Arthritis research & therapy
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Arthritis Res. Ther. · Jan 2009
Multicenter StudyTreating patients with fibromyalgia in primary care settings under routine medical practice: a claim database cost and burden of illness study.
The objective of this study was to analyze health care and non-health care resource utilization under routine medical practice in a primary care setting claims database and to estimate the incremental average cost per patient per year of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) compared with a reference population. ⋯ Under routine medical practice, patients with FMS were associated with considerably higher annual total costs in the primary care setting compared with the reference population.
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Arthritis Res. Ther. · Jan 2009
Comparative StudyEnhanced reactivity to pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Maladaptive physiological responses to stress appear to play a role in chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, relatively little stress research in RA patients has involved the study of pain, the most commonly reported and most impairing stressor in RA. In the present study, we compared psychophysical and physiological responses to standardized noxious stimulation in 19 RA patients and 21 healthy controls. ⋯ These findings highlight the importance of pain as a stressor in RA patients and add to a small body of literature documenting amplified responses to pain in RA. Future studies of the pathophysiology of RA would benefit from the consideration of acute pain levels when comparing RA patients with other groups, and future trials of analgesic interventions in RA patients may benefit from evaluating the effects of such interventions on inflammatory activity.
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Arthritis Res. Ther. · Jan 2009
Randomized Controlled TrialPhytalgic, a food supplement, vs placebo in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.
The medicinal treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) is mostly symptomatic to relieve pain and incapacity with analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), drugs with well-known risks. Complementary medicines might reduce the symptoms of OA and decrease the need for NSAIDs. This study tested the effects of a food supplement, Phytalgic, on pain and function in patients with osteoarthritis and their use of analgesic and NSAIDs. ⋯ The food supplement tested appeared to decrease the need for analgesics and NSAIDs and improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
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Arthritis Res. Ther. · Jan 2009
Clinical TrialFlow cytometry analysis of glucocorticoid receptor expression and binding in steroid-sensitive and steroid-resistant patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is the main treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, some patients are resistant to these agents. Abnormalities of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) seem to be related to steroid resistance. This study evaluated GRs in T lymphocytes and monocytes of SLE patients by flow cytometry (FCM) using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) and FITC-Dex probes. ⋯ Abnormalities of expression and binding of the GR may be involved in tissue resistance to steroids in SLE patients. Determination of GR expression and binding by FCM may be useful in predicting the response to steroid treatment of SLE patients.
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Arthritis Res. Ther. · Jan 2009
ReviewEpidemiological studies in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and comorbidity of the rheumatic diseases.
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in human populations. Over the past decade there has been considerable progress in our understanding of the fundamental descriptive epidemiology (levels of disease frequency: incidence and prevalence, comorbidity, mortality, trends over time, geographic distributions, and clinical characteristics) of the rheumatic diseases. This progress is reviewed for the following major rheumatic diseases: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, giant cell arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, gout, Sjögren's syndrome, and ankylosing spondylitis. ⋯ The past decade has also brought new insights regarding the comorbidity associated with rheumatic diseases. Strong evidence now shows that persons with RA are at a high risk for developing several comorbid disorders, that these conditions may have atypical features and thus may be difficult to diagnose, and that persons with RA experience poorer outcomes after comorbidity compared with the general population. Taken together, these findings underscore the complexity of the rheumatic diseases and highlight the key role of epidemiological research in understanding these intriguing conditions.