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ID PMID Title PublicationDate abstract
20347241 [Renal leiomyosarcoma, rheumatoid arthritis and methotrexate]. 2010 Jun Leiomyosarcoma of the renal vein is a rare and malignant tumor difficult to diagnose. No standard treatment has been defined and prognosis is poor. We described the case of a 68-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis treated by methotrexate who developed a leiomyosarcoma of the left renal vein with a fatal outcome in less than 1 year. Association of a leiomyosarcoma and rheumatoid arthritis raises the question of a casual association or of a predisposing factor since studies have shown increased risk of cancer with this rheumatism.
19804614 Use of methotrexate therapy is not associated with decreased prevalence of metabolic syndr 2009
19846407 Repair of erosions occurs almost exclusively in damaged joints without swelling. 2010 May BACKGROUND: Negative radiographic change scores obtained under blinded time-sequence conditions suggest that repair of joints may indeed occur. It is likely that, if repair truly exists, it would be preferentially seen in clinically inactive joints from patients treated with drugs with well-known structural efficacy. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether repair is associated with both the absence or improvement of swelling and with treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Radiographs from patients of the TEMPO trial were scored twice by two readers according to the Sharp-van der Heijde score, blinded to both treatment and true time sequence. Single-joint change scores in erosions were coupled with single-joint swelling scores obtained from clinical examination. Consistency of observed improvement across readers and repeat reads was described, and factors expected to increase the likelihood of occurrence of both worsening and improvement of erosion were tested by generalised estimating equations (GEE) modelling. RESULTS: In all of the four independent reads, the mean change in erosion score was statistically significantly negative only in the subgroup of joints with absent or improved swelling, when erosions were present at baseline. Multivariate analysis showed that worsening of the erosion score in a joint was significantly increased if that joint was already damaged at study entry, clinical swelling persisted and methotrexate was used instead of etanercept. Repair was associated with improvement of swelling and use of etanercept (p
20554241 Elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis. 2010 Jul The treatment of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis pursues the same objectives as in younger patients: to control the clinical manifestations, to prevent structural damage, to preserve function, and to decrease excess mortality. In the elderly, the presence of co-morbidities and increased rate of drug-related adverse effects raise specific therapeutic challenges. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are associated with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and renal adverse events. The role for corticosteroid therapy remains controversial. Although glucocorticoids provide a short-term decrease in clinical activity and probably a medium-term decrease in structural damage, these benefits are offset by numerous adverse effects. Methotrexate was effective in clinical trials and observational studies and did not produce a higher adverse event rate compared to younger patients, provided renal function was normal. Data on the efficacy of TNFalpha antagonists in therapeutic trials are available only for etanercept. Disease activity decreased and function improved. The adverse event rate was higher in older patients, but this was also true of the conventional drugs used as comparators. Registry data confirm that TNFalpha antagonist therapy is effective in RA. An increased rate of infections was found only in some registries. To combat the 2-fold cardiovascular risk increase associated with RA, disease activity should be stringently controlled and all cardiovascular risk factors managed aggressively.
20954369 [A case of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage occurring during the course of rheumatoid arthritis 2010 Sep A 70-year-old woman, who underwent treatment with prednisolone and methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis, was admitted to our hospital due to rapidly progressive dyspnea. A chest CT scan showed diffuse ground-glass opacities and reticulonodular shadows in both lungs. Intubation was performed due to severe hypoxia. The color of the bronchoalveolar lavage, using three sequential aliquots, became progressively more reddish, suggesting alveolar hemorrhage. Based on this, we made a diagnosis of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. To the best of our knowledge, few studies have reported cases of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage associated with rheumatoid arthritis as an underlying disease. We consider that diffuse alveolar hemorrhage may occur as a complication of rheumatoid arthritis.
19247592 [Early arthritis: action desired - treatment required]. 2009 Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is the most prevalent inflammatory joint disease in adults and shows a destructive course in most cases. The outcome of the disease - functional decline and invalidity - necessitates an early therapy. Recent studies demonstrate that the initiation of the treatment with a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment within the first three months after the onset of symptoms is crucial for sustained improvement of prognosis as well as therapeutic success and outcome. In the early stage of the disease, the criteria for the classification of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are frequently not met. Up to over 50% of the patients show an arthritis, which cannot be classified and therefore is seen as undifferentiated arthritis (UA). Early therapeutic intervention appears to prevent the chronification of the disease; thus an early and appropriate disease modifying therapy is mandatory. Age, gender, involvement of the hands, positive rheumatoid factor, as well as the detection of anti cyclic-citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP Ab) are predictors of the development of RA. Beside conventional X-rays, there are other imaging methods such as magnetic resonance tomography imaging, Power-Doppler or contrast medium enhanced sonography, which may enable the detection not only of synovitis but also of erosive lesions at very early stages. Those patients suffering from UA carry a high risk for the development of a destructive arthritis as seen in RA, and therefore should be treated with an adequate DMARD. In these cases methotrexate is still the drug of first choice.
19483089 Can rheumatoid arthritis responsiveness to methotrexate and biologics be predicted? 2009 Sep This review briefly recapitulates the existing markers predictive of RA responsiveness to treatment, focusing on MTX alone or combined with a biologic. In addition to the demographic and clinical factors, an update is provided of the predictive biomarkers identified by large-scale gene and protein analyses that generated new insights into the ability of high-throughput analysis of biological systems to select new potential indicators. Among the large-scale analysis tools now available, pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics (including transcriptomic and proteomic approaches) have been shown to provide such new putative biomarkers of therapeutic responses.
