Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jan 2007
Sensitization of unmyelinated sensory fibers of the joint nerve to mechanical stimuli by interleukin-6 in the rat: an inflammatory mechanism of joint pain.
Pain during mechanical stimulation of the joint and spontaneous pain are major symptoms of arthritis. An important neuronal process of mechanical hypersensitivity of the joint is the sensitization of thin myelinated Adelta fibers and unmyelinated C fibers innervating the joint. Because interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a major inflammatory mediator, we investigated whether this cytokine has the potential to sensitize joint afferents to mechanical stimuli. ⋯ IL-6 has the potential to sensitize C fibers in the joint to mechanical stimulation. Thus, IL-6 contributes to mechanical hypersensitivity, most likely due to an action of IL-6 on nerve fibers themselves.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Dec 2006
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyStability of the patient acceptable symptomatic state over time in outcome criteria in ankylosing spondylitis.
The Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS) is the highest level of symptoms beyond which patients consider themselves well. It provides clinically meaningful information to interpret results from scales or questionnaires. Our goal was to determine the PASS in main outcome criteria when assessing patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to evaluate whether the PASS is stable over time. ⋯ This study provides cutoff values for the PASS for the main outcome measures in AS and shows that PASS values are stable over time.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Dec 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialEffectiveness of behavioral graded activity in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip and/or knee: A randomized clinical trial.
To determine the effectiveness of a behavioral graded activity program (BGA) compared with usual care (UC; exercise therapy and advice) according to the Dutch guidelines for physiotherapy in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and/or knee. The BGA intervention is intended to increase activity in the long term and consists of an exercise program with booster sessions, using operant treatment principles. ⋯ Because both interventions resulted in beneficial long-term effects, the superiority of BGA over UC has not been demonstrated. Therefore, BGA seems to be an acceptable method to treat patients with hip and/or knee OA, with equivalent results compared with UC.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Dec 2006
Prevalence of conventional and lupus-specific risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A case-control study.
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are significantly more likely to experience a myocardial infarction or a stroke than age-matched controls. We compared the prevalence of conventional and lupus-specific risk factors in patients with SLE just before a cardiovascular event and in matched controls with SLE but no cardiovascular disease (CVD). ⋯ We identified significantly increased prevalence of some conventional and lupus-specific risk factors in patients with SLE immediately before a CVD event compared with controls matched for age or disease duration.