International journal of rheumatic diseases
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Remission is an ideal target in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We compared American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1981 preliminary definition of remission, European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) disease activity score of 28 joints - C-reactive protein (DAS28 (3)-CRP) and DAS28 (3)-ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and newer ACR/EULAR remission criteria from 2011. We assessed the agreement between these definitions using kappa statistics in a real-time clinical scenario. ⋯ The DAS28 (3)-CRP overestimated remission compared to all other criteria. Disagreement was more in laboratory inflammatory parameters. A uniform definition of remission is needed.
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Gout is a common condition which is mainly treated with the hypo-uricemic agent, allopurinol. Although allopurinol is generally a well-tolerated drug, there is a small risk of developing potentially fatal complications, such as allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome. Recent advances in pharmacogenomics have made possible the identification of genes which confer susceptibility to specific drugs. ⋯ The allele frequency of HLA-B*5801 is highest in the South East Asian population. Since other hypo-uricemic agents are available, patients may wish to have HLA-B*5801 testing before being started on allopurinol. As the test for HLA-B*5801 is expensive, time-consuming and only available in selected laboratories, there is a need to evaluate the utility and cost-effectiveness of this test in our region.
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Chronic low back pain is an important health problem Sri Lankan males. ⋯ Posture, exercise, family history, level of education, consumption of animal proteins and consumption of alcohol had significant associations with low back pain. Most risk factors were similar to other countries. However, being marginally over weight and smoking regularly were not significantly associated with low back pain.
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Several studies have reported STAT4 polymorphism is strongly associated with increased susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, a study from China showed no association between STAT4 and RA susceptibility in a Chinese Han subpopulation. Since the northern Hans are known to be genetically different from the southern Hans, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of STAT4 polymorphism with RA in a large cohort of a northern Chinese Han subpopulation. ⋯ STAT4 rs7574865 is significantly associated with RA susceptibility in northern Chinese Han subpopulations. The genetic differences of Han subpopulations should be considered when genetic susceptibility for diseases is studied.