Rheumatology international
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The association between clinical parameters and forearm bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal females with radiographic hand OA has not been determined. We investigated the difference in forearm BMD between radiographic hand OA and non-radiographic hand OA, and also the association between clinical parameters of patients and the level of forearm BMD. A total of 180 postmenopausal patients with hand OA were enrolled in this study. ⋯ This study shows that the BMD levels of the distal radius in patients with radiographic hand OA are significantly lower when compared to those of controls. Forearm BMD levels are positively associated with age and K-L radiological grade in total hand OA, whereas age and menopausal duration are closely related with radiographic hand OA. The presence of osteoporosis in the distal radius in radiographic hand OA may be influenced by age, BMI, and stiffness on the AUSCAN index.
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Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) is a systemic autoimmune disease that mainly affects the exocrine glands and usually presents as persistent dryness of the mouth and eyes. Lung disease in SjS has been reported to occur early following clinical presentation of the disease. In this study, technetium-99m diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (Tc-99m DTPA) aerosol inhalation scintigraphy was used to assess the pulmonary membrane permeability in patients with primary SjS. ⋯ The clearance half time of Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosols in patients with SjS (20.49 +/- 2.56 min) was faster when compared to normal controls (42.32 +/- 13.28 min) (P = 0.000) which means that there is a significant increase in lung permeability in patients with SjS compared to the controls. There is also a significant difference between PI of patients with SjS (0.34 +/- 0.09) and that of controls (0.42 +/- 0.07) (P = 0.012). According to the results of our preliminary study, one can detect pulmonary involvement by Tc-99m DTPA aerosol inhalation scintigraphy in patients with primary SjS.
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PFAPA is a periodic fever disease, of unknown etiology, characterized by aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis. To inquire whether genes implicated in other auto-inflammatory diseases might be involved in its pathogenesis, predominant mutations in the genes causing familial Mediterranean fever, TNF receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome, Crohn's disease and Muckel-Wells syndrome were analyzed in PFAPA patients. Patients (n = 57) with PFAPA, according to previously published criteria were recruited, at the Meyer Children Hospital during 2006-2007. ⋯ Clinical symptoms were equally manifested in carriers and non-carriers. The high carrier rate of MEFV mutations in our PFAPA cases compares well with that of the general population in Israel. It is debated whether MEFV mutations, when mediated by the presence of additional modifiers, may expose a transient fever condition, namely PFAPA.
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Letter Case Reports
Erdheim-Chester disease: a pitfall in DXA measurements.
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The objective of the study was to investigate the response rate to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the clinical parameters that might predict this response in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis. This is a prospective, observational, 3-month study that was conducted in a single center. Ninety-five consecutive patients with active ankylosing spondylitis were included in the study. ⋯ Similarly, 20.0% of the patients were responders according to the ASAS40 criteria, whereas 5.6% of the patients responded according to the 5-out-of-6 criteria at week 12. Patients who responded to the treatment were found to be younger at the study entry (P = 0.001) and had shorter disease duration (P < 0.001). Due to the markedly lower rate of response to the NSAIDs in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis, early identification of those patients who does not respond to NSAIDs and subsequent decision regarding the institution of second-line treatments (anti-TNF) may be of great value in the prevention of irreversible changes that might develop in most of the patients.