Prof. Dr. med. Ulrich A. Walker

Bellando-Randone, S., Wilhalme, H., Bruni, C., Czirjak, L., Distler, O., Allanore, Y., Cuomo, G., Denton, Christopher, Del Galdo, Francesco, Gheorghiu, Ana Maria, Riccieri, Valeria, Walker, Ulrich, Truchetet, M.E., Vonk, M.C., Foeldvari, I., Matucci-Cerinic, M., Furst, Daniel E., Puttini, Piercarlo Sarzi, Bernardino, Vera, et al. (2025). The effect of hydroxychloroquine on activities of daily living and hand function in systemic sclerosis: results from an analysis of the EUSTAR cohort. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-025-03476-0

Mongin, Denis, Matucci-Cerinic, Marco, Walker, Ulrich A., Distler, Oliver, Becvar, Radim, Siegert, Elise, Ananyeva, Lidia P., Smith, Vanessa, Alegre-Sancho, Juan Jose, Yavuz, Sule, Limonta, Massimiliano, Riemekasten, Gabriela, Rezus, Elena, Vonk, Madelon, Truchetet, Marie-Elise, Del Galdo, Francesco, Courvoisier, Delphine S., Iudici, Michele, Iannone, Florenzo, et al. (2025). Oral Glucocorticoids for Skin Fibrosis in Early Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis: A Target Trial Emulation Study From the European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group Database. Arthritis Care and Research, 77(5), 649–657. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25469

Venyte, Ruta, Schuster-Amft, Corina, Behrendt, Frank, Nyfeler, Nicole, Parmar, Katrin, Lorscheider, Johannes, Bonati, Leo H., Walker, Ulrich A., & Gerth, Hans Ulrich. (2025). Long-standing myalgia and hypouricemia in a young woman: Case report and review of the literature. Zeitschrift Fur Rheumatologie. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00393-025-01689-x

Lehmann, Julia, Giaglis, Stavros, Kyburz, Diego, Daoudlarian, Douglas, & Walker, Ulrich A. (2024). Plasma mtDNA as a possible contributor to and biomarker of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-024-03329-2

Caratsch, Leo, Lechtenboehmer, Christian, Caorsi, Matteo, Oung, Karine, Zanchi, Fabio, Aleman, Yasser, Walker, Ulrich A., Omoumi, Patrick, & Hügle, Thomas. (2024). Detection and Grading of Radiographic Hand Osteoarthritis Using an Automated Machine Learning Platform. ACR Open Rheumatology, 6(6), 388–395. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr2.11665

Deibel, Elisabeth, Carreira, Patricia E., Vonk, Madelon, del Papa, Nicoletta, Bečvář, Radim, Guillén-Del-Castillo, Alfredo, Campochiaro, Corrado, Poormoghim, Hadi, Liem, Sophie, Lazzaroni, Maria-Grazia, Giollo, Alessandro, Mekinian, Arsène, de Vries-Bouwstra, Jeska, De Santis, Maria, Balbir-Gurman, Alexandra, Mihai, Carina, De Luca, Giacomo, Moiseev, Sergey, Zanatta, Elisabetta, et al. (2024). Does the Impact of COVID-19 on Patients With Systemic Sclerosis Change Over Time? Arthritis Care and Research, 76(1), 88–97. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.25226

Guler, Sabina, Sarbu, Adela-Cristina, Stalder, Odile, Allanore, Yannick, Bernardino, Vera, Distler, Joerg, Gabrielli, Armando, Hoffmann-Vold, Anna-Maria, Matucci-Cerinic, Marco, Müller-Ladner, Ulf, Ortiz-Santamaria, Vera, Rednic, Simona, Riccieri, Valeria, Smith, Vanessa, Ullman, Susanne, Walker, Ulrich A., Geiser, Thomas K., Distler, Oliver, Maurer, Britta, & Kollert, Florian. (2023). Phenotyping by persistent inflammation in systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease: A EUSTAR database analysis. Thorax, 78(12), 1188–1196. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2023-220541

Lepri, Gemma, Airò, Paolo, Distler, Oliver, Andréasson, Kristofer, Braun-Moscovici, Yolanda, Hachulla, Eric, Balbir-Gurman, Alexandra, De Langhe, Ellen, Rednic, Simona, Ingegnoli, Francesca, Rosato, Edoardo, Groseanu, Laura, Ionescu, Ruxandra, Bellando-Randone, Silvia, Garzanova, Liudmila, Beretta, Lorenzo, Bellocchi, Chiara, Moiseev, Sergey, Novikov, Pavel, et al. (2023). Systemic sclerosis and primary biliary cholangitis: Longitudinal data to determine the outcomes. Journal of Scleroderma and Related Disorders, 8(3), 210–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/23971983231155948

Giaglis, Stavros, Daoudlarian, Douglas, Thiel, Jens, Rizzi, Marta, Kyburz, Diego, Venhoff, Nils, & Walker, Ulrich A. (2023). Mitochondrial DNA: A novel indicator of active inflammation in ANCA-Associated vasculitides. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 62(8), 2930–2937. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kead015

