Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Apr 2003
Comparative StudyLower prevalence of hand osteoarthritis among Chinese subjects in Beijing compared with white subjects in the United States: the Beijing Osteoarthritis Study.
Fewer Chinese subjects in Beijing have hip osteoarthritis (OA) compared with whites in the United States, but as many or more Chinese subjects have knee OA. If these differences are due to a systemic predilection for disease, then the prevalence of hand OA, the best indicator of generalized disease, should be different in China. The goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence of hand OA among elderly Chinese in Beijing, and to compare it with that among elderly whites in the United States. ⋯ Elderly Chinese subjects in Beijing had a much lower prevalence of hand OA than did elderly whites in Framingham, Massachusetts. Coupled with the exceedingly low prevalence of hip OA in China, these results may suggest that the overall predilection for OA is less among subjects in China than among whites in the United States.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Mar 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialAn index of the three core data set patient questionnaire measures distinguishes efficacy of active treatment from that of placebo as effectively as the American College of Rheumatology 20% response criteria (ACR20) or the Disease Activity Score (DAS) in a rheumatoid arthritis clinical trial.
To evaluate the capacity of a pooled index of only the 3 patient self-report questionnaire measures among the 7 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) core data set (Core Data Set) measures to distinguish efficacy of active treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with leflunomide or methotrexate versus placebo in a randomized, controlled clinical trial, and to compare the results with those obtained using the ACR 20% response criteria (ACR20), Disease Activity Score (DAS), and other pooled indices. ⋯ A pooled index of patient self-report questionnaire Core Data Set measures appears to be as informative as ACR20 responses, DAS scores, and pooled indices of all and assessor-derived Core Data Set measures for distinguishing between active treatment and placebo treatment in this RA clinical trial.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Mar 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialIntraarticular corticosteroids, supervised physiotherapy, or a combination of the two in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder: a placebo-controlled trial.
To compare the efficacy of a single intraarticular corticosteroid injection, a supervised physiotherapy program, a combination of the two, and placebo in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder. ⋯ A single intraarticular injection of corticosteroid administered under fluoroscopy combined with a simple home exercise program is effective in improving shoulder pain and disability in patients with adhesive capsulitis. Adding supervised physiotherapy provides faster improvement in shoulder range of motion. When used alone, supervised physiotherapy is of limited efficacy in the management of adhesive capsulitis.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Mar 2003
Down-regulation of the nonspecific and antigen-specific T cell cytokine response in ankylosing spondylitis during treatment with infliximab.
Treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with the monoclonal tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) antibody infliximab is highly clinically effective. This study was undertaken to investigate the precise mechanism of action of anti-TNF alpha treatment in AS. ⋯ Infliximab down-regulates both IFN gamma and TNF alpha secreted by T cells but does not induce a change in cytokines produced by monocytes during 3 months of treatment. This is likely to be a relevant mechanism for the clinical efficacy of this therapy.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Mar 2003
Comment Letter Comparative StudyDosage and mode of administration of methotrexate in clinical trials: comment on the article by Genovese et al.