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Search for: rheumatoid arthritis    methotrexate    autoimmune disease    biomarker    gene expression    GWAS    HLA genes    non-HLA genes   

ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
10772889 Improvement in circulating superoxide dismutase levels: role of nonsteroidal anti-inflamma 2000 Apr 21 Superoxide anion radical plays a significant role in inflammation, like rheumatoid arthritis. Superoxide dismutase enzyme known to dismutate superoxide anion radical does not play any significant role in this multisystem disease. This paper reports that very low levels of circulating superoxide dismutase levels are observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and these levels significantly improve with NSAID therapy. The possible mechanism of the action is discussed.
9532652 [Dynamic surface tension of blood and synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis]. 1998 AIM: Assessment of the dynamic surface tension (DST) of blood serum (BS), synovial fluid (SF) in various courses of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty three patients with RA and 63 apparently healthy individuals were examined. DST of BS and SF was determined in the computer-aided tensiometer and some blood biochemical parameters were also measured. RESULTS: DST of BS in patients with RA were found to be higher than the normal values and some parameters c beta 2 and beta 3) of BS DST did not significantly differ from the normal values whereas others (beta 1 and gamma proved to be much lower. Depending on the disease course variants, there were some differences in these DST changes. There was a feedback between DST parameters and the levels of immunoglobulins, beta 2-microglobulin, and lipids in blood. CONCLUSION: Assessment of BS and SF DST may be useful in the differential diagnosis of RA, in the determination of its intensity and prognosis, and therapeutical efficiency.
9266136 Currently used second-line agents: do they control the disease course? 1997 May The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis patients with second-line agents (SLA) has changed in recent years. Patients are treated increasingly earlier since it has been shown that joint damage starts already in the first years of the disease. In addition, the number of effective SLAs available has increased, including drugs with a relatively fast mode of action and better drug survival curves. Short-term data indicate that effective SLA treatment can slow down radiographic progression. Recent studies have also shown that some SLA combinations are more effective than monotherapy.
10399225 [The joint use of hemosorption and plasmapheresis in the combined treatment of rheumatoid 1999 AIM: Assessment of hemopheresis effects on calcium-regulating and immune systems, clinical and laboratory activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hemosorption and plasmapheresis were included in combined treatment of 86 RA patients. Plasmapheresis was performed 3-5 days after hemosorption (a total of 4-6 procedures per course). The activity of RA, immune and calcium-regulating system were assessed clinically, with laboratory tests, enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: Hemosorption plus plasmapheresis produced positive effects on the disease course, activity. Laboratory indices improved. Percentage of T-helpers and T-suppressors, calcitonin loading rate, levels of parathormone, calcidiol normalized. CONCLUSION: Combined hemopheresis therapy promotes correction of disorders in immune and calcium-regulating systems.
9501621 [Surgical treatment of rheumatoid polyarthritis]. 1997 Nov 15 Surgical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis aims to suppress pain, correct deformities, and restore function. This treatment should be adapted to each patient on the basis of clinical and radiographic criteria, with priority given to surgical treatment of the lower limbs. In the early stages, conservative surgery is called for (tenosynovectomy, joint synovectomy) and in later stages, palliative surgery (arthrodesis, prosthesis).
10343527 Genotyping for disease associated HLA DR beta 1 alleles and the need for early joint surge 1999 Feb OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of HLA DR beta 1 disease associated epitope (DAE) and erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR) in predicting the need for major joint replacement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Sixty five RA patients who had undergone hip, knee or shoulder arthroplasty within 15 years of disease onset and 65 who had not. HLA DR beta 1 genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction. ESR at first hospital visit was noted. RESULTS: Significantly more patients with two DAE required surgery, (32% v 9%), chi 2 = 13.9, p = 0.001, odds ratio = 5.4 (95% CI: 1.8, 16). Sensitivity was poor, 32%, specificity high, 91%. Presentation ESR was higher in surgery patients compared with non-surgery patients, 52 mm 1st h v 25 mm 1st h, p < 0.001, but was independent of DAE status. Sensitivity of an ESR of 30 mm 1st h was 75%, specificity 53%. CONCLUSION: The presence of two DAE is a risk factor for major joint surgery in RA and is independent of ESR, whereas in those with one or no DAE, a high ESR is an important predictor.