Kocher, Agnes, Simon, Michael, Dwyer, Andrew A., Blatter, Catherine, Bogdanovic, Jasmina, Künzler-Heule, Patrizia, Villiger, Peter M., Dan, Diana, Distler, Oliver, Walker, Ulrich A., & Nicca, Dunja. (2023). Patient Assessment Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) and its associations with quality of life among Swiss patients with systemic sclerosis: a mixed methods study. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 18(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-022-02604-2

Roessinger, Olivier, Hügle, Thomas, Walker, Ulrich A., & Geurts, Jeroen. (2022). Polg mtDNA mutator mice reveal limited involvement of vertebral bone loss in premature aging-related thoracolumbar hyperkyphosis [Journal-article]. Bone Reports, 17, 101618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bonr.2022.101618

Ritter, Fabian, Franzeck, Fabian, Geisshardt, Julian, Walker, Ulrich A., & Osthoff, Michael. (2022). Gout Arthritis During Admission for Decompensated Heart Failure—A Descriptive Analysis of Risk Factors, Treatment and Prognosis. Frontiers in Medicine, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.789414

Iudici M., Jarlborg M., Lauper K., Muller-Ladner U., Smith V., Allanore Y., Balbir-Gurman A., Doria A., Airo P., Walker U.A., Riccieri V., Vonk M.C., Gabrielli A., Hoffmann-Vold A.-M., Szucs G., Martin T., Distler O., & Courvoisier D.S. (2022). Representativeness of systemic sclerosis patients in interventional randomized trials: An analysis of the EUSTAR database. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 61(2), 743–755. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keab437

Arnold S., Jaeger V.K., Scherer A., Ciurea A, Walker U.A., & Kyburz D. (2022). Discontinuation of biologic DMARDs in a real-world population of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in remission: outcome and risk factors. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 61(1), 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keab343

Bruni C, Heidenreich S, Duenas A, Hoffmann-Vold AM, Gabrielli A, Allanore Y, Chatelus E, Distler JHW, Hachulla E, Hsu VM, Hunzelmann N, Khanna D, Truchetet ME, Walker UA, Alves M, Schoof N, Saketkoo LA, & Distler O. (2022). Patient preferences for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease: a discrete choice experiment. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 61(10), 4035–4046. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keac126

Mischlinger, J., Jaeger, V. K., Ciurea, A., Gabay, C., Hasler, P., Müller, R. B., Siegrist, C. A., Villiger, P., Walker, U. A., Hatz, C., & Bühler, S. (2022). Long-term persistence of antibodies after diphtheria/tetanus vaccination in immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and healthy controls. Vaccine, 40(33), 4897–4904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.06.013

Giaglis S, Daoudlarian D, Voll RE, Kyburz D, Venhoff N, & Walker UA. (2021). Circulating mitochondrial DNA copy numbers represent a sensitive marker for diagnosis and monitoring of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus. RMD Open, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002010

Giaglis, Stavros, Chowdhury, Chanchal Sur, van Breda, Shane Vontelin, Stoikou, Maria, Tiaden, André N., Daoudlarian, Douglas, Schaefer, Guenther, Buser, Andreas, Walker, Ulrich A., Lapaire, Olav, Hoesli, Irene, Hasler, Paul, & Hahn, Sinuhe. (2021). Circulatory neutrophils exhibit enhanced neutrophil extracellular trap formation in early puerperium: NETs at the nexus of thrombosis and immunity. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413646

Lechtenboehmer C.A., Burkard T., Reichenbach S., Walker U.A., Burden A.M., & Hugle T. (2021). Increased radiographic progression of distal hand osteoarthritis occurring during biologic DMARD monotherapy for concomitant rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-021-02654-0

Manoil D., Courvoisier D.S., Gilbert B., Moller B., Walker U.A., Von Muehlenen I., Rubbert-Roth A., Finckh A., & Bostanci N. (2021). Associations between serum antibodies to periodontal pathogens and preclinical phases of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 60(10), 4755–4764. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keab097

Saketkoo L.A., Frech T., Varju C., Domsic R., Farrell J., Gordon J.K., Mihai C., Sandorfi N., Shapiro L., Poole J., Volkmann E.R., Lammi M., McAnally K., Alexanderson H., Pettersson H., Hant F., Kuwana M., Shah A.A., Smith V., et al. (2021). A comprehensive framework for navigating patient care in systemic sclerosis: A global response to the need for improving the practice of diagnostic and preventive strategies in SSc. Best Practice and Research: Clinical Rheumatology, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2021.101707

Hernández J, Jordan S, Dobrota R, Iudici M, Hasler P, Ribi C, Villiger P, Vlachoyiannopoulos P, Vacca A, Garzanova L, Giollo A, Rosato E, Kötter I, Carreira PE, Doria A, Henes J, Müller-Ladner U, Smith V, Distler J, et al. (2021). The burden of systemic sclerosis in switzerland - The swiss systemic sclerosis eustar cohort. Swiss Medical Weekly, 151(27-28), w20528. https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2021.20528

Kalweit M., Walker U.A., Finckh A., Muller R., Kalweit G., Scherer A., Boedecker J., & Hugle T. (2021). Personalized prediction of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using an adaptive deep neural network. PLoS ONE, 16(6 June). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252289

Walker U.A., Tilson H.H., Hawkins P.N., Van Der Poll T., Noviello S., Levy J., Vritzali E., Hoffman H.M., & Kuemmerle-Deschner J.B. (2021). Long-term safety and effectiveness of canakinumab therapy in patients with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome: Results from the β-Confident Registry. RMD Open, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001663

