Arthritis

Abstract Background: Early definitive diagnosis and effective treatment are mandatory in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as it can halt the disease progression and subsequent joints destruction. Objective: To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of anti-mutated citrullinated vimentin (anti-MCV) and its correlation with disease activity, peripheral and axial skeleton affection in RA patients. Patients...

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differs depending on the age of disease onset. The differences between EORA and YORA are important because they have clinical and therapeutic implications. Method: 1185 patients were ranked after classification according to age at onset of the disease into YORA I (16–40 years), YORA II (41–60...

Background: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by skin thickening, fibrosis and vascular obliteration. The onset and course are heterogeneous. Prominent features include autoimmunity, inflammation and vascular damage. Aim of study: To measure the level of serum Anti-Annexin V antibodies in SSc patients and to study its significance in relation to vascular...

Osteoarthritis is a major cause for pain worldwide and is increasingly so as the number of elderly people continues to grow. Finding treatments that are effective and safe for this pain has been challenging primarily because gastrointestinal risks increase with aging as well. One step in the direction of improvement...

Objective: To evaluate the utility of entheseal ultrasonography and serum COMP in the preclinical diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. Methods: 60 psoriatic patients were divided into: 30 patients with psoriasis (group I) and 30 patients with psoriatic arthritis as control (group II). They underwent independent clinical and ultrasonographic examination of both lower...

Introductory Editorial by Dr Karna Dev Bardhan

Evidence has accumulated indicating that proinflammatory cytokines play critical roles in the pathogenesis of RA. Recent clinical studies demonstrate that blockade of IL-6 signaling with tocilizumab, a recombinant humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody, is a new therapeutic option for the treatment of patients with RA refractory to conventional DMARD therapy and...

Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) is a condition characterized by excessive and abnormal bone remodelling. Due to a high rate of bone remodelling, bisphosphonates, and especially pamidronate and the newer zolendronate, are indicated in the treatment of PDB. The presence of asymptomatic, but active PDB represents an indication for treatment...

Changes in plasma IL-6, plasma VEGF and serum YKL-40 were determined in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients during treatment with etanercept alone or in combination with methotrexate. Twenty-five patients with active RA (DAS28 3.2) were randomized to receive etanercept (25 mg sc. biweekly) plus methotrexate (n = 12) or etanercept...

We present three rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients successfully treated with traditional herbal medicine (THM: Kampo). The treatment with THM resulted in a decrease in RA disease activity such as DAS28, as well as in the serum levels of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) in 3 cases. These observations suggest that...

For many years, methotrexate has been used in the treatment of certain chronic medical disorders e.g. rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis as well as a number of malignant disorders e.g. acute lymphoblastic leukemia, certain types of lymphoma and breast carcinoma. Its use has been associated with various systemic toxicities and complications....

A 47-year-old woman demonstrated bilateral wrist joint pain during 4 weeks. Her status did not fulfill the ACR classification criteria for RA, and her symptoms had almost disappeared 4 weeks later. After about 1 year, she again complained of tenderness and swelling in the bilateral wrist joints. The laboratory data...

Angelique N. Collamer and Daniel F. BattafaranoRheumatology Service, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, USA.AbstractEtanercept is a dimeric recombinant soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor protein utilized in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases, including ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. Etanercept binds the proinflammatory cytokine TNF and blocks...

Arthritis is a chronic disease with a significant impact on the population. It damages the cartilage, synovium, and bone of the joints causing pain, impairment, and disability in patients. Current methods for diagnosis of and monitoring the disease are only able to detect clinical manifestations of arthritis late in the...

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...

Objective: To compare the radiological (X-ray) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in the sacroiliac (SI) joints in patients with early spondylarthropathy (SpA). Methods: Forty consecutive HLA B27 antigen positive patients with early SpA and inflammatory low back pain (LBP) were studied. Their SI joints were investigated by posterior anterior plain...

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...

Objective: To study whether the analysis of synovial fluid (SF) inflammatory cells can be used for the estimation of the grade of inflammation in the synovium and, therefore, for the prediction of the possible development of joint destruction in spondylarthropathy. Methods: Forty-one patients with spondylarthropathy and hydropsy in a knee joint...

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,...

Paul N. Nelson1, Olwyn M.R. Westwood2, Graham Freimanis1, Denise Roden1, Samir Sissaoui1, Paul Rylance3 and Frank C. Hay4 1Molecular Immunology Research Group, Research Institute in Healthcare Science, University of Wolverhampton. U.K. 2Centre for Medical Education, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Old Medical College Building...

Koichi Iwatsuki, Toshiki Yoshimine, Masanori Aoki and Kazuhiro Yoshimura Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka University Medical School. Abstract Osteoarthritic changes in the facet joints are common in the presence of degenerative disc disease. Changes in the joint capsule accompany changes in the articular surfaces. Intraspinal synovial cysts that cause...