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

PMID	Title	PublicationDate	abstract
7839077	Deep penetration of antibodies into the articular cartilage of patients with rheumatoid ar	1994	This study was conducted to determine the presence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and albumin in deep layers of articular cartilage from patients with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis and from normal organ donors. Cartilage plugs were cut into 20-microns slices with a microtome and ten consecutive slices were pooled, dividing the specimen into 200 microns sections starting from the articular surface. Each pool was extracted overnight thrice with neutral buffer, thrice with 6 M guanidine hydrochloride, and then degraded with bacterial collagenase. IgG and albumin were quantified in each extract. From the surface and deep layers significantly more IgG and albumin were extracted from rheumatoid than from normal specimens, both with neutral buffer and with guanidine. In neutral buffer extracts the molar ratios of IgG to albumin were comparable from normal and rheumatoid specimens, with a molar excess of albumin. In contrast, the molar ratios of IgG to albumin in guanidine extracts from rheumatoid cartilages were significantly higher than in normal cartilages, and the IgG was in molar excess of albumin only in rheumatoid extracts. These results show for the first time that IgG has penetrated deep into the cartilage in rheumatoid arthritis and may contribute to the degradation of cartilage by inflammation.
1411792	[Induction of interleukin-1 production in the cultured synovial cells from patients with r	1992 Aug	Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is believed to be involved in articular destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. HLA-class II antigens are expressed on synovial cells of patients with RA. The relation between the production of IL-1 and expression of HLA-class II antigens was studied. Synovial cells of rheumatoid patients appeared to express HLA-DR and DQ antigens to a significantly greater extent than those of osteoarthritic patients. These cells produced IL-1 following interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) stimulation and there was synergistic enhancement of production induced by IFN-gamma and monoclonal antibodies to HLA-DR or DQ antigens in combination. In the intracellular signal transduction mechanism for the production of IL-1 beta by these cells following IFN-gamma stimulation, protein kinase C and calmodulin may be involved as second messengers.
8358985	Plasma concentration of human atrial natriuretic hormone in patients with connective tissu	1993 Jun	Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a peptide released from the cardiac atria, compensates blood volume expansion by its diuretic, natriuretic and vasoactive properties. We measured human plasma ANP(hANP) levels in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) and found that their values were higher than those of healthy controls. In SLE patients, hANP levels correlated with serum creatinine concentration and the patients with proteinuria showed high levels of hANP. Administration of large amount of corticosteroid as a remission induction of the patients with SLE caused high levels of hANP. In patients with PSS, %FEV1 showed strong inverse correlations between hANP levels, and the patients with an enlarged second curvature of the heart had high levels of hANP. In patients with RA, no significant correlation was found between hANP levels and clinical variables including patients' age.
1335296	Anti-Epstein-Barr virus-nuclear antigen-1, -2A and -2B antibodies in rheumatoid arthritis	1992	We have examined serum antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus Nuclear Antigen (EBNA)-1, -2A and -2B, in addition to antibodies to viral capsid antigen and early antigen in 100 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 50 of their relatives. Using indirect immunofluorescence on transfected cells and Western-blot technique, we have found increased frequency and titres of antibodies to EBNA-2B in patients and, to a lesser degree, in their family members, whereas other anti-Epstein-Barr virus antibodies appeared to be similar to controls. Cross-inhibition experiments were carried out and show that antibodies to EBNA-2A are distinct from those to -2B, and vice versa.
1494322	Ginger (Zingiber officinale) in rheumatism and musculoskeletal disorders.	1992 Dec	One of the features of inflammation is increased oxygenation of arachidonic acid which is metabolized by two enzymic pathways--the cyclooxygenase (CO) and the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO)--leading to the production of prostaglandins and leukotrienes respectively. Amongst the CO products, PGE2 and amongst the 5-LO products, LTB4 are considered important mediators of inflammation. More than 200 potential drugs ranging from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, gold salts, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, methotrexate, cyclosporine are being tested. None of the drugs has been found safe; all are known to produce from mild to serious side-effects. Ginger is described in Ayurvedic and Tibb systems of medicine to be useful in inflammation and rheumatism. In all 56 patients (28 with rheumatoid arthritis, 18 with osteoarthritis and 10 with muscular discomfort) used powdered ginger against their afflictions. Amongst the arthritis patients more than three-quarters experienced, to varying degrees, relief in pain and swelling. All the patients with muscular discomfort experienced relief in pain. None of the patients reported adverse effects during the period of ginger consumption which ranged from 3 months to 2.5 years. It is suggested that at least one of the mechanisms by which ginger shows its ameliorative effects could be related to inhibition of prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthesis, i.e. it works as a dual inhibitor of eicosanoid biosynthesis.