Shaw Y., Courvoisier D.S., Scherer A., Ciurea A., Lehmann T., Jaeger V.K., Walker U.A., & Finckh A. (2021). Impact of assessing patient-reported outcomes with mobile apps on patient-provider interaction. RMD Open, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001566

Vonk M.C., Walker U.A., Volkmann E.R., Kreuter M., Johnson S.R., & Allanore Y. (2021). Natural variability in the disease course of SSC-ILD: Implications for treatment. European Respiratory Review, 30(159). https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0340-2020

Spierings J., Van Rhenen A., Welsing P.M.W., Marijnissen A.C.A., De Langhe E., Del Papa N., Dierickx D., Gheorghe K.R., Henes J., Hesselstrand R., Kerre T., Ljungman P., Van De Loosdrecht A.A., Marijt E.W.A.F., Mayer M., Schmalzing M., Schroers R., Smith V., Voll R.E., et al. (2021). A randomised, open-label trial to assess the optimal treatment strategy in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: The UPSIDE study protocol. BMJ Open, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044483

Kocher, Agnes, Ndosi, Mwidimi, Denhaerynck, Kris, Simon, Michael, Dwyer, Andrew A., Distler, Oliver, Hoeper, Kirsten, Künzler-Heule, Patrizia, Redmond, Anthony C., Villiger, Peter M., Walker, Ulrich A., & Nicca, Dunja. (2021). A rare disease patient-reported outcome measure: revision and validation of the German version of the Systemic Sclerosis Quality of Life Questionnaire (SScQoL) using the Rasch model. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 16(1), 356. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-021-01944-9

Kocher, Agnes, Simon, Michael, Dwyer, Andrew A., Blatter, Catherine, Bogdanovic, Jasmina, Künzler-Heule, Patrizia, Villiger, Peter M., Dan, Diana, Distler, Oliver, Walker, Ulrich A., & Nicca, Dunja. (2021). Patient and healthcare professional eHealth literacy and needs for systemic sclerosis support: a mixed methods study. RMD Open, 7(3), e001783. https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001783

Geurts J, Nasi S., Distel P., Müller-Gerbl M, Prolla T.A., Kujoth G.C., Walker U.A., & Hügle T. (2020). Prematurely aging mitochondrial DNA mutator mice display subchondral osteopenia and chondrocyte hypertrophy without further osteoarthritis features. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58385-w

Fallet B., & Walker U.A. (2020). Current immunosuppressive and antifibrotic therapies of systemic sclerosis and emerging therapeutic strategies. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 13(11), 1203–1218. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2020.1832466

Erzer J.N., Jaeger V.K., Tikly M., & Walker U.A. (2020). Systemic sclerosis in sub-saharan Africa: A systematic review. Pan African Medical Journal, 37, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2020.37.176.22557

Fallet B, Kyburz D, & Walker U.A. (2020). Mild Course of COVID-19 and Spontaneous Virus Clearance in a Patient With Depleted Peripheral Blood B Cells Due to Rituximab Treatment. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 72(9), 1581–1582. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.41380

Mihai, Carina, Distler, Oliver, Gheorghiu, Ana Maria, Constantin, Paul I., Dobrota, Rucsandra, Jordan, Suzana, Smith, Vanessa, Hachulla, Eric, Henes, Jörg, Siegert, Elise, Vettori, Serena, Müller-Ladner, Ulf, Cerinic, Marco Matucci, Allanore, Yannick, Lepri, Gemma, Jaeger, Veronika K., Walker, Ulrich A., Iannone, Florenzo, Cacciapaglia, Fabio, et al. (2020). Incidence and risk factors for gangrene in patients with systemic sclerosis from the EUSTAR cohort. Rheumatology, 59, 2016–2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez558

Jaeger V.K., Tikly M., Xu D., Siegert E., Hachulla E., Airo P., Valentini G., Matucci Cerinic M., Distler O., Cozzi F., Carreira P., Allanore Y., Muller-Ladner U., Ananieva L.P., Balbir-Gurman A., Distler J.H.W., Czirjak L., Li M., Henes J., et al. (2020). Racial differences in systemic sclerosis disease presentation: A European Scleroderma Trials and Research group study. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 59(7), 1684–1694. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez486

Hoffmann-Vold A.-M., Maher T.M., Philpot E.E., Ashrafzadeh A., Barake R., Barsotti S., Bruni C., Carducci P., Carreira P.E., Castellvi I., Del Galdo F., Distler J.H.W., Foeldvari I., Fraticelli P., George P.M., Griffiths B., Guillen-Del-Castillo A., Hamid A.M., Horvath R., et al. (2020). The identification and management of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis: evidence-based European consensus statements. The Lancet Rheumatology, 2(2), e71–e83. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2665-9913(19)30144-4

Blagojevic J., Abignano G., Avouac J., Cometi L., Frerix M., Bellando-Randone S., Guiducci S., Bruni C., Huscher D., Jaeger V.K., Lorand V., Maurer B., Nihtyanova S., Riemekasten G., Siegert E., Tarner I.H., Vettori S., Walker U.A., Czirjak L., et al. (2020). Use of vasoactive/vasodilating drugs for systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related digital ulcers (DUs) in expert tertiary centres: results from the analysis of the observational real-life DeSScipher study. Clinical Rheumatology, 39(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-019-04564-8

