Jadranka Morovic Vergles

Publications (9)29.22 Total impact

• Source

  Available from: Simona Rednic

  Article: Erectile dysfunction is frequent in systemic sclerosis and associated with severe disease: a study of the EULAR Scleroderma Trial and Research group.

  Chingching Foocharoen, Alan Tyndall, Eric Hachulla, Edoardo Rosato, Yannick Allanore, Dominique Farge-Bancel, Paola Caramaschi, Paolo Airó, Starovojtova M Nikolaevna, José António Pereira da Silva, [......], Ingo Tarner, Vanessa Smith, Anna T Onken, Walid Ahmed Abdel Atty Mohamed, Oliver Distler, Jadranka Morović-Vergles, Andrea Himsel, Paloma Garcia de la Peña Lefebvre, Thomas Hügle, Ulrich A Walker
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  ABSTRACT: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common in men with systemic sclerosis (SSc) but the demographics, risk factors and treatment coverage for ED are not well known. This study was carried out prospectively in the multinational EULAR Scleroderma Trial and Research database by amending the electronic data-entry system with the International Index of Erectile Function-5 and items related to ED risk factors and treatment. Centres participating in this EULAR Scleroderma Trial and Research substudy were asked to recruit patients consecutively. Of the 130 men studied, only 23 (17.7%) had a normal International Index of Erectile Function-5 score. Thirty-eight per cent of all participants had severe ED (International Index of Erectile Function-5 score ≤ 7). Men with ED were significantly older than subjects without ED (54.8 years vs. 43.3 years, P < 0.001) and more frequently had simultaneous non-SSc-related risk factors such as alcohol consumption. In 82% of SSc patients, the onset of ED was after the manifestation of the first non-Raynaud's symptom (median delay 4.1 years). ED was associated with severe cutaneous, muscular or renal involvement of SSc, elevated pulmonary pressures and restrictive lung disease. ED was treated in only 27.8% of men. The most common treatment was sildenafil, whose efficacy is not established in ED of SSc patients. Severe ED is a common and early problem in men with SSc. Physicians should address modifiable risk factors actively. More research into the pathophysiology, longitudinal development, treatment and psychosocial impact of ED is needed.
  Arthritis research & therapy 02/2012; 14(1):R37. · 4.27 Impact Factor
• Article: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide and rheumatoid factor in HIV positive patients.

  Zeljko Romic, Lovorka Derek, Vitomir Burek, Adriana Unic, Tihana Serdar, Domagoj Marijancevic, Jadranka Morovic-Vergles, Josko Mitrovic, Mladen Petrovecki
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  ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to determine the difference of anti-CCP and RF between HIV positive patients and a healthy control group. The rheumatological complications in HIV positive patients are rather common and are recognized as a serious problem that requires more attention. Anti-CCP and RF are the only laboratory tools for rheumatoid disorder diagnostics and predictors of the course of the disease. We determined anti-CCP and RF in sera of 35 healthy volunteers and 45 HIV positive patients. Data were compared using chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test and ROC curve statistics. Both parameters were significantly higher in HIV positive patients, and significant differences between areas under the anti-CCP and RF curves were observed. Median value for anti-CCP in HIV positive patients was higher than the reference interval, and RF values were, in the reference interval, suggested by the manufacturer. Both anti-CCP and RF are significantly higher in HIV positive patients. ROC analysis showed that anti-CCP distinguishes the two groups better than RF. Because of that, it would be of a great interest to investigate the HIV positive patients after the detailed rheumatological examination.
  Rheumatology International 12/2011; 31(12):1607-10. · 1.88 Impact Factor
• Article: Are the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies independent predictors of myocardial involvement in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis?

