MALE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS IN ALL MOROCCAN RA UNDERGOING BIOTHERAPY: PREVALENCE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND RESPONSE TO BIOLOGICAL TREATMENTS (NATIONAL REGISTRY)

Introduction:This study aims at reporting the RA male frequency while undergoing biotherapy and describing the epidemiological characteristics (clinical, biological and radiological) in relation to female RA. It also evaluates its impact on the response to biological treatments. Materials and methods: There are 224 patients followed for rheumatoid arthritis, responding to ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria during their biotherapy. They were included in the national RBSMR registry. The patients were divided into two groups and were compared at the basis of their gender in terms of the socio-demographic, clinical, biological, radiological parameters, and response to the treatement. Results: The average age of the patients under study is 51.94 ans±11.36 years old [20-80]. The presence of male rheumatoid arthritis under biotherapy is 12.4%. The mean age of RA male is 55.96+9 years old. The estimated duration of progression of male RA is 542 weeks with an average diagnostic deadline of 562.61 weeks. As a description of the case study, 28,6% of men are diagnosed with cormobidities (mainly tuberculosis 21.4%) while 10,7% of men are smokers. There is an average sedimentation rate (1st hour) at 52.6mm. Rheumatoid serology is found to be positive in 96.4% of cases. Radiological abnormalities are observed in 90.5% of the cases. Male rheumatoid arthritis is related to a shorter duration of progression (542 versus 768 weeks in females, p=0.01), liberal profession (p=0.00), study level (p=0.003), duration between diagnosis and the starting of biotherapy (p=0.021), EVA pain patient and physician (p=0.003, p=0.01) Tobacco (p=0.006), and pulmonary tuberculosis (p=0.029). On the other hand, it was not associated with the following parameters: age, duration of diagnosis, disease intensity, rheumatoid serology, structural damage nor with the DAS 28vs response during one year. Conclusion: The male RA rate in RBSMR study is 12.4% in that there is no significant difference between the sexes in clinical presentation, disease activity, disease severity, rheumatoid serology and response to the biotherapy. However, male RA was related to smoking, liberal profession, and history or occurrence of pulmonary tuberculosis.

A-215 The Utility of the First Ten Items of the Warrington Recognition Memory Test as a Performance Validity Test

Objective Performance validity tests (PVTs) are widely used in neuropsychological evaluations but are often lengthy and time-consuming. Therefore, development of more efficient PVTs is critical. The current study evaluated the utility of the first 10 items of the Warrington Recognition Memory Test (RMT) as an indicator of performance validity. Methods This study utilized archival data from 134 veterans presenting for a clinical neuropsychological evaluation at a southeastern Veterans Affairs hospital. Patients were deemed “credible” if they failed less than two unrelated PVT measures, had a FSIQ > 70, and did not carry a diagnosis of dementia. This resulted in 103 patients in the credible group [Mage = 49.76(11.67); Meducation = 14.09(2.88); 77.67% Male]. The 31 patients in the non-credible group met Slick et al. (1999) criteria[Mage = 45.13(11.18); Meducation = 12.77(2.53); 87.10% Male]. Frequency counts were run to determine sensitivity and specificity values at established cut-offs and to create new cut-offs for the first 10 items. Results Using established cut-off scores, the RMT total score had adequate specificity (91%) with a corresponding sensitivity of 84%, and the RMT time score had adequate specificity (93%) with a corresponding sensitivity of 34%. When examining the first 10 items on the RMT, a score of < 8 resulted in 96% specificity and 61% sensitivity. Conclusions The established cutoffs for the RMT performed well in this patient sample. Additionally, using a cutoff score of ≤ 8 on the first 10 items of the RMT may be a useful indicator of probable failure on the RMT, significantly reducing test administration time.