8039285	The use of serum ferritin estimation in the investigation of anaemia in patients with rheu	1994 Mar	We report a retrospective study of 101 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and anaemia undergoing investigation in a teaching hospital rheumatology unit. Patients with anaemia of chronic disorder had significantly higher serum ferritin (p < 0.0001), mean corpuscular volume (p < 0.05), and acute phase reactants (p < 0.001). The sensitivity, predictive value and validity of measuring serum ferritin to predict the absence of bone marrow iron stores was studied. Maximum validity (89%) was achieved by defining iron deficiency as occurring when serum ferritin was < 75 ng/ml. 93% of patients with ferritin < 50 ng/ml were iron deficient on bone marrow examination. 91% of patients with ferritin > 100 ng/ml were iron replete on bone marrow examination. 86% of patients had ferritin < 50 or > 100 ng/ml. Age was not a significant confounding factor. Serum ferritin concentration is an informative investigation in rheumatoid patients with anaemia. Correct interpretation of the results eliminates the need for bone marrow aspiration in the majority of cases.
8129764	Interleukin-2 receptor levels in the sera of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with me	1994 Jan	OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of the level of soluble serum interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) with disease activity and response to therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The sIL-2R levels of 148 patients with refractory RA were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. This parameter was correlated with other clinical observations obtained during a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of methotrexate, sponsored by the Cooperative Systematic Studies of Rheumatic Diseases consortium. Using statistical modeling, the usefulness of sIL-2R as a measure of disease activity and a predictor of outcome was evaluated. RESULTS: The mean sIL-2R level in all RA patients was markedly elevated compared with that in normal control subjects, and decreased significantly during the trial. There was no correlation of the sIL-2R level and the joint pain/tenderness count either at study entry or study end. There was a significant correlation of the sIL-2R level and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, both at study entry and study end. A multiple linear regression model showed that treatment with methotrexate, but not the sIL-2R level or the change in sIL-2R level, predicted a change in joint count. A stepwise multiple logistic regression model defined no significant predictive information for outcome for the level of sIL-2R at study entry. CONCLUSION: After controlling for the simultaneous effects of other important clinical variables, the level of sIL-2R does not appear to predict the response to methotrexate in patients with refractory RA. Further analysis of cohorts of patients with earlier RA needs to be performed.
8147135	[Rheumatoid factor activity, age at manifestation and roentgenologic progression of rheuma	1993 Nov	The outcome of RF-activity (measured by hemagglutination in the modification of Podliachouk-Harboe) was investigated in 95 patients with RA. In 52 of these patients the radiological progression (modification of Larsen index for hands and feet) in correlation to the outcome of RF was assessed. The results can be summarized in the following way: 1. Elderly RA patients show a significant elevation of RF titer. 2. There is a statistically insignificant correlation between age of RA manifestation and RF level. 3. The investigation of individual RF outcome shows that 54% of the patients have a relatively constant RF level, 15% tend to a decrease of the level of RF activity. Increased RF activity could only be demonstrated in 31% of the patients in the follow-up. 4. We more often observed a decrease of RF activity in RA cases with a disease manifestation < 30 y. We found no significant decrease in the follow-up in cases with manifestation > 60 y. 5. RA patients with a high level of RF activity (HAR > 1:512) have a significantly higher radiological progression index than cases with a low RF activity (HAR < 1:512).
8222842	Pneumonitis complicating low-dose methotrexate therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Discrepan	1993 Nov	Two very similar cases of drug-induced pneumonitis complicating treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with low-dose methotrexate are presented. Diagnosis was suggested by clinical history and findings, but the bronchoalveolar lavage showed a high percentage of neutrophils, an unusual feature in methotrexate-induced pneumonitis. Transbronchial lung biopsies (TBB) confirmed the diagnosis by showing interstitial lymphocytic infiltrate with microgranulomas. Although histologic findings are not strictly pathognomonic, when a differential diagnosis has to be made with infectious and rheumatoid lung disease, TBB appears to be of great promise.
