Clinical rheumatology
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Clinical rheumatology · Aug 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialHylan G-F 20 efficacy on articular cartilage quality in patients with knee osteoarthritis: clinical and MRI assessment.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) on symptoms, functional outcome, and changes in articular cartilage assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Thirty patients were randomly assigned to treatment with HA (hylan G-F 20, Synvisc) or saline. The treatment group consisted of 20 patients receiving three weekly injections of HA into one or both knees (30 knees). ⋯ On MRI, although the difference in the PF joint cartilage quality in the HA group before and after the treatment was statistically significant (p < 0.05), this significance was not detected between the groups after the treatment (p > 0.05). After the HA injections, a significant analgesic effect was seen as early as the 3rd week continuing up to the 8th week and functional improvement was seen at the 8th week. In conclusion, intra-articular injections of HA is an effective choice of treatment in patients with knee osteoarthritis.
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Clinical rheumatology · Jun 2005
Comparative StudyQuantifying pain threshold and quality of life of fibromyalgia patients.
The most typical symptom of fibromyalgia (FM) is diffuse pain, and pain at specific points-tender points-is crucial for its diagnosis. By comparing healthy individuals and FM patients, this study was aimed at assessing pain and quality of life of Brazilian females with FM, while seeking for a correlation between pain threshold and quality of life. A total of 178 women were evaluated: 124 were FM patients and 54 were healthy women. ⋯ By pairing pain threshold values of each tender point in the test and control groups, it was found that the most sensitive points matched between the two groups, that is, the most sensitive anatomic spots in a healthy individual are also likely to be the most sensitive points in a person with FM. This suggests that a stimulus that provokes slight discomfort to a healthy person may produce more pain in FM patients--which may bear implications for FM clinical treatment. In this sample of Brazilian women, FM patients had both lower pain threshold and worse quality of life than healthy women.
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Clinical rheumatology · Jun 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEffect of intermittent administration of 200 IU intranasal salmon calcitonin and low doses of 1alpha(OH) vitamin D3 on bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and hip region and biochemical bone markers in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis: a pilot study.
A 1-year prospective, open, randomized, controlled trial was conducted as a pilot study to examine the effect of intermittent administration of 200 IU intranasal salmon calcitonin and 1alpha(OH) vitamin D3 [1alpha(OH)D3] on bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and hip as well as on the markers of bone metabolism in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. A total of 102 randomly recruited women received either 200 IU intranasal salmon calcitonin (Miacalcic nasal 200, Novartis, Basel, Switzerland) daily, 1 month on-1 month off, 0.25 mug 1alpha(OH)D3, and 500 mg elemental calcium continuously (n=57 women) or only 0.25 mug 1alpha(OH)D3 and 500 mg calcium (n=45 women) for a period of 1 year. BMD of the lumbar spine and hip plus biochemical markers reflecting calcium (Ca) metabolism and bone turnover [serum Ca, serum phosphorus, intact parathormone (iPTH), total and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin levels, 24-h urinary Ca, morning fasting urinary Ca/creatinine, and Pyrilinks-D/creatinine ratio] were measured at the beginning of the study before treatment and after 6 and 12 months of treatment. ⋯ Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase levels were also significantly decreased from baseline in the salmon calcitonin-treated group (-3.6%, p=0.003). In the same group, a significant decrease in iPTH serum levels compared to baseline values (-2.5%, p=0.005) and in comparison to the non-calcitonin-treated group (p=0.005) was noted. In conclusion, in this pilot study, 1-year intermittent treatment with 200 IU intranasal salmon calcitonin and low doses of 1alpha(OH)D3 produced a significant effect on bone turnover and BMD in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
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Clinical rheumatology · Dec 2004
Case ReportsFibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva in a Malian boy of Bamako.
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is an extremely rare hereditary connective tissue disorder characterized by congenital malformation of the great toes and by progressive heterotopic ossification of striated muscles and soft tissues. We report a case of FOP in a Malian boy and review the clinical and radiographic manifestations of this disorder. The body TDM showed ossifications and calcifications in the muscles of the large rhomboid, the erector muscles of the rachis and the trapezius muscles. ⋯ The differential diagnosis of this rare condition from other muscle and joint disease is discussed. There is no effective prevention or treatment. There is a need for a wider knowledge of this condition.
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Clinical rheumatology · Aug 2004
Case ReportsAntiphospholipid and antisynthetase syndrome in a patient with polymyositis-rheumatoid arthritis overlap.
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, mainly polymyositis (PM) may occur in the course of several autoimmune diseases. The overlapping forms of myositis, when the patient also meets the criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affect 3%-5% of myositis patients [1]. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the overlapping form of RA, antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and the serological subgroup of PM, the antisynthetase syndrome (ASS).