Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is diagnosed based on clinical features that may overlap with other rheumatic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Furthermore, a proportion of PMR patients may subsequently evolve into RA. The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of PMR patients in a Chinese cohort compared ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The utility of anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) varies across different studies. We determined the diagnostic performance and predictive ability of anti-CCP for RA. METHODS: We studied 201 patients with RA and compared them with 208 non-RA patients as controls. ...

The aim of the present study is to discuss the importance of the processes of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of certain autoimmune diseases, to search for an appropriate assessment marker, and to debate current approaches which have been proposed for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), ...

OBJECTIVE: To search whether xanthine oxido-reductase (XOR) present in the synovium is also liberated, to determine its activity in synovial fluid and to establish a possible relationship between XOR levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and non-RA patients. METHODS: This study was carried out in the Laboratory of Immunology, University Ferhat ...

OBJECTIVE: It has been frequently stated that rheumatoid cachexia (RC) associates with increased cardiovascular risk; however, no studies to date have investigated this. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of RC with multiple novel and classical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and the presence of established ...

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare brain disease caused by reactivation of the JC virus. Herein, a case of PML in association with rituximab treatment in a patient with chronic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Sj??gren's syndrome is described. The patient received 4 courses of rituximab (2 1,000-mg infusions administered ...

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a frequent extraarticular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While the nonspecific interstitial pneumonia pattern predominates in most forms of connective tissue-associated ILD, studies in patients with RA-associated ILD (RA-ILD) suggest that the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern is more common in this patient population. High-resolution ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) with that of the tuberculin skin test (TST) in detecting latent tuberculosis (LTBI) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 35 RA patients and 15 healthy controls underwent TST, QFT-G assays and chest X-ray and filled ...

BACKGROUND: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis are severe cutaneous reactions caused by certain drugs, including antiepileptic carbamazepine. A strong association has been reported between human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B*1502 and carbamazepine-induced SJS in Han Chinese patients. European studies suggested that HLA-B*1502 is not a universal marker but is ethnicity-specific ...

Radiographs present several attractive features for the assessment and monitoring of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Radiographic erosions are the closest to a pathognomonic sign in RA. Radiographs provide a permanent record of permanent damage. Excellent quantitative scoring systems have been developed by Larsen, Sharp, van der Heijde, Genant, Rau, ...

To evaluate minimal residual disease (MRD) after chemotherapy and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a locked nucleic acid-allele specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (LNA-AS-qPCR) was developed for 13 patients (four types of PTPN11 mutation and four types of RAS mutation). The post-transplant MRD detected by LNA-AS-qPCR ...

To compare lipid profiles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in non-RA subjects during the 5 years before and 5 years after the RA incidence/index date. Lipid measures were abstracted in a population-based incident cohort of patients with RA (1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria) first diagnosed between 1 ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) blockers on the presence of liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treated with methotrexate (MTX). METHODS: Participants were consecutive patients with RA and PsA who had undergone MTX treatment for at least 1 ...

Objective of the study is to assess the effects of adalimumab and MTX therapy on peripheral Th17 cells and IL-17/IL-6 secretion in RA patients. Twenty active RA patients were treated with oral MTX 15 mg per week (MTX group, n = 10), or hypodermal adalimumab 40 or 80 mg every ...

OBJECTIVES: Fibromyalgia (FM) has been shown to be common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but studies on Asian patients are lacking. It remains unclear whether FM has an adverse influence on pain, fatigue, quality of life, and mood in these patients, and what its relationship is with disease activity. ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the duration of morning stiffness (MS), as a patient-reported outcome (PRO), in assessing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. METHODS: We acquired information on 5439 patients in QUEST-RA, an international database of patients with RA evaluated by a standard protocol. MS duration was assessed from ...

Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, reflects vascular dysfunction and is associated with cardiovascular risk. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with profound changes in vascular function and premature death, mainly caused by cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate arterial stiffness in the brachial ...

Early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) improves disease outcome. Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) which is highly specific for RA is produced locally from inflamed synovium. The present study was designed to assess the diagnostic performance of synovial fluid anti-CCP (sf-CCP) for RA. A total of ...

