Comparative study on the effect of ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis on the bone I am a PhD student in Biomedical Sciences at the Rheumatology Research Unit of the Institute of Molecular Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon. I am studying bone biology, specifically the formation and function of osteoclasts, the cells responsible for bone destruction. In my work, I am also interested in the relationship between the bone and the immune system and cellular interactions in bone formation and resorption, particularly in chronic inflammatory diseases. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) are both […]

Susceptibility factors, prognosis and pharmacogenetics in Portuguese patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Project Description: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic inflammatory arthritis in childhood and consists of a heterogeneous group of syndromes that are a major cause of long-term disability and blindness in childhood. The JIA is a multifactorial disease whose etiology is still unclear: it is postulated that the start and progression of the disease are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Although none of the available drugs has curative potential, early and aggressive treatment has greatly improved the prognosis of these patients. However, the prognosis of […]

When I was a child, and as my family knows, I used to get hold of plastic cups, dry beans and a little wet cotton and put them at the window, waiting for them to grow – some were more exposed to the sun, others were more protected. Weeks later, I used to look at the results, since the different conditions led to different bean plants: some were bigger and healthier while others were less developed because they had fewer conditions to grow. I did the same with chickpeas, garlic, parsley, among others – in fact, I experimented with everything […]

Since I started the Integrated Master Degree in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon I realized that my future medical career could focus on three major areas: clinical practice, teaching and research. Clinical practice was my main goal and the reason for choosing this degree, but I soon realized that other activities also aroused by curiosity and interest. When I was still in the “basic years” I carried out pedagogical initiation traineeships, and when I reached the “clinical years” I lacked the experience to participate in a research project. This was an experience that I […]

Study rationale Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a pleomorphic chronic inflammatory arthritis of unknown aetiology. Enthesis have recently been recognized as a central anatomical and functional “target” organ in PsA, linking many of the disease manifestations, such as new bone formation, dactylitis and nail disease. Enthesis aim to resist and dissipate stress during mechanical loading. Mechanical stress has therefore been hypothesized as an important trigger of enthesitis but increased mechanical stress at enthesis in PsA patients has not been demonstrated. Not surprisingly feet are preferentially involved, with enthesitis and synovitis being detected by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), even in […]

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases die prematurely, largely due to cardiovascular (CV) disease. Atherosclerosis, the main determinant of CV morbidity and mortality, occurs prematurely in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients [1]. These patients have almost a two-fold increase in cardiovascular events in comparison with the general population, contributing to about 40% of the reasons of death in these patients [2, 3]. This seems to be an effect of the disease per se, reinforced by an increased prevalence of some CV risk factors [3-5]. Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of lipid in infiltrated macrophages within the arterial wall […]

Sumary Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease mainly characterized by joint and bone destruction. Based on previous results in an arthritis mouse model, suggesting a direct effect of inflammation on bone mechanical properties and collagen turnover and organization, it is tentative to hypothesize that the initial steps towards bone fragility are determined by early changes in collagen type I organization capable of interfering with the intrinsic bone tissue properties. These are bone nano level properties, independent of the overall bone architecture and directly dependent on the way bone cells, collagen and calcium crystals interact. The main goal […]