Musculoskeletal disorders

Objectives: To find out whether and to what extent the muscle functions are impaired in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients in relation to duration, activity and treatment of the disease as well as any history of giant cell-arteritis (GCA). Methods: Comprehensive clinical examinations of PMR patients (N = 40) called to participate...

Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease. Low levels of oestrogens or testosterone are risk factors for primary osteoporosis. The most common cause of secondary osteoporosis is glucocorticoid treatment, but there are many other secondary causes of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can be secondary to anti-oestrogen treatment for hormone-sensitive breast cancer and...

Objective: To detect the early preclinical alterations in cardiac autonomic control as well as altered cardiac function in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients and their relevance to the clinical features of the disease using noninvasive methods. Methods: 30 SSc patients and 15 healthy controls matched for age and sex underwent clinical...

Introductory Editorial by Dr Karna Dev Bardhan

Denosumab is a human monoclonal antibody against RANKL. This antibody decreases bone turnover markers and increases bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. In phase 3 studies including more than 1100 women, denosumab achieved greater increases in lumbar spine, total hip, distal 1/3 radius, and total BMD than alendronate 70...

Hereditary inclusion body myopathy-2 (HIBM2) is an adult-onset, muscular disease caused by mutations in the GNE gene. HIBM2-associated GNE mutations causing hyposialyation have been proposed to contribute to reduced muscle function in patients with HIBM2, though the exact cause of this disease is unknown. In the current studies we examined...

Purpose: To assess strength, size, and muscle quality differences between younger and older males and females in response to training. Methods: The bicep and tricep of the non-dominant arm were trained for twelve weeks in younger and older males and females (n = 41). The bicep of both arms...

Objective: Barriers to medical care may influence health status. It is unclear whether problems with access can predict clinical outcomes in lupus. This study aimed to determine whether care barriers are associated with increased disease activity and damage in a multi-center, multiethnic SLE cohort. We also compared concordance between care...

Periosteal new bone formation (PNBF) is the means by which appositional bone growth normally takes place on the surfaces of compact bone. Alterations in the periosteal microenvironment trigger complex interactions between osteoblasts and endothelial cells to promote PNBF. Physiologic processes like mechanical stress result in normal PNBF; but, a variety...

Riccarda D. Müller1, Thilo John1, Benjamin Kohl1, Anja Feldner1, Hala Zreiqat2, Wolfgang Ertel1, Drake LaFace3, Beth Hutchins3, Andreas Oberholzer4 and Gundula Schulze-Tanzil1,5 1Charité-University of Medicine, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Dep. of Trauma and Reconstructive Surgery, FEM, Krahmerstrasse 6–10, 12207 Berlin, Germany.  2Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Research Unit, Biomedical Engineering,...

Zhenling Yao1, Eric P. Hoffman3, Svetlana Ghimbovschi3, Debra C. DuBois1,2, Richard R. Almon1,2 and William J. Jusko1 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York. 3Children’s National Research Center, Washington D.C. Abstract...

Rene Thonhofer, Markus Trummer, Cornelia Siegel and Elisabeth Uitz Department of Internal Medicine, State Hospital Muerzzuschlag, Austria. Abstract Introduction: Leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LV) is a necrotising vasculitis of the small dermal blood vessels, clinically presented as palpable purpura. It is a heterogeneous disorder often limited to the skin...

Alexei Gratchev, Christina Schmuttermaier, Srinivas Mamidi, LiMing Gooi, Sergij Goerdt and Julia Kzhyshkowska Department of Dermatology, University Medical Centre Mannheim, Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany D-68167. Abstract YKL-39 is a Glyco_18 domain containing chitinase-like protein which is currently recognized as a biomarker for the activation of chondrocytes...

Tsuyoshi Kasama, Takeo Isozaki, Kuninobu Wakabayashi, Tsuyoshi Odai and Mizuho Matsunawa From the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Abstract Vasculitis in rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatoid vasculitis) has a heterogeneous clinical presentation that includes skin disorders, neuropathy, eye...

CT Chou1, HT Liao2, CH Chen2, WS Chen1, HP Wang1 and KY Su1 1Division of Allergy-Immunology-Rheumatology, Veterans General Hospital, 2Division of Allergy-Immunology-Rheumatology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.Abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common rheumatic disease in Caucasians and in other ethnic groups. Diagnosis is mainly based on clinical features. Before...

Yasunori Okubo1, Kenji Kusumoto2 and Kazuhisa Bessho11Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Kawahara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan. 2Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kansai Medical University, 10-15 Fumizono-cho, Moriguchi, Osaka, 570-8507, Japan.Abstract: Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) appears to be one of the...

Helen E. Gruber and Edward N. Hanley, Jr. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, N.C.Abstract: Disc degeneration plays a major role in this country's medical, social and economic structure. The life-time prevalence of low back pain, which has disc degeneration as its cause, is about 80% in the...

Virginia B. Kraus1 and Joanne M. Jordan2 1Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710; 2Thurston Arthritis Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.Abstract: High sensitivity serum C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) has come into clinical use as a marker of risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). In addition to a...

James D. Birmingham1, Vladimir Vilim2 and Virginia B. Kraus1 1Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA; 2Institute of Rheumatology, Prague, Czech Republic.Background: The most common form of chronic arthritis is osteoarthritis (OA) with prevalence as high as 80% after age 75 (Arden and Nevitt, 2006). The incidence of OA...