Burkhard, J., Ciurea, A., Gabay, C., Hasler, P., Müller, R., Niedrig, M., Fehr, J., Villiger, P., Visser, L. G., de Visser, A. W., Walker, U. A., Hatz, C., & Bühler, S. (2020). Long-term immunogenicity after yellow fever vaccination in immunosuppressed and healthy individuals. Vaccine, 38(19), 3610–3617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.12.042

Kingston C., Zech G., Pauli C., & Walker U. (2020). Lumbar Radiculitis as a Complication of Vaccination against Tick-Borne Encephalitis: A Differential Diagnosis of Low Back Pain and Nerve Root Compression. Case Reports in Medicine, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6130364

Schmid, N., Ciurea, A., Gabay, C., Hasler, P., Fehr, J., Müller, R., Villiger, P., Walker, U., Hatz, C., & Bühler, S. (2020). Travel patterns, risk behaviour and health problems of travellers with rheumatic diseases compared to controls: a multi-centre, observational study. Travel Med Infect Dis, 38, 101818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101818

Fasano S., Riccardi A., Messiniti V., Caramaschi P., Rosato E., Maurer B., Smith V., Siegert E., De Langhe E., Riccieri V., Airo P., Mihai C., Avouac J., Zanatta E., Walker U.A., Iannone F., Garcia De La Pena Lefebvre P., Distler J.H.W., Vacca A., et al. (2019). Revised European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group Activity Index is the best predictor of short-term severity accrual. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(12), 1681–1685. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-215787

Jaeger VK, Lebrecht D, Nicholson AG, Wells A, Bhayani H, Gazdhar A, Tamm M., Venhoff N., Geiser T., & Walker U.A. (2019). Mitochondrial DNA mutations and respiratory chain dysfunction in idiopathic and connective tissue disease-related lung fibrosis. Scientific Reports, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41933-4

Jaeger V.K., & Walker U.A. (2019). Raynaud’s phenomenon: no net effects of vasodilators in a network analysis. The Lancet Rheumatology, 1(4), e200–e202. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2665-9913(19)30109-2

Smith V., Vanhaecke A., Herrick A.L., Distler O., Guerra M.G., Denton C.P., Deschepper E., Foeldvari I., Gutierrez M., Hachulla E., Ingegnoli F., Kubo S., Muller-Ladner U., Riccieri V., Sulli A., van Laar J.M., Vonk M.C., Walker U.A., & Cutolo M. (2019). Fast track algorithm: How to differentiate a “scleroderma pattern” from a “non-scleroderma pattern”. Autoimmunity Reviews, 18(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autrev.2019.102394

Valentini G., Huscher D., Riccardi A., Fasano S., Irace R., Messiniti V., Matucci-Cerinic M., Guiducci S., Distler O., Maurer B., Avouac J., Tarner I.H., Frerix M., Riemekasten G., Siegert E., Czirjak L., Lorand V., Denton C.P., Nihtyanova S., et al. (2019). Vasodilators and low-dose acetylsalicylic acid are associated with a lower incidence of distinct primary myocardial disease manifestations in systemic sclerosis: results of the DeSScipher inception cohort study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(11), 1576–1582. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-215486

Becker M., Graf N., Sauter R., Allanore Y., Curram J., Denton C.P., Khanna D., Matucci-Cerinic M., de Oliveira Pena J., Pope J.E., Distler O., Guiducci S., Walker U., Jaeger V., Bannert B., Lapadula G., Becvarare R., Cutolo M., Valentini G., et al. (2019). Predictors of disease worsening defined by progression of organ damage in diffuse systemic sclerosis: A European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) analysis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(9), 1242–1248. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-215145

Sobanski, Vincent, Giovannelli, Jonathan, Allanore, Yannick, Riemekasten, Gabriela, Airò, Paolo, Vettori, Serena, Cozzi, Franco, Distler, Oliver, Matucci-Cerinic, Marco, Denton, Christopher, Launay, David, Hachulla, Eric, Guiducci, Serena, Walker, Ulrich, Kyburz, Diego, Lapadula, Giovanni, Iannone, Florenzo, Maurer, Britta, Jordan, Suzana, et al. (2019). Phenotypes Determined by Cluster Analysis and Their Survival in the Prospective European Scleroderma Trials and Research Cohort of Patients With Systemic Sclerosis. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 71, 1553–1570. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.40906

Bratu, Vlad A., Häusermann, Peter, Walker, Ulrich A., Daikeler, Thomas, Zubler, Veronika, Jaeger, Veronika K., Weber, Ulrich, & Studler, Ueli. (2019). Do Patients With Skin Psoriasis Show Subclinical Axial Inflammation on Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Sacroiliac Joints and Entire Spine? Arthritis Care and Research, 71(8), 1109–1118. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23767

Wu W., Jordan S., Graf N., de Oliveira Pena J., Curram J., Allanore Y., Matucci-Cerinic M., Pope J.E., Denton C.P., Khanna D., Distler O., Guiducci S., Walker U., Jaeger V., Bannert B., Lapadula G., Becvarare R., Cutolo M., Valentini G., et al. (2019). Progressive skin fibrosis is associated with a decline in lung function and worse survival in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in the european scleroderma trials and research (eustar) cohort. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 78(5), 648–656. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-213455

