Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)
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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.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Nov 2014
Altered functional magnetic resonance imaging responses to nonpainful sensory stimulation in fibromyalgia patients.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder characterized by chronic pain and enhanced responses to acute noxious events. However, the sensory systems affected in FM may extend beyond pain itself, as FM patients show reduced tolerance to non-nociceptive sensory stimulation. Characterizing the neural substrates of multisensory hypersensitivity in FM may thus provide important clues about the underlying pathophysiology of the disorder. The aim of this study was to characterize brain responses to non-nociceptive sensory stimulation in FM patients and their relationship to subjective sensory sensitivity and clinical pain severity. ⋯ FM patients showed strong attenuation of brain responses to nonpainful events in early sensory cortices, accompanied by an amplified response at later stages of sensory integration in the insula. These abnormalities are associated with core FM symptoms, suggesting that they may be part of the pathophysiology of the disease.