Acta Reumatol Port
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A 56-year-old male complained about progressive mechanical back pain for more than 10 years, which worsened with prolonged orthostatism and spine extension and improved in fetal position. His lumbar spine radiography revealed enlargement and sclerosis of the spinous processes which was confirmed by computed tomography, suggesting Baastrup's disease. This condition is characterized by enlargement, close approximation and impingement of one spinous process on another ("kissing spines"). ⋯ Physicians frequently miss it on radiographs due to lack of knowledge and overexposure of spinous processes in most X rays. Both conservative and surgical options are available for treatment. Baastrup's disease should be considered in differential diagnosis of back pain, although one must be aware the typical radiographic changes appear to be common with aging and may not be the cause of patient's symptoms.
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to establish a relationship between widespread pain subjectively perceived and threshold pain tolerance on tender points, and to determine whether there are differences in threshold pain tolerance on tender points between the upper and lower body, as well as between the dominant and non-dominant side, and whether these differences have an impact on the daily life of Portuguese women with fibromyalgia (FM). ⋯ the women with FM show higher widespread pain subjectively perceived than threshold pain tolerance on tender points. Furthermore, the pain suffered by the patients with FM, especially that located on the upper body, either on the dominant or on the non-dominant side, has a negative influence on physical function, job ability, fatigue and feel good, affecting daily life.
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Review Case Reports
Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome associated with systemic lupus erythematosus treated with rituximab: case report and a review of the literature.
Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) is a rare, acute, life-threatening form of antiphospholipid syndrome. In the last several decades there has been a significant improvement in the treatment of patients with CAPS, but the overall mortality is still very significant. The use of rituximab has been reported in the treatment of refractory cases of CAPS but the data are still scarce and inconclusive. ⋯ With this the criteria for definitive CAPS were fulfilled. To our knowledge, at present time, this is the first ever reported case of definitive CAPS associated with SLE treated with rituximab. There is a great need for further investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of rituximab in treatment of CAPS.
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To examine the relationships between psychosocial factors and reported pain in Colombians with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). ⋯ Depressive symptoms, anxiety, social support, and psychopathological symptom distress were associated with pain ratings, but only depressive symptoms were found to be uniquely associated with higher pain perception, taking into account socio-demographic characteristics and other psychosocial factors. Findings provide evidence for the need to assess and treat pain in RA in Colombia from a bio-psycho-social perspective. Future research is needed to determine effective depression screening and evidence-based interventions for depressive symptoms in RA patients in this socio-cultural context, as intervening in depression may decrease pain perception.
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Review Meta Analysis
Exercise and ankylosing spondylitis with New York modified criteria: a systematic review of controlled trials with meta-analysis.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a systemic rheumatic disease that affects the axial skeleton, causing inflammatory back pain, structural and functional changes which decrease quality of life. Several treatments for ankylosing spondylitis have been proposed and among them the use of exercise. The present study aims to synthesize information from the literature and identify the results of controlled clinical trials on exercise in patients with ankylosing spondylitis with the New York modified diagnostic criteria and to assess whether exercise is more effective than physical activity to reduce functional impairment. ⋯ The methodological quality was assessed to select those with an high methodological expressiveness using the PEDro scale. A cumulative meta-analysis was subsequently performed to compare exercise versus usual level of physical activity. Exercise shows significant statistical outcomes for the BASFI, BASDAI and BASMI, higher than those found for usual level of physical activity.