Scandinavian journal of rheumatology
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · May 2007
The effect of methylprednisolone on proliferation of PBMCs obtained from steroid-sensitive and steroid-resistant rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Glucocorticoids (GCs) are among the most frequently used drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Unfortunately, up to 30% of patients with RA fail to respond to the treatment. We investigated the hypothesis that patients with RA who did not respond to GC treatment have steroid-resistant peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). ⋯ Based on the close relationship between clinically observed GC resistance and a diminished response of PBMCs to MP treatment, we conclude that measurement of the steroid sensitivity of PBMCs may be a useful tool in predicting the therapeutic effect of GC in patients with RA.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · May 2007
Regional cerebral blood flow between primary and concomitant fibromyalgia patients: a possible way to differentiate concomitant fibromyalgia from the primary disease.
Technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer (Tc-99m ECD) brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has been used to detect abnormal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in women with primary fibromyalgia (FM). The main aim of this study was to investigate the rCBF deficit in concomitant FM patients and compare it with primary FM. ⋯ Reduced rCBF at cortical regions, in addition to previously reported areas at the thalamus and the subcortical nucleus, in FM patients was demonstrated in this study. The perfusion deficit areas were similar between primary and concomitant FM when the underlying disease activity was quiescent. The feasibility of using this neuroimaging study to differentiate FM from the primary disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-associated depression and neuropsychiatric lupus, should be considered.