9779841 Functional status predicts mortality in a community based rheumatoid arthritis population. 1998 Oct OBJECTIVE: To assess mortality, causes of death, and patient and disease characteristics predicting survival in a 5 year followup of a community based population of 103 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Kuusamo community in Northern Finland. METHODS: Mortality and causes of death were assessed on the basis of official data registers and death certificates. The relation of different baseline patient demographics and disease characteristics to mortality was evaluated. RESULTS: Functional status, measured by the lower extremity component of the Keitel function test, emerged as the most powerful factor predicting mortality. A poor lower extremity function (score > or = 13) increased the relative risk of death (hazard ratio 9.1) compared to well preserved lower extremity function. If the Keitel function test was omitted from the survival analysis, the best predictor of mortality was the Health Assessment Questionnaire. Twenty-one percent of the patients had died during the followup, the most usual cause of death being cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSION: Poor functional status, measured in this series by the Keitel function test, is a powerful predictor of mortality in RA. Our results confirm the importance of measurement of functional status in rheumatology care.
11573457 [Involvement of the temporomandibular joint in rheumatoid arthritis]. 2001 Aug The rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic connective tissue disease, that most of the cases involve the temporomandibular joint. The diagnosis of local involvement is usually not difficult because the disease often starts in other peripheral small joints. The radiographic signs can be observed more frequently than clinical and subjective symptoms. The local symptoms are pain, opening difficulty, stiffness in the morning and swelling. The maximal mouth opening is restricted by the reduced translatory movement of the mandibular condyle. The aim of this case presentation is to describe the temporomandibular aspects of the rheumatoid arthritis and to suggest the usefulness of the condylar movement registration in the diagnostic procedure of the disease.
11605313 [Diagnostic image (57). Tenosynovial swelling with cholesterol crystals in rheumatoid arth 2001 Sep 29 In a 69-year-old female patient with erosive rheumatoid arthritis for 8 years, aspiration of a tenosynovial swelling on the dorsum of the right wrist yielded a puslike substance with many birefringent platelike cholesterol crystals.
10646490 The impact of pharmaco-economic considerations on the utilization of novel anti-rheumatic 1999 Nov Rheumatoid arthritis exacts a tremendous cost, not only in physical suffering but also in economic terms. This economic burden arises both from the direct cost of treatment and the indirect cost to patients, their families and society, in decreased quality of life and loss of labour. Currently available therapies have not proven completely effective. Novel biological agents, although more expensive than standard therapies, may prove to be valuable when analysed on the basis of reduced long-term costs resulting from their superior efficacy, relative lack of toxicity and rapid effect.
10424020 [The effect of fosamax on bone tissue function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (base 1999 Jan Data are submitted on results of investigations designed to study mineral density of the osseous tissue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis during therapy with phosamax. Revealed in the study were both a positive clinical effect of the above-named drug and its protective action with respect to systemic resorption of the osseous tissue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
11201828 [Acid-base balance parameters of the synovial fluid in patients with early-stage rheumatoi 2000 AIM: To study changes in acid-base balance (ABB) of synovial fluid (SF) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in respect of the disease duration, clinical symptoms and treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The examination of verified RA patients included clinical, x-ray, immunological and special tests. The patients received nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs, 2 weeks later--physiotherapy followed by 10-day basic treatment (tauredon, methotrexate or cyclophosphamide). RESULTS: Before the treatment, SF acidotic shift was found in all the patients. The shift correlated with activity of the inflammation, serologic affiliation to the rheumatoid factor, presence of systemic manifestations, x-ray signs of the articular changes in response to the treatment. Attenuation of the inflammatory process accompanies an increase in SF acidotic shift. In administration of methotrexate SF pH was higher than in the use of other drugs. CONCLUSION: Adjuvant ABB correctors are recommended for RA patients.
10380838 Lower disease activity and disability in Swedish patients with rheumatoid arthritis in 199 1999 The aim of this study was to evaluate differences in disease activity, disability, and medical treatment in consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis seen at the outpatient clinics in Malmö, in 1978 (n = 148) and 1995 (n = 164). The groups were similar with regard to age, gender, disease duration, and the proportion having had hip or knee replacement surgery. The patients in 1995 had lower values for CRP (p<0.001), Ritchie Articular Index (mean values: 5.5 vs. 9.9, p<0.001), and Steinbrocker functional class index (mean values: 1.96 vs. 2.16, p<0.001) than the 1978 group. The 1995 patient group was also more extensively treated with DMARD:s (68 vs. 51%, p<0.01) and glucocorticosteroids (23 vs. 12%, p<0.02) and had historically been treated with almost twice as many DMARD:s (2.7 vs. 1.5, p<0.001). Similar findings regarding disease activity and disability were made when restricting the analysis to subgroups of patients that were seropositive or had a shorter disease duration (< 5 yrs). The lower disease severity in the 1995 group may be secondary to a more active medical treatment, although other possibilities such as differences in selection and secular changes in disease severity unrelated to medication cannot be excluded.
