Scandinavian journal of rheumatology
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines and cytokine receptors in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a cross-sectional comparative study.
Insight into the most important inflammatory pathways in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) could be of importance in risk stratification and the development of treatment strategies. Therefore, we aimed to compare circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers between AS patients and controls, and explore associations between these biomarkers and clinical measures of disease activity. ⋯ Significantly higher plasma levels of sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2, and OPG and numerically but non-significantly higher levels of IL-23 were found in AS patients compared to controls, indicating that these cytokines and cytokine receptors are important inflammatory pathways. Clinical measures of disease activity were not significantly correlated with circulating inflammatory markers.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyFear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity in adults with rheumatoid arthritis.
The aim of this study was to describe fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity and explore how these beliefs correlate with sociodemographic, disease-specific, and psychosocial factors in adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ High fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity in patients with RA were found to be associated with being male and having a below average income, a high level of pain, poor health, a low HRQoL, and low ESES score. Additional research is warranted for adults with RA to capture the multiple potential correlates to fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyImplications of proposed fibromyalgia criteria across other functional pain syndromes.
In 2010, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) proposed new criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM) in the context of objections to components of the criteria of 1990. The new criteria consider the Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and the Symptom Severity Score (SSS). This study evaluated the implications of the new diagnostic criteria for FM across other functional pain syndromes. ⋯ FM according to the ACR 2010 criteria describes the 'severe half' of the spectrum of functional pain syndromes. By dropping the requirement of 'generalized pain', these criteria result in a blurring of the distinction between FM and more localized functional pain syndromes.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Natural course of bone marrow oedema on magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joints in patients with early inflammatory back pain: a 2-year follow-up study.
To describe the distribution and evolution over time of bone marrow oedema (BME) on magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joint (MRI-SIJ) in patients with recent-onset inflammatory back pain (IBP) suspected for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). ⋯ BME shows a fluctuating course in patients with early IBP suspected for axSpA. This may have an impact on diagnosis and the overall performance of the ASAS axSpA criteria.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Epidural steroid injections in the management of cervical disc herniations with radiculopathy.
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of cervical epidural steroid injection (CESI) in the management of cervical disc herniations with radiculopathy. ⋯ CESI appears to be a safe and efficient part of the treatment of patients with symptomatic cervical disc herniations and may be considered before patients are referred to surgery.