Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America
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Almost any rheumatic disorder can occasionally be characterized by the presence of eosinophilia, but there are only a few in which eosinophilia is a defining characteristic. These include eosinophilic fasciitis as well as toxin-induced disorders such as eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and toxic oil syndrome. The epidemiology, clinical features, and pathogenesis of these conditions are reviewed in this article, and a rational approach to management of these entities is discussed.
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Fibromyalgia can be a difficult diagnosis when confounding factors such as concomitant illnesses and psychosocial abnormalities are prominent. Additionally, some patients who appear to have fibromyalgia will not meet current classification criteria. ⋯ The diagnosis of fibromyalgia means that the clinical believes that the fibromyalgia construct explains the patient's signs and symptoms; however, not all who satisfy criteria need to be diagnosed or will be helped by verbal diagnosis. Appropriately done, making or withholding diagnosis can help patients improve as well as helping those who are not sick, but are worried, remain healthy (and happier) nonpatients.
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Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am. · Feb 1994
ReviewPleuropulmonary manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus.
The pleuropulmonary manifestation of systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) are pleuritis, acute lupus pneumonitis, chronic interstitial lung disease with fibrosis, alveolar hemorrhage, respiratory muscle and diaphragmatic dysfunction, atelectasis, bronchiolitis obliterans, pulmonary vascular disease with pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary embolism. This article reviews these specific pleuropulmonary consequences of SLE while focusing on clinical, pathologic, and therapeutic considerations.
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Lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease that demonstrates cutaneous, systemic, or both cutaneous and systemic manifestations. This article reviews the cutaneous manifestations of lupus erythematosus.
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Rheum. Dis. Clin. North Am. · Feb 1994
ReviewSystemic lupus erythematosus. Antibodies to ribonuclear proteins.
This review has emphasized that utility of measuring the autoimmune responses to several RNP antigens in the diagnosis of SLE, as well as their use in delineating clinical subsets. The future of this area lies in the definition of the pathogenetic mechanisms that link these autoimmune responses to clinical expression of disease.