Evolution of sex ratio through gene loss

The maintenance of males at intermediate frequencies is an important evolutionary problem. Several species ofCaenorhabditisnematodes have evolved a mating system in which selfing hermaphrodites and males coexist. While selfing produces XX hermaphrodites, cross-fertilization produces 50% XO male progeny. Thus, male mating success dictates the sex ratio. Here, we focus on the contribution of themale secreted short(mss) gene family to male mating success, sex ratio, and population growth. Themssfamily is essential for sperm competitiveness in gonochoristic species, but has been lost in parallel in androdioecious species. Using a transgene to restoremssfunction to the androdioeciousCaenorhabditis briggsae,we examined how mating system and population subdivision influence the fitness of themss+genotype. Consistent with theoretical expectations, whenmss+andmss-null (i.e., wild type) genotypes compete,mss+is positively selected in both mixed-mating and strictly outcrossing situations, though more strongly in the latter. Thus, while sexual mode alone affects the fitness ofmss+, it is insufficient to explain its parallel loss. However, in genetically homogenous androdioecious populations,mss+both increases male frequency and depresses population growth. We propose that the lack of inbreeding depression and the strong subdivision that characterize naturalCaenorhabditispopulations impose selection on sex ratio that makes loss ofmssadaptive after self-fertility evolves.

Sex-specific responses to climate change in plants alter population sex ratio and performance

Males and females are ecologically distinct in many species, but whether responses to climate change are sex-specific is unknown. We document sex-specific responses to climate change in the plant Valeriana edulis (valerian) over four decades and across its 1800-meter elevation range. Increased elevation was associated with increased water availability and female frequency, likely owing to sex-specific water use efficiency and survival. Recent aridification caused male frequency to move upslope at 175 meters per decade, a rate of trait shift outpacing reported species’ range shifts by an order of magnitude. This increase in male frequency reduced pollen limitation and increased seedset. Coupled with previous studies reporting sex-specific arthropod communities, these results underscore the importance of ecological differences between the sexes in mediating biological responses to climate change.

Abstract 1805: Chromosome 9p21.3 Genetic Variation is Associated with Angiographic CAD but not with CAD Disease Burden

Genetic variation at the 9p21.3 locus rs2383206 is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) phenotypes. In a comparison of patients with and without angiographically confirmed CHD, the G allele of rs2383206 was present more frequently in diseased vs controls (normal angiograms). However, the pathophysiologic impact, whether it affects initiation, severity, or triggers an event, of the 9p21.3 locus remains unknown. We sought to determine whether 9p21.3 variation affects disease severity (promotion) by assessing its association with CAD burden. Methods: Genotyping for rs2383206 using 5′exonuclease chemistry (Taqman) was performed on 1759 subjects. Subjects were grouped as homozygous wild-type (low risk), heterozygous (intermediate risk) or homozygous risk-associated genotype (high risk). Disease burden was assessed by 1, 2, or 3 vessels; ≥70% stenosis and the validated Duke CAD Index (DCI). Comparison used a chi-square test (single vs multivessel disease) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the DCI comparison. Results: Average age 51.1± 7.4 years, 64.0% male. Frequency of the CAD risk allele did not differ among groups with 1, 2, or 3 vessel disease. There was no difference among groups with respect to the DCI. After adjustment for standard cardiac risk factors, the rs2383206 genotype was associated with CAD compared to controls (OR (CI)=1.73(1.26–1.85), p=0.001). Conclusion: The rs2383206 polymorphism was not associated with CAD disease burden. Findings suggest the rs2383206 polymorphism, although associated with disease onset is not likely involved in its progression. These findings will aid in refining the application of 9p21.3 for risk assessment and developing novel preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Altitudinal variation of the sex ratio and segregation by gender in the dioecious plant Mercurialis perennis L. (Euphorbiaceae) in Serbia

The sex ratio is one of the most intriguing problems for evolutionary biologists. Spatio-temporal variation of male frequency in sexually dimorphic plant species, spatial segregation, and differential investment of the two sex functions have attracted much research interest. In this study, we examined altitudinal variation of the sex ratio and segregation by gender in Mercurialis perennis (dog?s mercury), a dioecious anemophilous species with wide distribution. The eight studied populations from Serbia represented an altitudinal range of 196 to 1480 m. Sex ratio was significantly biased in seven of the eight populations, with males outnumbering females 3.91:1 in the lowest-altitude population. Our results support the notion of spatial segregation of sexes along on altitudinal gradient: the frequency of males decreased with altitude, from 79.6% to 41.0%. The sex ratio was not significantly correlated with population density. We also examined intersexual differences of plant height in two populations from the extremes of the studied altitudinal range. Males were the larger sex in both populations, though the difference was not significant in the high-altitude population. .