Early treatment group: clinical, imaging and immunological characteristics
| Clinical features | Sustained remission (n=16) | Flare (n=11) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to achieve remission on treatment (months) | 3 (2–10) | 5 (1–10) | 0.368 |
| Duration of remission at time of assessment (months) | 8 (6–19.25) | 8 (6–11) | 0.900 |
| Duration of symptoms before treatment (months) | 5.5 (2.25–8.0) | 9 (7–16) | 0.008 |
| DAS28 at time of stopping therapy | 1.77 (1.50–2.17) | 1.8 (1.28–2.06) | 0.570 |
| CRP | 0.5 (0–5) | 0 (0–0) | 0.110 |
| TJC | 0 (0–2.75) | 0 (0–0) | 0.340 |
| SJC | 0 (0–0.75) | 0 (0–0) | 0.860 |
| Patient VAS | 5.5 (2.25–10.75) | 5 (2–23) | 0.750 |
| HAQ | 0 (0–0.18) | 0 (0–0.5) | 0.860 |
| RAQoL | 0 (0–2.75) | 1 (0–4) | 0.510 |
| Dose of MTX (mg) | 10 (10–20) | 20 (9–23.75) | 0.900 |
| Imaging data | (n=11) | (n=9) | |
| Grey scale synovitis score | 4 (0–5) | 5 (1.5–9) | 0.250 |
| Power Doppler activity score | 0 (0–2) | 0 (0–3.25) | 0.970 |
| Presence of PD (%) | 5 (45) | 4 (44) | 0.570 |
| Presence of GS (%) | 9 (82) | 8 (88) | 0.660 |
| Immunological data | (n=16) | (n=11) | |
| Naives (% of CD4+ T cells) | 7.7 (4.8–23) | 5.3 (1.7–6.0) | 0.001 |
| IRC (% of CD4+ T cell) | 33 (15–46) | 47 (20–64) | 0.003 |
| Treg CD25highFOXP3+ (% of CD4+ T cells) | 1.4 (1.1–1.8) | 3.1 (1.5–3.7) | <0.0001 |
| Treg phenotype | (n=10) | (n=6) | |
| CD62L+ Tregs (% of Tregs) | 70 (56–83) | 37.5 (30–73) | 0.031 |
All values are median (IQR) unless otherwise stated as percentage of patients.
Bold type indicates statistically significant differences.
CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score (28 joints); GS, grey scale synovitis; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; IRC, inflammation-related cells; MTX, methotrexate; RAQoL, RA Quality of Life Questionnaire; PD, power Doppler; SJC, swollen joint count (28); TJC, tender joint count (28); Treg, T regulatory cells; VAS, visual analogue scale.