J Rheumatol
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Efficacy and safety of tramadol HCl in breakthrough musculoskeletal pain attributed to osteoarthritis.
To evaluate the efficacy of tramadol as adjunctive therapy in patients with musculoskeletal pain attributed to osteoarthritis (OA) who experienced breakthrough pain while taking a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID). ⋯ Tramadol may have a role as adjunctive treatment for breakthrough pain in patients receiving NSAID therapy for musculoskeletal pain attributed to OA.
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Function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in patients with fibromyalgia and low back pain.
We suggested fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder associated with an altered functioning of the stress-response system. This was concluded from hyperreactive pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) release in response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and to insulin induced hypoglycemia in patients with FM. In this study, we tested the validity and specificity of this observation compared to another painful condition, low back pain. ⋯ The present data validate and substantiate our preliminary evidence for a dysregulation of the HPA axis in patients with FM, marked by mild hypocortisolemia, hyperreactivity of pituitary ACTH release to CRH, and glucocorticoid feedback resistance. Patients with LBP also display hypocortisolemia, but only a tendency toward the disrupted HPA features observed in the patients with FM. We propose that a reduced containment of the stress-response system by corticosteroid hormones is associated with the symptoms of FM.
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To study the clinical and radiological response of chronic calcific tendinitis of the shoulder to extracorporeal shock wave treatment (ESWT). ⋯ With its good tolerance, safety, and clinical and radiologic response, ESWT should be considered as an alternative therapy in the treatment of chronic calcific tendinitis of the shoulder refractory to other therapies.
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To examine relationships between anti-beta2-glycoprotein (beta2-GPI) antibodies and other antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) tests (aPL ELISA and the lupus anticoagulant or LAC) and the associations of each of these aPL tests with individual clinical manifestations of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS). ⋯ Testing for beta2-GPI antibodies may be clinically useful in the diagnosis of APS but cannot supplant other aPL ELISA or LAC. Multivariate analyses suggest that anti-beta2-GPI antibodies may play a more central role in certain clinical manifestations of APS than antibodies detected by the aPL ELISA or LAC.
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To determine the prevalence of IgG antiendothelial cell antibodies (AECA) in patients with scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc) and to correlate it with clinical spectrum and autoantibody profile. ⋯ IgG-AECA appears to be an important marker for disease severity in scleroderma.