9503528 [Articular hypermotility syndrome (AHS): clinical characteristics and specific features of 1997 Articular and extraarticular manifestations of AHS were studied in 114 AHS patients. Locomotor complaints were getting more frequent and serious with progression of AHS. Rheumatoid arthritis arising in the presence of hypermotility was characterized by minor symptoms and destructive changes and was not very active. Functional performance of the joints was not much affected. Osteoarthrosis in AHS presence ran with more pronounced symptoms, with early emergence of degenerative changes in the joints, primarily, of the lower limbs.
10461476 Depressed proliferative responses by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from early arthrit 1999 Jul OBJECTIVES: T-cell responses to mycobacterial heat shock protein 60 (M.hsp60) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of adjuvant arthritis, but whether they play a role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is undefined. We therefore examined T-cell responses to M.hsp60 and to other recall antigens in a cohort of patients with early RA and in healthy controls. METHODS: In vitro peripheral blood mononuclear cells' (PBMC) proliferative responses to antigen were measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation, and results correlated with clinical and laboratory features of disease. RESULTS: Whereas responses to the recall antigens tetanus toxin and purified protein derivative (PPD) were equivalent in the two groups, responses to both M.hsp60 and the Escherichia coli hsp60 were lower in the RA patients. These results could not be explained by either the higher prevalence of HLA-DR4 in the RA group, or the disease severity of the patients. CONCLUSION: In the light of results from the adjuvant arthritis model which suggest that arthritis may be ameliorated by the actions of an hsp60-reactive T-cell population, the lack of response to M.hsp60 in RA could contribute to disease persistence.
10405582 [Stridor caused by laryngeal rheumatoid arthritis]. 1999 Mar 29 A 71-year old man who had had severe rheumatoid arthritis for many years involving all the joints suddenly developed stridor caused by immobilisation of both the vocal cords. Arthritis of the cricoarytenoid joints of the larynx was suspected, and the patient was successfully treated with prednisolone.
11209262 [Prevalence of rheumatoid factor in the healthy population of Moldova Republic]. 2000 Dec A total of 1009 normal human sera (524 (51.9%) male and 485 (48.1%) female) were screened for rheumatoid factor (RF). The age of donors varied from 17 to 61 years, mean age 34 was years. The screening was performed by 3 methods with the following antigenic RF substrates: modified human IgG (latex test), Fc fragment of rabbit IgG (Vaaler-Rose test), and their combination (Refa-Dac diagnostic agent). RF with activity of at least 3 IU/ml was detected in 3.1% subjects and with the activity higher than the common diagnostically significant level (20 IU/ml) in 5.58% examinees. RF more often occurs in healthy women than in men, particularly at the age of 17-39 years.
9603033 Synovial tissues collected from rheumatoid patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty ex 1997 Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation mainly in synovial tissues. RA manifests as a chronic polyarthritis with intermittent acute inflammatory episodes. The inflammatory sites are characterized by infiltration of activated lymphocytes and macrophages into the synovial membrane, and the proliferation of synovial cells. The local production of a number of cytokines by proliferative synovial cells as well as by infiltrating cells appears to account for many of the pathological and clinical manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis. Tissues were collected from twelve RA patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. The synovium was collected and the cell types were identified, and markers for chronic and acute inflammatory mediators were measured. The cells types found in the synovium are capable of secreting cytokines which are capable of both acute inflammation (IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1 and TNF), as well as chronic inflammation (IL-2, IL-10, and IL-4). The results obtained showed that the macrophages-derived acute inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8) were easily detected at levels of 22.6 +/- 12 pg/mg protein; 48.5 +/- 42 pg/mg protein, and 76 +/- 31 pg/mg protein; respectively. T-cell derived chronic inflammation cytokines (IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10) were rarely detected. Retrieved tissues that immunostained positive for IL-6, IL-1 and IL-8 also is suggestive of an acute inflammatory response. The results clearly demonstrate that the acute response may be responsible for the subsequent need for joint arthroplasties.
9415659 Remission of nonerosive polyarthritis associated with Sjögren's syndrome after autologous 1997 Dec We describe a 50-year-old woman with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome who underwent autologous blood stem cell transplantation after relapse of associated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This resulted in complete remission not only of the lymphoma, but also the arthritis.
11446246 Early, aggressive treatment can boost arthritis outcomes. 2001 Jun Those with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis can consider several new care strategies. They come with the risk of rare, though serious, side effects.