Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialAnti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody therapy favors adrenal androgen secretion in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were demonstrated to inhibit adrenal steroidogenesis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and this was particularly evident in the increase in adrenal androgen levels during anti-TNF therapy. This study investigated the influence on steroidogenesis of an interleukin-6 (IL-6)-neutralizing strategy using IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibodies (referred to as MRA). ⋯ Neutralization of IL-6 increases secretion of biologically active adrenal androgens in relation to that of precursor hormones and estrogens. This is another important indication that proinflammatory cytokines interfere with adrenal androgen steroidogenesis in patients with RA.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialTransdermal fentanyl for improvement of pain and functioning in osteoarthritis: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Although common treatments for osteoarthritis (OA) pain, such as nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), simple analgesics, and weak opioids, provide relief in some cases, they fail to control pain or are poorly tolerated in many cases. Strong opioids have been used to successfully treat several types of noncancer pain but have rarely been tested in controlled studies. Therefore, we tested the effects of transdermal fentanyl (TDF) in patients with moderate-to-severe OA pain, in a placebo-controlled study. ⋯ TDF can reduce pain and improve function in patients with knee or hip OA.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2006
Comparative StudyImmunohistochemical analysis of hip arthritis in ankylosing spondylitis: evaluation of the bone-cartilage interface and subchondral bone marrow.
Previous histopathologic and magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest that the subchondral bone marrow might be the primary site of inflammation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and that this might be reflected by inflammation found in hip joints. The aim of this study was to conduct an immunohistologic assessment of the bone-cartilage interface and subchondral bone marrow in AS patients with hip arthritis. ⋯ These findings suggest that the subchondral bone marrow and bone-cartilage interface are primary sites of inflammation in AS and that cartilage might be necessary for the induction of inflammation.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2006
Reduced brain habituation to somatosensory stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia.
To examine brain activity elicited by repetitive nonpainful stimulation in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and to determine possible psychophysiologic abnormalities in their ability to inhibit irrelevant sensory information. ⋯ Our findings suggest that in FM patients, there is abnormal information processing, which may be characterized by a lack of inhibitory control to repetitive nonpainful somatosensory information during stimulus coding and cognitive evaluation.