Osthoff M, Jaeger VK, Heijnen IAFM, Trendelenburg M, Jordan S, Distler O, & Walker U.A. (2019). Role of lectin pathway complement proteins and genetic variants in organ damage and disease severity of systemic sclerosis: A cross-sectional study. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-019-1859-1

Blagojevic J., Bellando-Randone S., Abignano G., Avouac J., Cometi L., Czirjak L., Denton C.P., Distler O., Frerix M., Guiducci S., Huscher D., Jaeger V.K., Lorand V., Maurer B., Nihtyanova S., Riemekasten G., Siegert E., Tarner I.H., Vettori S., et al. (2019). Classification, categorization and essential items for digital ulcer evaluation in systemic sclerosis: A DeSScipher/European Scleroderma Trials and Research group (EUSTAR) survey. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-019-1822-1

Carreira PE, Carmona L, Joven BE, Loza E, Andréu JL, Riemekasten G, Vettori S, Balbir-Gurman A, Airò P, Walker U, Damjanov N, Matucci-Cerinic M, Ananieva LP, Rednic S, Czirják L, Distler O, Farge D, Hesselstrand R, Corrado A, et al. (2019). Differences associated with age at onset in early systemic sclerosis patients: a report from the EULAR Scleroderma Trials and Research Group (EUSTAR) database. Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, 48(1), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/03009742.2018.1459830

Bühler, Silja, Jaeger, Veronika Katharina, Adler, Sabine, Bannert, Bettina, Brümmerhoff, Carolin, Ciurea, Adrian, Distler, Oliver, Franz, Juliane, Gabay, Cem, Hagenbuch, Niels, Herzog, Christian, Hasler, Paul, Kling, Kerstin, Kyburz, Diego, Müller, Rüdiger, Nissen, Michael John, Siegrist, Claire-Anne, Villiger, Peter Matthias, Walker, Ulrich A., & Hatz, Christoph. (2019). Safety and immunogenicity of tetanus/diphtheria vaccination in patients with rheumatic diseases-a prospective multi-centre cohort study. Rheumatology, 58(9), 1585–1596. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez045

Lechtenboehmer CA, Jaeger VK, Kyburz D, Walker UA, & Hügle T. (2019). Brief Report: Influence of Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis on Radiographic Progression of Concomitant Interphalangeal Joint Osteoarthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 71(1), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.40684

Lötscher, Jonas, Kovacs, Balazs K., & Walker, Ulrich A. (2019). Making the Diagnosis of Myositis: Muscle MRI. In Managing Myositis A Practical Guide (pp. 145–160). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15820-0_16

Jaeger VK, Valentini G, Hachulla E, Cozzi F, Distler O, Airó P, Czirják L, Allanore Y, Siegert E, Rosato E, Matucci-Cerinic M, Caimmi C, Henes J, Carreira PE, Smith V, Del Galdo F, Denton CP, Ullman S, De Langhe E, et al. (2018). Brief Report: Smoking in Systemic Sclerosis: A Longitudinal European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group Study. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 70(11), 1829–1834. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.40557

Walker UA, Jaeger VK, Bruppacher KM, Dobrota R, Arlettaz L, Banyai M, Beron J, Chizzolini C, Groechenig E, Mueller RB, Spertini F, Villiger PM, & Distler O. (2018). Prospective evaluation of the capillaroscopic skin ulcer risk index in systemic sclerosis patients in clinical practice: A longitudinal, multicentre study. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 20(1), 239. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-018-1733-6

Walker UA, Luetke Volksbeck S, & Kuemmerle-Deschner J. (2018). Flare of a cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome following vaccination with neisseria meningitidis polysaccharides (Patent No. 6). Journal of Rheumatology, 45(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.171037

Walker UA, Saketkoo LA, & Distler O. (2018). Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in systemic sclerosis. RMD Open, 4(1), e000533. https://doi.org/10.1136/rmdopen-2017-000533

Beyer C, Huscher D, Ramming A, Bergmann C, Avouac J, Guiducci S, Meier F, Vettori S, Siegert E, Jaeger VK, Maurer B, Riemekasten G, Walker U, Müller-Ladner U, Valentini G, Matucci-Cerinic M, Allanore Y, Distler O, Schett G, & Distler JHW. (2018). Elevated serum levels of sonic hedgehog are associated with fibrotic and vascular manifestations in systemic sclerosis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 77(4), 626–628. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-210834

Jaeger VK, Distler O, Maurer B, Czirják L, Lóránd V, Valentini G, Vettori S, Del Galdo F, Abignano G, Denton C, Nihtyanova S, Allanore Y, Avouac J, Riemekasten G, Siegert E, Huscher D, Matucci-Cerinic M, Guiducci S, Frerix M, et al. (2018). Functional disability and its predictors in systemic sclerosis: A study from the DeSScipher project within the EUSTAR group. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 57(3), 441–450. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex182