The expressions of some terminal glycotopes of synovial immunoglobulins G, A, and M were analysed in relation to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progression defined according to early and advanced radiological changes in patients' hands. The relative amounts of terminal monosaccharides were determined by lectin-immunoblotting of immunoglobulin preparations using appropriate lectins able ...

It has been suggested that elevated mean red cell volume (MCV) may be a predictor of haematological toxicity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving methotrexate (MTX). We wished to identify whether there was an association between MCV, red cell folate and haematological toxicity in patients on MTX monotherapy for the ...

The HLA-B27 subtypes have a varied racial and ethnic prevalence throughout the world. However, the association of B27-subtypes with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the mainland China is unknown. To determine the association of B27-subtypes with AS in the Mainland Chinese Han population, a total of unrelated 153 patients with AS ...

We evaluated the short-term effects of the anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antibody tocilizumab (TCZ) in six patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had been refractory to tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist therapy. All subjects were considered to be secondary nonresponders to TNF antagonists as decided by each physician. The Disease Activity ...

This study was undertaken to investigate whether levels of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan antibodies (ASCMA) in human sera, a marker for several autoimmune diseases, correlate with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ASCMA-IgA, -IgG and -IgM levels were measured with enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in patients with RA (n = 30) and 152 ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (anti-TNF) therapy in patients with reactive AA amyloidosis associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Fourteen patients with reactive AA amyloidosis associated with RA were prospectively evaluated. Four patients were treated with infliximab and 10 with etanercept. The mean period of anti-TNF ...

To characterize the antiinflammatory function of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to identify specific differences in HDL-associated proteins and enzymes that distinguish proinflammatory HDL from normal, antiinflammatory HDL. We studied 132 RA patients. The antiinflammatory function of HDL was assessed by a cell-free assay, and ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical significance of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP-Abs), IgM and IgA rheumatoid factors (RFs) in primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS). We compared clinical and serological characteristics of 31 pSS and 31 Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients. Both, anti-CCP-Abs and RFs (IgM, ...

BACKGROUND: Complex chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis have become a major challenge in medicine and for the pharmaceutical industry. New impulses for drug development are needed. OBJECTIVE:: A systems biology approach is explored to find subtypes of rheumatoid arthritis patients enabling a development towards more personalized medicine. METHODS: Blood ...

We aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) in Japanese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with a past history of tuberculosis (TB). We assessed whether it is possible to decrease the cutoff using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. We evaluated chest computed tomography (CT) findings, prior history ...

Comparative evidence regarding the responsiveness of the EQ-5D and SF-6D in arthritis patients is conflicting and insufficient across the range of disease severity. We examined the comparative responsiveness of the EQ-5D and SF-6D in cohorts of patients with early inflammatory disease through to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Responsiveness was tested ...

OBJECTIVES: Ultrasonography (US) is a sensitive tool for detecting erosions in patients with RA. The wrist is usually involved in the RA process, where the distal ulna with its superficial localization is easily accessible for US examination. In this longitudinal study, we wanted to examine the presence, localization and development ...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have premature mortality, mostly attributed to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We studied causes of death (CoDs) and contribution of autopsy to them in RA patients treated at a single hospital responsible for primary to tertiary RA treatment in Helsinki. In 1971-1991, 960 RA patients died. The leading ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: OSA is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Pathogenic mechanisms of vascular diseases include thickened vascular walls due to the increased number of smooth muscle cells (SMC). Retinoic acid (RA) suppresses the growth of SMC, and reduced retinoid levels are associated with vascular diseases. Oxidant signalling ...

OBJECTIVE: Recent reports have suggested that increasing adiposity may protect against radiographic damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We explored the role of serum adipokines (adiponectin, resistin, and leptin) in mediating this association. METHODS: Patients with RA underwent total-body dual x-ray absorptiometry for measurement of total and regional body fat and ...

