Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Oct 2008
Impact of nervous system hyperalgesia on pain, disability, and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a controlled analysis.
Refractory, disabling pain associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA) is usually treated with total knee replacement. However, pain in these patients might be associated with central nervous sensitization rather than peripheral inflammation and injury. We evaluated the presence of hyperalgesia in patients scheduled for a total knee replacement due to knee osteoarthritis with refractory pain, and we assessed the impact of pressure pain threshold measurements (PPT) on pain, disability, and quality of life of these patients. ⋯ Patients with pain due to osteoarthritis who were scheduled for total knee replacement showed hyperalgesia of nervous system origin that negatively impacted pain, knee functional capacity, and most aspects of quality of life.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Oct 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe effect of glucosamine and/or chondroitin sulfate on the progression of knee osteoarthritis: a report from the glucosamine/chondroitin arthritis intervention trial.
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee causes significant morbidity and current medical treatment is limited to symptom relief, while therapies able to slow structural damage remain elusive. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate (CS), alone or in combination, as well as celecoxib and placebo on progressive loss of joint space width (JSW) in patients with knee OA. ⋯ At 2 years, no treatment achieved a predefined threshold of clinically important difference in JSW loss as compared with placebo. However, knees with K/L grade 2 radiographic OA appeared to have the greatest potential for modification by these treatments.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Oct 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyInterleukin-6 receptor inhibition with tocilizumab reduces disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis with inadequate response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: the tocilizumab in combination with traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy study.
To examine the efficacy and safety of the humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab combined with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ Tocilizumab combined with any of the DMARDs evaluated was safe and effective in reducing articular and systemic symptoms in patients with an inadequate response to these agents.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Oct 2008
Induction of osteoclast-associated receptor, a key osteoclast costimulation molecule, in rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoclast-associated receptor (OSCAR) is a newly identified osteoclast-specific receptor and is of key importance in the process of osteoclast costimulation. This study was undertaken to define the role of costimulation in osteoclast differentiation during inflammatory arthritis. ⋯ These data suggest that the osteoclast costimulation pathway is activated in RA. OSCAR is induced in monocytes of RA patients, facilitating their differentiation into osteoclasts and bone resorption.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Oct 2008
Spinal interleukin-1beta in a mouse model of arthritis and joint pain.
Pain from arthritis has been associated with peripheral sensitization of primary sensory afferents and the development of inflammation at the dorsal horns. This study was undertaken to determine whether the role of spinal interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in central processing of pain is important in the development of arthritis. ⋯ Our results indicate that joint pathology and pain are dependent on spinal IL-1beta, and suggest the presence of a bidirectional central nervous system-peripheral joints crosstalk that may contribute to the development, expansion, and exacerbation of arthritis.