Adler S, Huscher D, Siegert E, Allanore Y, Czirják L, DelGaldo F, Denton CP, Distler O, Frerix M, Matucci-Cerinic M, Mueller-Ladner U, Tarner IH, Valentini G, Walker UA, Villiger PM, Riemekasten G, & EUSTAR co-workers on behalf of the DeSScipher project research group within the EUSTAR network. (2018). Systemic sclerosis associated interstitial lung disease - individualized immunosuppressive therapy and course of lung function: Results of the EUSTAR group. Arthritis Research and Therapy, 20(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-018-1517-z

Johnson SR, Soowamber ML, Fransen J, Khanna D, Van Den Hoogen F, Baron M, Matucci-Cerinic M, Denton CP, Medsger TA Jr, Carreira PE, Riemekasten G, Distler J, Gabrielli A, Steen V, Chung L, Silver R, Varga J, Müller-Ladner U, Vonk MC, et al. (2018). There is a need for new systemic sclerosis subset criteria. A content analytic approach. Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, 47(1), 62–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/03009742.2017.1299793

Carreira PE, Carmona L, Joven BE, Loza E, Andreu JL, Riemekasten G, Vettori S, Balbir-Gurman A, Airò P, Walker UA, Damjanov N, Matucci-Cerinic M, Ananieva LP, Rednic S, Czirják L, Distler O, Farge D, Hesselstrand R, Corrado A, et al. (2018). Gender differences in early systemic sclerosis patients: A report from the EULAR scleroderma trials and research group (EUSTAR) database. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 36(4), S68–S75.

Elhai M, Meune C, Boubaya M, Avouac J, Hachulla E, Balbir-Gurman A, Riemekasten G, Airò P, Joven B, Vettori S, Cozzi F, Ullman S, Czirják L, Tikly M, Müller-Ladner U, Caramaschi P, Distler O, Iannone F, Ananieva LP, et al. (2017). Mapping and predicting mortality from systemic sclerosis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 76(11), 1897–1905. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211448

Walker UA. (2017). Trial of tocilizumab in giant-cell arteritis (Patent No. 15). New England Journal of Medicine, 377(15), Article 15. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc1711031

Jaeger, Veronika K., Barmet, Anna, Schiffer, Pia, Zufferey, Pascal, Badaracco, Andrea, Walder, Marcel, Dudler, Jean, Frey, Dieter, Mueller, Franziska, Pichler, Lilian, Voss, Peter, Bosia, Lorenzo, & Walker, Ulrich A. (2017). Patient’s Self-Monitoring of Disease Activity of Rheumatic Diseases Via Webapp - Study Design, Patient’s Perspective and Recruitment in the First 16 Months of a Swiss Multicentre, Longitudinal Study [WILEY]. 69. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.3260

Jaeger, Veronika K., Lebrecht, Dirk, Nicholson, Andrew G., Wells, Athol U., George, Suresh, Gazdhar, Amiq, Tamm, Michael, Venhoff, Nils, Geiser, Thomas, & Walker, Ulrich A. (2017). Mitochondrial DNA Mutations and Respiratory Chain Dysfunction in Lung Fibrosis of Systemic Sclerosis. 69. WILEY.

Walker UA, Mueller RB, Jaeger VK, Theiler R, Forster A, Dufner P, Ganz F, & Kyburz D. (2017). Disease activity dynamics in rheumatoid arthritis: Patients’ self-assessment of disease activity via WebApp. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 56(10), 1707–1712. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex229

Allanore Y, Distler O, Walker UA, Khanna D, Furst DE, & Meune C. (2017). Points to consider when doing a trial primarily involving the heart. Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 56(5), v12–v16. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex198

Alpizar-Rodriguez D, Mueller RB, Möller B, Dudler J, Ciurea A, Zufferey P, Kyburz D, Walker UA, von Mühlenen I, Roux-Lombard P, Mahler M, Lamacchia C, Courvoisier DS, Gabay C, & Finckh A. (2017). Female hormonal factors and the development of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies in women at risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 56(9), 1579–1585. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex239

Jaeger VK, Hoffman HM, van der Poll T, Tilson H, Seibert J, Speziale A, Junge G, Franke K, Vritzali E, Hawkins PN, Kuemmerle-Deschner J, & Walker UA. (2017). Safety of vaccinations in patients with cryopyrinassociated periodic syndromes: A prospective registry based study (Patent No. 9). Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 56(9), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex185

Walker UA, Clements PJ, Allanore Y, Distler O, Oddis CV, Khanna D, & Furst DE. (2017). Muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis: points to consider in clinical trials. Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 56(5), v38–v44. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kex196

Landmann EC, & Walker UA. (2017). Pharmacological treatment options for cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes. Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 10(8), 855–864. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512433.2017.1338946

Keck, A. D., Jaeger, V. K., & Walker, U. A. (2017). Myositis in Systemic Sclerosis, Lupus Erythematosus and Sjogren’s Syndrome. AKTUELLE RHEUMATOLOGIE, 42, 310–315. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-112361

Kowal-Bielecka, Otylia, Fransen, Jaap, Avouac, Jerome, Becker, Mike, Kulak, Agnieszka, Allanore, Yannick, Distler, Oliver, Clements, Philip, Cutolo, Maurizio, Czirjak, Laszlo, Damjanov, Nemanja, Del Galdo, Francesco, Denton, Christopher P., Distler, Jörg H. W., Foeldvari, Ivan, Figelstone, Kim, Frerix, Marc, Furst, Daniel E., Guiducci, Serena, et al. (2017). Update of EULAR recommendations for the treatment of systemic sclerosis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 76(8), 1327–1339. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209909