OBJECTIVES: Increased arterial stiffness, an independent risk factor for premature coronary artery disease, has been reported in patients with RA. The objectives of this study were first to assess, in patients with RA, the relationship between disease activity, inflammation and augmentation index, which is a combined measure of arterial stiffness ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between plasma level of glutamate and extent of radiographic bone erosion of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to inflammatory disease activity as well as estradiol and testosterone. A total of 47 patients ...

To study the viral loads of human endogenous retrovirus HERV-K (HML-2) type 1 and type 2 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we measured the viral loads of HERV-K (HML-2) type 1 and type 2 using nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) technology. We analyzed plasma samples from RA patients (n = 79) ...

OBJECTIVE: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of falling. In healthy elderly persons with a history of falling, a reduced ability to avoid obstacles while walking has been shown to relate to increased fall risk. The aim of this study was to determine whether this potential risk ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether homocysteine is linked to atherothrombotic (AT) events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Analysis of homocysteine (Hcy) levels was carried out in 235 consecutive RA patients. They were followed-up for 6.5 years or until death, with analysis of AT ...

In order to study the association of HLA-A, -B and/or DRB1, DQB1 and the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), 141 patients affected with NPC were typed for the HLA class I by serology method of microlymphocytotoxicity. Among these patients 101 were genotyped for HLA class II system by the PCR-SSP technique. HLA ...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with chronic kidney failure are intolerant to most disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and NSAIDs due to their potential toxicities. Although the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors have emerged as a highly effective treatment for RA, their safety and efficacy in RA patients with chronic kidney failure ...

BACKGROUND: A 70-year-old female with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was administered etanercept to treat active disease that persisted despite therapy with conventional DMARDs. After 18 months of etanercept therapy, her RA symptoms had improved; however, she developed quadriparesis. She presented to a specialist rheumatology clinic with weakness and numbness in ...

It has been suggested that the retinoid X receptor beta (RXRB) gene is a risk factor for Wegener's granulomatosis. We addressed if there is a functional difference in the response to retinoic acid (RA) and vitamin D in Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated systemic vasculitis (AASV) patients and if this ...

Remission has become an attainable goal of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, especially since the advent of biologic antirheumatic therapy. Because little is known about patients who achieve disease remission with conventional treatment, we used 2 large independent inception cohorts to study the prevalence of and predictive factors for disease-modifying antirheumatic ...

OBJECTIVE: To analyse associations between the clinical status of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the gross domestic product (GDP) of their resident country. METHODS: The Quantitative Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (QUEST-RA) cohort includes clinical and questionnaire data from 6004 patients who were seen in usual care ...

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin is an anti-inflammatory and potentially antiatherogenic molecule. Some recent reports suggest that tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) blockade therapy increases circulating adiponectin levels, but data are sparse and inconsistent. METHODS: Data from a double-blind placebo controlled study of onercept in 126 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and from ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether targeted ultrasonographic (US) imaging of the fifth metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint, compared with radiographs, could aid in the early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by identifying erosions sooner in early inflammatory arthritis. Radiographic erosion in RA is a late indication of poor prognosis. The earlier detection of ...

BACKGROUND: Although number, frequency and healing time of oral ulcers and pain are generally used for clinical practice and studies in Behcet's disease (BD) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), no standardized activity index is currently present to monitor clinical manifestations associated with oral ulcers. The aim of this study was ...

OBJECTIVES: To analyse whether persistence of synovial B lineage cells and lack of clinical response to rituximab treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are associated with low rituximab serum levels and anti-rituximab antibody (ARA) formation. METHODS: Fifty-eight patients with RA were treated with rituximab. The clinical response was determined ...

The aim of this study was to determine from patient perspective the most relevant physical functions when estimating the functional disabilities, and to estimate the perceived relative influence of them. Structured telephone interviews were conducted among 143 RA patients. The subjects were asked to name functions and activities in their ...

OBJECTIVE: Early effective treatment slows structural damage in RA but requires an early diagnosis. Our objective was to determine symptoms duration and presentation patterns of RA at diagnosis in Senegal. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study over a 2-year period (from March 2006 to February 2008) at the rheumatology clinic ...