Faculty Bibliography

A 62-year-old woman with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis presented for evaluation and treatment of a one-week history of pruritic, pink spots on her trunk and extremities. Several weeks prior, therapy with certolizumab pegol and methotrexate was started for her psoriatic arthritis. A biopsy specimen was consistent with the diagnosis of porokeratosis. Owing to the setting of immunosuppression and presence of symmetric pruritic lesions on non-sun exposed areas, the diagnosis of disseminated superficial porokeratosis was made

T cells play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Abatacept is the first FDA approved agent for rheumatoid arthritis that blocks the activation of T cells by interrupting the interaction between the CD28 ligand on the T cell and the CD80/86 ligand on the antigen presenting cell. Inhibition of T cell activation has pleotropic effects that lowers the downstream production of multiple cytokines. In clinical trials, abatacept is effective in treating the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as in inhibiting structural damage. It has a favorable safety profile and can be used in patients who may have comorbidities that preclude the use of anti-TNF agents. While no direct head to head trials exist, a study in which both abatacept and infiximab were compared to an identical control population, suggested that the efficacy of the two drugs was similar but that there were fewer adverse effects with abatacept than with infiximab. Abatacept is an important addition to the therapeutic repertoire available to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Available data support its use as a first line agent to treat patients who have had and inadequate response to methotrexate

A 46-year-old woman presented with onycholysis and swollen, painful digits. No other stigmata of psoriasis were present. Magnetic resonance imaging of the hands showed an extensive periosteal reaction of the phalangeal tuft. Psoriatic onycho-pachydermo periostitis (POPP) is a rare subset of psoriatic arthritis that is characterized by psoriatic onychodystrophy, connective-tissue thickening above the distal phalanx, and a periosteal reaction. Treatment of POPP is difficult; however, low-dose methotrexate and anti-TNF-alpha agents may be beneficial. In patients who are unresponsive or intolerant of these medications, other biologic and non-biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs need to be considered

A 38-year-old man with HIV infection presented with panuveitis, urethritis, and a papulosquamous eruption on his palms and soles. Careful physical and laboratory examination led to the diagnosis of syphilitic keratoderma, uveitis, and balanitis. The patient was successfully treated with penicillin and prednisone therapy. Because the initial presentation was difficult to distinguish from the symptoms of Reiter's syndrome, a high degree of clinical suspicion was required to accurately diagnose syphilis, a curable and potentially fatal disease

We reviewed the clinical records of 6 patients with osteonecrosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We conducted a literature search for the putative mechanism by which this association may occur. None of these 6 patients had other known conditions associated with a predisposition to osteonecrosis. Avascular necrosis (AVN) frequently occurred in multiple sites and early in the course of HIV infection. We suggest that HIV infection is a systemic disorder that may predispose to osteonecrosis of bone. The most likely mechanism involves thrombosis, which may be mediated by anticardiolipin antibodies and/or acquired deficiency of protein S. In patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis that involves multiple sites we recommend careful evaluation for HIV risk factors.

We describe a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and an unusual rheumatoid factor-positive symmetric inflammatory polyarthritis who met all 7 American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA, but who also had many features suggestive of seronegative inflammatory arthritis. Although cutaneous vasculitis has also been described in human immunodeficiency virus infection, this is the first report of cutaneous extravascular necrobiotic granuloma (rheumatoid papule) in AIDS. This case highlights the immunopathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis in AIDS and illustrates the difficulties in making a classic rheumatic diagnosis in the setting of the immune dysregulation caused by AIDS