  Daniela Marasovic-Krstulovic, Dusanka Martinovic-Kaliterna, Damir Fabijanic, Jadranka Morovic-Vergles
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  ABSTRACT: The anti-CCP antibodies are specific serological markers of RA, especially the aggressive course of joint disease. It has been postulated that the chronic inflammatory state is underlain by cardiovascular (CV) disease and that a higher level of anti-CCP antibodies is implicated in CV risk. The aim of the study was to assess: (i) the possible impact of anti-CCP antibodies on left ventricular diastolic dysfunction; and (ii) the possible differences in the effects of DASs on diastolic dysfunction. The study included 80 RA patients (70 females and 10 males) with no clinically evident CV disease, or concomitant diseases, and 80 matched healthy controls. Upon clinical and laboratory evaluation, all subjects underwent M-mode, two-dimensional and colour Doppler echocardiographic examination. Isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) prolongation as the first sign of diastolic dysfunction was present in 36.25% of RA patients and in 15% of control subjects. IVRT was found to correlate with anti-CCP antibody titre (r = 0.382, P = 0.002) and modified DAS including CRP [DAS-28-CRP(4v)] (r = 0.204, P = 0.039). On multivariate linear regression analysis, anti-CCP antibody titre showed significant correlation with IVRT, while the ratio of early and late transmitral wave (E/A ratio) independently correlated with age and DAS-28-CRP(4v). Anti-CCP antibody is an important marker, independently associated with impaired left ventricular relaxation and the DAS-28-CRP(4v) is a more sensitive predictor of cardiac involvement in the RA than the DAS-28 variant including the ESR.
  Rheumatology (Oxford, England) 04/2011; 50(8):1505-12. · 4.24 Impact Factor
• Article: Causes and risk factors for death in systemic sclerosis: a study from the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database.

  Anthony J Tyndall, Bettina Bannert, Madelon Vonk, Paolo Airò, Franco Cozzi, Patricia E Carreira, Dominique Farge Bancel, Yannick Allanore, Ulf Müller-Ladner, Oliver Distler, [......], Paulo C Coelho, Ina Kötter, Ismail Simsek, Paloma García de la Pena Lefebvre, Eric Hachulla, James R Seibold, Simona Rednic, Jirí Stork, Jadranka Morovic-Vergles, Ulrich A Walker
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  ABSTRACT: To determine the causes and predictors of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Patients with SSc (n=5860) fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology criteria and prospectively followed in the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort were analysed. EUSTAR centres completed a structured questionnaire on cause of death and comorbidities. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse survival in SSc subgroups and to identify predictors of mortality. Questionnaires were obtained on 234 of 284 fatalities. 55% of deaths were attributed directly to SSc and 41% to non-SSc causes; in 4% the cause of death was not assigned. Of the SSc-related deaths, 35% were attributed to pulmonary fibrosis, 26% to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and 26% to cardiac causes (mainly heart failure and arrhythmias). Among the non-SSc-related causes, infections (33%) and malignancies (31%) were followed by cardiovascular causes (29%). Of the non-SSc-related fatalities, 25% died of causes in which SSc-related complications may have participated (pneumonia, sepsis and gastrointestinal haemorrhage). Independent risk factors for mortality and their HR were: proteinuria (HR 3.34), the presence of PAH based on echocardiography (HR 2.02), pulmonary restriction (forced vital capacity below 80% of normal, HR 1.64), dyspnoea above New York Heart Association class II (HR 1.61), diffusing capacity of the lung (HR 1.20 per 10% decrease), patient age at onset of Raynaud's phenomenon (HR 1.30 per 10 years) and the modified Rodnan skin score (HR 1.20 per 10 score points). Disease-related causes, in particular pulmonary fibrosis, PAH and cardiac causes, accounted for the majority of deaths in SSc.
  Annals of the rheumatic diseases 10/2010; 69(10):1809-15. · 8.11 Impact Factor
• Article: Successful use of adalimumab for treating rheumatoid arthritis with autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss: two birds with one stone.

  Jadranka Morovic Vergles, Mislav Radic, Jelena Kovacic, Lea Salamon
  The Journal of Rheumatology 05/2010; 37(5):1080-1. · 3.69 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Mislav Radic

  Article: Correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and systemic sclerosis activity.

  Mislav Radić, Dusanka Martinović Kaliterna, Damir Bonacin, Jadranka Morović Vergles, Josipa Radić
  Rheumatology (Oxford, England) 05/2010; 49(9):1784-5. · 4.24 Impact Factor
• Article: Thrombotic microangiopathy in adult-onset Still's disease: case report and review of the literature.

