J Rheumatol
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effects of vitamins C and E on oxidative stress markers and endothelial function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a double blind, placebo controlled pilot study.
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experience excess morbidity and mortality due to coronary artery disease (CAD) that cannot be fully explained by the classical CAD risk factors. Among emerging CAD risk factors, oxidative stress is currently being emphasized. We evaluated the effects of longterm antioxidant vitamins on markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense and endothelial function in 39 patients with SLE. ⋯ Combined administration of vitamins C and E was associated with decreased lipid peroxidation, but did not affect endothelial function in patients with SLE after 3 months of therapy.
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Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a term that includes patients with necrotizing inflammation of medium sized arteries, and excludes those with microscopic vessel involvement. Its manifestations are protean and include constitutional symptoms such as fever, malaise, weight loss, myalgia, peripheral neuropathy, rash, and gut and renal involvement. Although gastrointestinal manifestations have been noted in up to a third of patients with PAN, clinical presentation with pancreatic involvement has been reported only rarely. We describe a patient with PAN who developed acute pancreatitis with pseudocyst formation as well as infarcts in the spleen and liver.
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To model pain intensity and consequent disability by independent physical, psychological, and social variables in a group of patients with chronic upper limb pain. ⋯ The correlations between disability and pain intensity with both psychosocial and physical factors support the biopsychosocial model of disability in particular, and pain to a lesser extent, irrespective of the diagnosis.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a severe autoimmune disease with rare remission and recurrent flare. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been reported to be strongly associated with SLE in the United States, but with an inconclusive role in Asia. We investigated the role of EBV infection in patients with SLE in Taiwan, with one of the highest population densities in Asia. ⋯ This is the first evidence that IgA antibody against EBV-VCA is strongly associated with disease flare in SLE patients. It suggests that EBV reactivation may contribute toward the disease flare of SLE.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Clinimetric evaluation of the bath ankylosing spondylitis metrology index in a controlled trial of pamidronate therapy.
The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) is an index comprising 5 measures of spinal and hip mobility in AS that has been primarily validated in the setting of a physiotherapeutic intervention and has not been validated in relation to functional outcomes. Our aim was to validate the BASMI and its individual components in relation to a validated functional index, the Bath AS Functional Index (BASFI), and to assess its responsiveness in patients with AS receiving 60 or 10 mg pamidronate monthly for 6 months in a double blind, randomized, controlled trial. ⋯ Responsiveness of the BASMI was poor with either scoring system. Lumbar side flexion was the most responsive of the BASMI components. Changes in the BASMI and its individual components did not correlate well with changes in functional outcomes.