Clin Exp Rheumatol
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Assessment of long-term safety and efficacy of etanercept in a 5-year extension study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
To evaluate long-term safety and efficacy of etanercept (ETN) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without concomitant disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy. ⋯ ETN maintained a favourable safety profile and consistent efficacy throughout the 5-year study duration.
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Vasculitis affecting large elastic arteries, including the aorta and major proximal branches, encompasses various diseases including Takayasu arteritis, giant cell (or temporal) arteritis, and tertiary syphilis, but also may occur as a rare complication of Behçet's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, Cogan syndrome, Kawasaki disease, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and Wegener's granulomatosis. Recent reports have also established a link between inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm as well as lymphoplasmacytic thoracic aortitis with an overabundance of IgG4-producing plasma cells and the burgeoning constellation of 'Hyper-IgG4' syndromes. This review focuses on morphologic aspects of large-vessel vasculitis pathology associated with giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, idiopathic or isolated aortitis, lymphoplasmacytic thoracic and ascending aortitis, and the inflammatory aneurysm/retroperitoneal fibrosis syndrome.
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Clinical Trial
Effects of rituximab therapy on quality of life in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
To assess the efficacy of the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab in improving physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with active primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), as well as the duration and sources of HRQoL improvements. ⋯ Substantial alterations in HRQoL were noted in patients with pSS. Rituximab infusions without corticosteroid therapy produced meaningful improvements in HRQoL. Controlled studies of rituximab are needed.
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The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between variables of physical assessment - muscular strength, flexibility and dynamic balance - with pain, pain threshold, and fibromyalgia symptoms (FM). ⋯ Muscular strength, flexibility and balance are associated with pain, pain threshold, and symptoms in FM patients.