Blagojevic, J., Cometi, L., Abignano, G., Guiducci, S., Bellando-Randone, S., Huscher, D., Avouac, J., Czirjak, L., Denton, C., Distler, O., Frerix, M., Jaeger, V. K., Lorand, V., Maurer, B., Nihtyanova, S., Riemekasten, G., Siegert, E., Valentini, G., Vettori, S., et al. (2017). CLASSIFICATION, CATEGORISATION AND ESSENTIAL ITEMS FOR DIGITAL ULCER (DU) EVALUATION IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS (SSC): A DESSCIPHER/EUSTAR SURVEY [BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP]. 76, 915. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.6815

Jaeger, V. K., Hoffmann, H. M., van der Poll, T., Tilson, H., Seibert, J., Speziale, A., Junge, G., Franke, K., Vritzali, E., Hawkins, P. N., Kuemmerle-Deschner, J., & Walker, U. A. (2017). FREQUENT, UNUSUALLY SEVERE, LONG LASTING, LOCAL AND SYSTEMIC PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE REACTIONS IN PATIENTS WITH CRYOPYRIN-ASSOCIATED PERIODIC SYNDROMES (CAPS): RESULTS OF A PROSPECTIVE REGISTRY BASED STUDY [BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP]. 76, 710–711. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.1513

Jaeger, V. K., Valentini, G., Hachulla, E., Czirjak, L., Siegert, E., Distler, O., Bambara, L. M., Rosato, E., Allanore, Y., Matucci-Cerinic, M., Airo, P., & Walker, U. (2017). SMOKING BEHAVIOUR AND THE PROGRESSION OF ORGAN MANIFESTATIONS IN SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS: A LONGITUDINAL EUROPEAN SCLERODERMA TRIALS AND RESEARCH GROUP STUDY [BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP]. 76, 909–910. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.2729

Walker, U. A., Jaeger, V. K., Arlettaz, L., Banyai, M., Beron, J., Chizzolini, C., Groechenig, E., Mueller, R. B., Spertini, F., Villiger, P., & Distler, O. (2017). PROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF THE CAPILLAROSCOPIC SKIN ULCER INDEX (CSURI) IN CLINICAL PRACTICE [BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP]. 76, 626–627. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-eular.1827

Alpizar-Rodriguez D, Brulhart L, Mueller RB, Möller B, Dudler J, Ciurea A, Walker UA, Von Mühlenen I, Kyburz D, Zufferey P, Mahler M, Bas S, Gascon D, Lamacchia C, Roux-Lombard P, Lauper K, Nissen MJ, Courvoisier DS, Gabay C, & Finckh A. (2017). The prevalence of anticitrullinated protein antibodies increases with age in healthy individuals at risk for rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical Rheumatology, 36(3), 677–682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-017-3547-3

Carreira PE, Carmona L, Joven BE, Loza E, Andreu JL, Riemekasten G, Vettori S, Allanore Y, Balbir-Gurman A, Airò P, Walker UA, Damjanov N, Ananieva LP, Rednic S, Czirják L, Distler O, Farge D, Hesselstrand R, Corrado A, et al. (2017). Clinical determinants of elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure measured by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography in early systemic sclerosis. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 35(4), S114–S121.

Valentini G, Iudici M, Walker UA, Jaeger VK, Baron M, Carreira P, Czirják L, Denton CP, Distler O, Hachulla E, Herrick AL, Kowal-Bielecka O, Pope J, Müller-Ladner U, Riemekasten G, Avouac J, Frerix M, Jordan S, Minier T, et al. (2017). The European Scleroderma Trials and Research group (EUSTAR) task force for the development of revised activity criteria for systemic sclerosis: Derivation and validation of a preliminarily revised EUSTAR activity index (Patent No. 1). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 76(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-209768

Jaeger VK, Wirz EG, Allanore Y, Rossbach P, Riemekasten G, Hachulla E, Distler O, Airò P, Carreira PE, Balbir Gurman A, Tikly M, Vettori S, Damjanov N, Müller-Ladner U, Distler JH, Li M, Walker UA, & EUSTAR co-authors. (2016). Incidences and risk factors of organ manifestations in the early course of systemic sclerosis: A longitudinal EUSTAR study. PLoS ONE, 11(10), e0163894. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163894

Loetscher J, Fistarol S, & Walker UA. (2016). Pyoderma gangrenosum and erythema nodosum revealing Takayasu’s arteritis. In Case Reports in Dermatology (No. 3; Case Reports in Dermatology, Vol. 8, pp. 354–357). S. Karger AG. https://doi.org/10.1159/000452829

Jaeger VK, & Walker UA. (2016). Erectile Dysfunction in Systemic Sclerosis. Current Rheumatology Reports, 18(8), 49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-016-0597-5

Mihai C, Landewé R, van der Heijde D, Walker UA, Constantin PI, Gherghe AM, Ionescu R, Rednic S, Allanore Y, Avouac J, Czirják L, Hachulla E, Riemekasten G, Cozzi F, Airò P, Cutolo M, Mueller-Ladner U, Matucci-Cerinic M, & EUSTAR co-authors. (2016). Digital ulcers predict a worse disease course in patients with systemic sclerosis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 75(4), 681–686. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-205897

