Arthritis care & research
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Arthritis care & research · Nov 2013
Clinical characteristics and medication uses among fibromyalgia patients newly prescribed amitriptyline, duloxetine, gabapentin, or pregabalin.
Fibromyalgia is a common chronic pain disorder with unclear etiology. No definitive treatment is available for fibromyalgia, and treatment with antidepressants or antiepileptics is often used for symptom management. ⋯ Patients who started 1 of the 4 common drugs for fibromyalgia similarly had multiple comorbidities and other fibromyalgia-related medication use, but continued the treatment only for a short time. The dose of the 4 drugs was not increased in most patients during the followup period.
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Arthritis care & research · Nov 2013
Clinical features and outcomes of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
To analyze the clinical features and outcomes of patients with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome(PRES), the risk factors of PRES-related intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and all-cause mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). ⋯ PRES frequently occurs during active SLE with multiple complications. Hypoalbuminemia and thrombocytopenia may contribute to PRES-related ICH. The extra neurologic disease activity of lupus during PRES may influence the mortality rate of SLE patients.
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Arthritis care & research · Nov 2013
Association of circulating level of high mobility group box 1 with disease activity in antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis.
High mobility group box 1 (HMGB-1), a kind of proinflammatory mediator, is associated with inflammatory conditions and tissue damage. Previous studies have reported that circulating HMGB-1 levels in patients with active antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) were associated with renal manifestations and burdens of granulomatous inflammation. The current study aimed to investigate whether circulating HMGB-1 levels were associated with disease activity in AAV. ⋯ Circulating HMGB-1 levels might reflect the disease activity and renal involvement of AAV vasculitis.