Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Dec 2014
Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of assay sensitivity and study features in clinical trials of pharmacologic treatments for osteoarthritis pain.
To identify patient, study, and site factors associated with assay sensitivity in clinical trials of pharmacologic treatments for osteoarthritis (OA) pain. ⋯ The analyses examined potentially modifiable correlates of study SES and showed that longer treatment durations and allowing concomitant analgesics in randomized clinical trials of OA pain are associated with reduced assay sensitivity. These data provide a foundation for investigating strategies to improve assay sensitivity and thereby decrease the likelihood of false-negative outcomes in randomized clinical trials of efficacious treatments for OA pain.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Dec 2014
Association between experimental pain biomarkers and serologic markers in patients with different degrees of painful knee osteoarthritis.
To assess the association between pain mechanisms (sensitization) and biochemical markers for cartilage, bone, and inflammation in patients with knee pain. ⋯ A platform of mechanistic pain biomarkers in combination with structure-related serologic biomarkers provides new possibilities for understanding how osteoarthritis-related structural features may be associated with pain and pain sensitization. This study showed significant correlations between central pain sensitization and CRPM as a possible measure for chronic inflammation. Future pain association studies should include biomarkers representing the local joint environment more specifically.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Dec 2014
Ankylosing spondylitis or diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in royal Egyptian mummies of 18th -20th Dynasties? CT and archaeology studies.
Objective. To study the computed tomography(CT) images of royal Ancient Egyptian mummies dated to the 18th to early 20th Dynasties for the claimed diagnoses of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and to correlate the findings with the archaeology literature. Methods. ⋯ The CT features of DISH during this ancient period were similar to those commonly seen in modern populations,and it is likely that they will also be similar in the future. The affection of Ramesses II and his son Merenptah supports familial clustering of DISH. The process of mummification may induce changes in the spine that should be considered during investigations of disease in ancient mummies.