8583066	Matched hemiresection interposition arthroplasty of the distal radioulnar joint.	1995 Nov	Since 1986 the senior author has performed a matched hemiresection with retinacular/capsular interposition for patients with painful disorders of the distal radioulnar joint. A retrospective review of 55 wrists was performed by an independent hand surgeon and hand therapist. Forty-nine of 54 wrists in the surviving patients were clinically and radiographically reviewed with an average follow-up interval of 36 months. Subjective assessment included a visual analog rating of pain improvement and satisfaction with treatment. Objective assessment included examination of range of motion, strength, stability, and standardized functional testing with the Jebsen and Minnesota Rate of Manipulation tests. Thirty-five patients reported pain improvement and 41 patients were satisfied. The range of supination and pronation increased from 54 degrees and 67 degrees, respectively, to 72 degrees and 72 degrees. Functional ability as measured by the Jebsen test was similar to the contralateral wrist. Patients had most difficulty turning large objects. The clinical, objective, functional, and x-ray films results correlated poorly with pain improvement and patient satisfaction. Complications included one infection, one reflex sympathetic dystrophy, one neuroma of the dorsal sensory branch of the ulnar nerve, and four cases of ulnar-carpal impaction. Pain relief was the primary determinant of patient satisfaction and should be considered the indication for surgery.
1550401	Contribution of inherited factors to rheumatoid arthritis.	1992 Feb	A total of 231 sibships of the same sex (186 female, 45 male), in which the proband had classical or definite rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been selected from rheumatology clinics. Each sibship member was questioned about symptomatic joints, which were then examined. Hospital records, radiographs, and rheumatoid factor measurements allowed each sibling to be classified as having classical, definite, probable, or no RA. Each sibling was typed for HLA-A and B and was classified as sharing two, one, or zero HLA haplotypes with the proband. Concordance rates for classical and definite RA were three times greater in sibships of women than of men (9.3 v 3.0%). Concordance rates in HLA identical sibships were twice those in hemi- and non-identical sibships (15.5, 7.1, and 5.2%, respectively). Probable RA was more common in male and HLA hemi- and non-identical sibships. These results suggest that female sex and the two inherited HLA haplotypes are important for the presence and expression of RA. Although environmental factors may be shared more in twins than siblings, a concordance rate of 20.5% in seropositive HLA identical sibships of the same sex compared with 30% in monozygotic twins suggests that sex and HLA type account for about two thirds of the inherited risk of RA.
8596142	Prevalence of antikeratin antibodies in Greek patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A clinic	1995 Nov	OBJECTIVE: The presence of antikeratin antibodies (AKA) has been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients from north and central Europe. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of AKA in Greek patients with RA. METHODS: One hundred and twenty two sera of Greek patients with RA were tested for the presence of AKA by an indirect immunofluorescence technique, and HLA-DR typing was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism. RESULTS: Nineteen of 122 (16%) Greek patients with RA were positive for AKA. The percentage of AKA in Greek patients with RA is lower than described previously. These antibodies correlated with a male preponderance (p < 0.01) and were associated with the presence of rheumatoid factor (RF) (p < 0.05) and with HLA-DR1 antigen (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that AKA are present frequently in Greek patients with RA. Their presence was found to be associated with RF and HLA-DR1 antigen. This emphasizes the different clinical expression of RA in Greece.
8077821	Radiological evaluation of the long-term effects of resection of the distal ulna in rheuma	1994 Jun	28 patients have been studied after distal ulnar resection on one side. The operated hand has been compared with the hand on which no operation has been performed, using X-rays which had been taken pre-operatively and 4 to 8 years post-operatively. Only patients with no difference or a difference of only one degree between the two wrists, according to the Larsen classification, were admitted to the investigation. The mean ulnar translation was 5.3 mm in the operated wrists, compared to 3.7 mm in unoperated wrists. Radialization of the ulna following distal ulnar resection amounted to about 12 mm. Wrist dislocation is more due to the rheumatoid process itself than to the distal ulnar resection.
8448615	Rheumatoid arthritis patients coping without drug therapy.	1993 Mar	In view of the variable and unpredictable efficacy and toxicity of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, it is not surprising that some patients with rheumatoid arthritis elect to cope without recourse to these medications. We describe four of these patients, consider the lessons to be learnt, and identify further research that needs to be done on this aspect of illness behaviour.
