophobia.
¶Overall, 23% of all fibrocyte cell cultures failed (ERA: 13/60, LRA 15/60, HC 4/16).
CD, colour Doppler; DAS28CRP, Disease Activity score in 28 joints with C-reactive Protein (CRP); ERA, early rheumatoid arthritis; LRA, long-standing rheumatoid arthritis; SH, synovial hypertrophy; USNB, ultrasound-guided needle biopsy.