Walker UA. (2016). Immunomodulation of rheumatologic disorders with non-biologic disease modifying antirheumtic drugs. Seminars in Hematology, 53, S58–S60. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.seminhematol.2016.04.017

Partovi S, Kaspar M, Aschwanden M, Robbin MR, Bilecen D, Walker UA, & Staub D. (2016). Quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound for the functional evaluation of the skeletal muscle microcirculation in systemic sclerosis. Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, 62(1), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.3233/CH-151929

Walker UA, Hoffman HM, Williams R, Kuemmerle-Deschner J, & Hawkins PN. (2016). Brief Report: Severe Inflammation Following Vaccination Against Streptococcus pneumoniae in Patients with Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes (Patent No. 2). Arthritis and Rheumatology, 68(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.39482

Avouac J, Walker UA, Hachulla E, Riemekasten G, Cuomo G, Carreira PE, Caramaschi P, Ananieva LP, Matucci-Cerinic M, Czirjak L, Denton C, Ladner UM, Allanore Y, EUSTAR collaborators*, & EUSTAR collaborators. (2016). Joint and tendon involvement predict disease progression in systemic sclerosis: A EUSTAR prospective study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 75(1), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-205295

Elhai M, Avouac J, Walker UA, Matucci-Cerinic M, Riemekasten G, Airò P, Hachulla E, Valentini G, Carreira PE, Cozzi F, Balbir Gurman A, Braun-Moscovici Y, Damjanov N, Ananieva LP, Scorza R, Jimenez S, Busquets J, Li M, Müller-Ladner U, et al. (2016). A gender gap in primary and secondary heart dysfunctions in systemic sclerosis: A EUSTAR prospective study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 75(1), 163–169. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206386

Jordan S., Distler J., Maurer B., Walker U.A., Huscher D., Allanore Y., Riemekasten G., & Distler O. (2016). Effect of endothelin-1 receptor antagonists on skin fibrosis in scleroderma patients from the EUSTAR database. Journal of Scleroderma and Related Disorders, 1(2), 220–225. https://doi.org/10.5301/jsrd.5000204

Wirz, Elina G., Jaeger, Veronika K., Allanore, Yannick, Riemekasten, Gabriela, Hachulla, Eric, Distler, Oliver, Airó, Paolo, Carreira, Patricia E., Tikly, Mohammed, Vettori, Serena, Gurman, Alexandra Balbir, Damjanov, Nemanja, Müller-Ladner, Ulf, Distler, Jörg, Li, Mangtao, Häusermann, Peter, Walker, Ulrich A., Ananieva, Lidia, Heitmann, Stefan, et al. (2016). Incidence and predictors of cutaneous manifestations during the early course of systemic sclerosis: A 10-year longitudinal study from the EUSTAR database. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 75(7), 1285–1292. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-207271

Maurer B, & Walker UA. (2015). Role of MRI in Diagnosis and Management of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies. Current Rheumatology Reports, 17(11), 67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-015-0544-x

Ingegnoli F., Boracchi P., Gualtierotti R., Smith V., Cutolo M., Foeldvari I., Airo P., Alegre-Sancho J.J., Allanore Y., Ananieva L.P., Ancuta C., Andrade L.E., Aringer M., Becvar R., Bojinca M., Butrimiene I., Cantatore F.P., Caporali R., Caramaschi P., et al. (2015). A comparison between nailfold capillaroscopy patterns in adulthood in juvenile and adult-onset systemic sclerosis: A EUSTAR exploratory study. Microvascular Research, 102, 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mvr.2015.07.007

Walker UA, Jaeger VK, Chatzidionysiou K, Hetland ML, Hauge EM, Pavelka K, Nordström DC, Canhão H, Tomšič M, van Vollenhoven R, & Gabay C. (2015). Rituximab done: What’s next in rheumatoid arthritis? A European observational longitudinal study assessing the effectiveness of biologics after rituximab treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (Patent No. 2). Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 55(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kev297

Broz P., Aschwanden M, Partovi S., Schulte A.-C., Benz D., Takes M., Walker U.A., Bilecen D, Jaeger K.A., & Imfeld S. (2015). Assessment of cutaneous microcirculation in unaffected skin regions by transcutaneous oxygen saturation monitoring and Laser Doppler flowmetry in systemic sclerosis. Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, 60(3), 263–271. https://doi.org/10.3233/CH-131676

Hachulla E, Clerson P, Airò P, Cuomo G, Allanore Y, Caramaschi P, Rosato E, Carreira PE, Riccieri V, Sarraco M, Denton CP, Riemekasten G, Pozzi MR, Zeni S, Mihai CM, Ullman S, Distler O, Rednic S, Smith V, et al. (2015). Value of systolic pulmonary arterial pressure as a prognostic factor of death in the systemic sclerosis EUSTAR population. Rheumatology (United Kingdom), 54(7), 1262–1269. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keu450

Nemec M, Pradella M, Jahn K, Tamm M, & Walker UA. (2015). Magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed pleuritis in systemic lupus erythematosus-associated shrinking lung syndrome. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 67(7), 1880. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.39141