J Rheumatol
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Rilonacept for gout flare prevention in patients receiving uric acid-lowering therapy: results of RESURGE, a phase III, international safety study.
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of once-weekly subcutaneous rilonacept 160 mg for prevention of gout flares in patients initiating or continuing urate-lowering therapy (ULT). ⋯ Weekly subcutaneous administration of rilonacept 160 mg showed no new safety signals. The safety profile was consistent with previous studies. Rilonacept also significantly reduced the risk of gout flares. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT00856206; EudraCT No. 2008-007784-16.
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To examine longterm visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP) variability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) versus non-RA subjects and to assess its effect on cardiovascular (CV) events and mortality in RA. ⋯ Patients with RA had higher visit-to-visit systolic BP variability than did non-RA subjects. There was a significant decline in systolic BP variability after RA incidence. Higher visit-to-visit BP variability was associated with adverse CV outcomes and all-cause mortality in RA.
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Comparative Study
Are rheumatoid arthritis patients discernible from other early arthritis patients using 1.5T extremity magnetic resonance imaging? a large cross-sectional study.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) research. A European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) task force recently suggested that MRI can improve the certainty of RA diagnosis. Because this recommendation may reflect a tendency to use MRI in daily practice, thorough studies on the value of MRI are required. Thus far no large studies have evaluated the accuracy of MRI to differentiate early RA from other patients with early arthritis. We performed a large cross-sectional study to determine whether patients who are clinically classified with RA differ in MRI features compared to patients with other diagnoses. ⋯ Although patients with RA had higher scores of MRI inflammation and ACPA-positive patients had more BME, the severity of MRI inflammation assessed according to RAMRIS does not accurately differentiate patients with RA from other early arthritis patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Immediate efficacy of neuromuscular exercise in patients with severe osteoarthritis of the hip or knee: a secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial.
Knowledge about the effects of exercise in severe and endstage osteoarthritis (OA) is limited. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a neuromuscular exercise program in patients with clinically severe hip or knee OA. ⋯ Feasibility of neuromuscular exercise was confirmed in patients about to have total joint replacement. Self-reported activities of daily living and objective performance were improved and pain reduced immediately following 8 weeks of neuromuscular exercise. While the effects were moderate in hip OA, they were only small in knee OA. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01003756.