8700357	[Various personality traits of patients with psoriatic arthropathy].	1996 Jun	It is well known that patients affected by rheumatic diseases may present specific pathological trends in personality structure, as has been extensively reported in literature. Our study was aimed at investigating several aspects of the personality traits of 20 patients with psoriatic arthropathy, compared with a group of 20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. All patients were evaluated with appropriate rating scales assigned in auto and hetero-administration. The study results points to a personality trait disturbance in psoriatic arthritis patients, which can be clearly differentiated from the anxious habitus and/or reactive-depressive state observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
1641362	[Hormonal and hemodynamic changes caused by whole body cooling in patients with rheumatoid	1992 Jan	A limited number of experiments have shown that treatment of rheumatoid arthritis by means of cooling the entire body in cryogenic chamber reduces the pain in joints affected by inflammatory process and increases their mobility. The aim of the present thesis was to try explain the mechanisms responsible for the observed improvement of the patients' condition, and an investigation of the treatment's effect on selected hemodynamic indices. Tests were carried out on 63 patients with rheumatoid arthritis mainly in the 3rd and 4th stage of illness, all of whom had been treated for 14 days, once daily, by cooling the body for two-minute periods in cryogenic chamber with temperatures ranging from -110 degrees C to -160 degrees C, followed by kinesitherapy. It was demonstrated that after a single session in the cryogenic chamber, after 7 and 14 days the level of ACTH, cortisol and beta-endorphins in blood serum rises. The level of TSH, T4, T3, GH and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha+, however, remains unchanged. The cryogenic chamber treatment does not affect the heart rate, arterial blood pressure nor the value of the left ventricle fractional shortening index and its ejection, neither does it cause of arrhythmias and ischemic changes of the heart.
8970035	Increased population of high fluorescence 1F7 (CD26) antigen on T cells in synovial fluid	1996 Dec	OBJECTIVE: To investigate the activation of T cells in peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The expression of CD26 (Ta1 and 1F7) antigen on T cells was analyzed in 7 women with RA and 7 healthy control subjects by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: The percentage of CD3+ CD26+ cells was significantly higher in PB of patients with RA compared with healthy subjects. The IF7+ cell population was divided into high (1F7+high cells) and low fluorescence populations (1F7+low cells), based on 1F7 antigen density. The percentage of 1F7+high cells in SF of RA was markedly increased compared with PB of patients and healthy subjects. However, RA SF contained lower percentages of whole 1F7+ cells compared with PB. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that SF of patients with RA contains activated T cells, and suggest that T cells with high levels of CD26 antigen may preferentially migrate into the rheumatoid synovium to induce inflammation and tissue destruction.
1613519	Cementless total knee arthroplasty in unselected cases of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid ar	1992 Jun	The authors reviewed 103 cementless AGC 2000 total knee arthroplasties in unselected cases of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis with a follow-up period of 3 years. Excellent or good clinical results were obtained in 96%. The median maximal flexion was 110 degrees. Two aseptic loosenings of the tibial components had been revised prior to this evaluation. Two other patients showed radiographic signs of tibial loosening but were asymptomatic. Undersizing of the tibial component predisposes to subsidence and loosening. One had septic tibial loosening planned for revision. Four had nonprogressive lucent lines beneath the tibial tray but were asymptomatic. No patellar or femoral component loosening was revealed. Undercorrection of preoperative varus deformity did not dispose to tibial loosening or radiolucency, nor influence the clinical result. In terms of survival of the prosthesis the cumulative success rate was 97.1%. When pain and radiographic loosening was also considered, the success rate was 90.7%. These results encourage uncemented use of this prosthesis, but emphasize the importance of good primary prosthetic fit at the tibial side.
8501755	Sequences of HLA alleles associated with arthritis in adults and children.	1993 Apr	Adult rheumatoid factor (RF) positive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and RF positive arthritis of childhood are associated with DRB10401 in Caucasians, and DRB10405 in Orientals, and in Ashkenazi and nonAshkenazi Jews. Certain other DRB1 alleles (DRB1*0101,1001) which have a similar sequence in the 3rd hypervariable region of the 1st domain are also associated with RA, but they appear to function as weaker risk factors. The difference in the relative strength of the associations is likely to be due to structural differences in the 1st and 2nd variable regions of the first domain of these alleles. Similarities and differences in the HLA associations between North American Caucasoid patients with juvenile arthritis in Dallas, TX, USA, and in Prague, Czechoslovakia, are discussed.
9064299	[Arthrogenic ear canal tumor].	1996 Nov	We report our findings in two female patients (aged 56 and 64 years) who complained about slight hearing loss that varied during jaw movements. In both cases a polypoid tumor of the external auditory meatus was found that almost completely disappeared with mouth opening. CT showed a bony defect of the anterior wall of the external auditory canal in both patients. Biopsies from the tumor-like lesions were done, revealing a chronic inflammatory hyperplasia of the connective tissue in one case and a rheumatic granuloma in the other. Review of medical histories showed that the first patient suffered from a recurrent neurodermatitis and the second had experienced a chronic polyarthritis for many years. From these findings and on the basis of a literature review, we conclude that these pseudotumors represent a chronic inflammatory hyperplasia of the periarticular tissue which herniated through a persistent "foramen of Huschke." This foramen is formed during embryological development of the two tympanic tubercles, but normally closes before the age of 5 years. However, in a few rare cases is may persist to allow herniation of synovial tissue.