  Lea Salamon, Tomislav Salamon, Jadranka Morovic-Vergles
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  ABSTRACT: Coexistence of thrombotic microangiopathy and adult-onset Still's disease is extremely rare. There is increasing evidence that this association could be more than just coincidental. We report on the case of a 34-year-old male diagnosed with adult-onset Still's disease and successfully treated with intravenous glucocorticoids. Nine months after onset the patient exhibited the presence of asymptomatic thrombocytopenia during treatment with chloroquine. The physical status was unremarkable except for pallor of the skin and mucosa. Laboratory evaluation revealed profound thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia. Coombs' tests were negative; renal function tests were all normal. The peripheral blood smear showed frequent schistocytes. Based on the presence of thrombocytopenia and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and with the exclusion of other known causes, the patient was diagnosed with thrombotic microangiopathy and successfully treated with plasma exchange and intravenous glucocorticoids. We also review the literature on the association between adult-onset Still's disease and thrombotic microangiopathy; our case is the 15(th) report on such an association. The mean age at onset of adult Still's disease in these cases was 31.60 years and the interval between the diagnosis of Still's disease and the onset of thrombotic microangiopathy ranged from 3 days to 17 years, with a female/male ratio of 2 : 1. In more than half the patients thrombotic microangiopathy occurred within the first 6 months after the diagnosis of the Still's disease. Eleven of the 15 (73%) patients were treated with plasmapheresis in addition to glucocorticoid therapy: eight of 11 (73%) had complete remission, the other three had permanent visual impairment and/or digital ischemia. Of the four patients who were not treated with plasmapheresis, two died, one developed end-stage renal disease and one had complete remission. Awareness of the possible development of thrombotic microangiopathy in patients with adult-onset Still's disease is critical, so that treatment can be initiated early and the complications and recurrence of thrombotic microangiopathy prevented. Patients with adult-onset Still's disease should be closely monitored for signs and symptoms of thrombotic microangiopathy during the first six months after diagnosis of the Still's disease.
  Wiener klinische Wochenschrift 09/2009; 121(17-18):583-8. · 0.81 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Filip Culo

  Article: Cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate in synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients.

  Jadranka Morovic-Vergles, Melanie Ivana Culo, Stjepan Gamulin, Filip Culo
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  ABSTRACT: The relationship between synovial fluid (SF) cAMP level and IL-18 and PGE2 SF levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and between SF cAMP level and disease as well as inflammatory activity in RA were investigated in 17 RA and 19 OA patients. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum (S) C-reactive protein (CRP) level and SF IL-18 level were higher in RA than in OA patients. SF PGE2 level was similar in both groups. SF cAMP level was higher in OA than in RA patients. In RA patients, SF cAMP level showed negative correlation with Disease Activity Score including a 28-joint count and S CRP, ESR and SF IL-18 level. The results suggest that cAMP promotes anti-inflammatory response in RA and OA patients, which is higher in the latter. Promotion of anti-inflammatory response by cAMP elevating agents might be useful in the treatment of RA.
  Rheumatology International 09/2008; 29(2):167-71. · 1.88 Impact Factor
• Article: Hyperthyroidism and Pyoderma Gangrenosum: A Case Report

  Jadranka Morovic-Vergles, Krešimir Galešic, Melanie Ivana Culo, Domagoj Vergles, Danica Ljubanovic
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  ABSTRACT: Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare, inflammatory, noninfective skin disorder, which is often associated with systemic disease. PG mainly affects adults between age 30 and 50. It can also occur in children, usually in association with systemic disease. In adults, PG may occur in otherwise healthy persons. Occasionally, the occurrence of PG may herald the onset of serious systemic disorders. We report a patient with PG associated with hyperthyroidism. The diagnosis of PG was confirmed by histologic examination of a skin biopsy specimen obtained from lesions on the legs. Systemic corticosteroid therapy resulted in dramatic improvement of skin lesions with complete healing within several weeks.
  The Endocrinologist 04/2008; 18(3):109-110. · 0.09 Impact Factor