19266254 A case of lung tuberculosis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab 2009 We report a case of a 65-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis. The patient was treated with methotrexate and prednisolone, but the disease activity remained high. A tuberculin skin test was positive. After antituberculosis (TB) chemoprophylaxis with isoniazid for four weeks, infliximab was administered. Chemoprophylaxis was continued for nine months. Active lung TB was diagnosed at 17 months after the cessation of isoniazid, namely at 27 months after starting infliximab treatment. This case report shows that TB can manifest after chemoprophylaxis in patients treated with antitumor necrosis factor agents.
20657010 Performance on rheumatoid arthritis quality indicators in an Alaska Native healthcare syst 2010 Oct OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is highly prevalent in some Alaska Native and American Indian populations. Quality indicators for RA have been proposed, but these have not been widely implemented or used to assess RA care in Alaska Native or American Indian populations. METHODS: Medical records were included if they met the following criteria: RA diagnosed before October 2000 fulfilling American College of Rheumatology classification criteria; all care for RA at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Records were reviewed for a 5-year period to determine compliance with eight quality indicators defined by the Arthritis Foundation Quality Indicator Program. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyse associations with quality of care. RESULTS: There were 106 individuals included in the study. The highest-scoring measures were folic acid prescription if on methotrexate (93.3%) and disease-modifying antirheumatic drug prescription (90.6%). The lowest scoring measure was radiographs of both hands and feet (16.0%). In multivariate analysis, the factor most strongly associated with disease-modifying antirheumatic drug prescriptions, annual exam for RA and hand radiographs was at least one visit with a rheumatologist. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of care for RA varies by measure and is better for patients who see a rheumatologist. These data provide an initial evaluation of RA quality of care in a unique minority population with an integrated healthcare system.
20429264 The effects of combined therapy of rheumatoid arthritis on the acute phase reactants. 2009 The paper presents the results of studies of acute phase reactants in the 60 treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients were divided into two groups, depending on the applied treatment: group I (n = 30) was treated with methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine, and group II (n = 30) with methotrexate. The results of our study shows that there is a statistically significant reduction in the value of acute phase reactants and clinical parameters after treatment in both investigated groups of patients, and also a significant statistical difference between the first and second group of treated patients.
21044426 Clinical trials to establish methotrexate as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. 2010 Sep The development of methotrexate (MTX) as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) evolved initially from positive case reports, uncontrolled case series and then several decades later placebo controlled studies followed by active comparator studies. These studies established MTX as a major therapy for RA. The importance of MTX in the treatment paradigm has only been enhanced over the past decade by the increased efficacy observed when small molecules and biologics are added to MTX. Since the first randomised studies were performed in the 1980s, MTX has now become the most well-studied disease modifying therapy to date and the most popular drug worldwide in the treatment of RA. This chapter will review the history of the development of MTX in RA.
20177384 Patient-tailored therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: an editorial review. 2010 May PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The list of therapeutic targets for the treatment of rheumatic diseases constantly grows. As a consequence, a growing number of agents that are specifically directed against these targets become clinically available. However, the more diverse (and expensive) the armamentarium, the more its use should be guided by informed decisions for an optimal treatment. Such personalized, patient-tailored therapy is still not a reality in rheumatology practice. However, several important steps have recently been made towards achievement of this important goal. RECENT FINDINGS: On the basis of the multifactorial nature of the pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases, the quest for single biomarkers that predict treatment response has proven difficult. Instead, biomarker signatures derived from genetic and proteomic expression studies using various biomaterials are being identified and demonstrate predictive value. Research focus has so far been placed on treatment responses to methotrexate and tumor necrosis factor antagonists, but interesting findings are already available for other agents as well. SUMMARY: Although still in their infancy in rheumatology, personalized treatment approaches offer the potential for improved safety and efficacy for the patient and ultimately have promises to reduce societal costs.
19597731 Gynecomastia associated with low-dose methotrexate therapy for rheumatoid arthritis amelio 2010 Aug A 62-year-old male with a 10-year history of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) developed gynecomastia 8 months after beginning oral low-dose methotrexate (MTX) therapy. Two months after folate supplementation, the gynecomastia symptoms improved. Gynecomastia associated with low-dose MTX is a rare occurrence, with only nine cases previously reported in the literature. This is the first report showing folate supplementation to be effective against gynecomastia following low-dose MTX. Although it occurs infrequently, gynecomastia associated with low-dose MTX therapy should be considered in male patients with RA.
21132550 The clinical significance of HRCT in evaluation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis-asso 2012 Mar The objective of this study is to describe the interstitial lung disease (ILD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of China, and to study clinical significance of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in evaluation and treatment. One hundred and ten Chinese patients (79 women and 31 man) diagnosed with RA between December 2008 to November 2009 were analyzed. According to the HRCT, 47 (42.73%) RA patients were diagnosed as ILD. Old age, smoking and pulmonary rales were closely related to ILD (P < 0.05). The main appearances of ILD were ground-glass (39.09%), honeycombing (4.55%), reticular patterns and consolidation (1.82%). Patients with reticular patterns and honeycombing were more likely to show the respiratory symptoms. It was also common to find other abnormal changes, such as fiber cord shadow (22.73%), lung markings fuzzy disorder (30%), pulmonary nodules (11.82%), emphysema (9.09%), bronchiectasis (3.64%), subpleural nodules (11.82%) and pleural thickening (24.55%). In treatment, honeycombing and subpleural nodules were more common in patients with methotrexate (MTX) and/or leflunomide treatment than without (P < 0.05). Other abnormal changes were no statistical significance (P > 0.05). Pulmonary involvement is common in RA patients, and it is suggested that HRCT could be a sensitive and useful way in evaluating the lung of RA patients.
19606939 Therapeutic options for rheumatoid arthritis. 2009 Sep BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder primarily targeting the synovium. Unchecked disease activity is associated with significant morbidity and an increased mortality. Recent advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of RA and the capability of biologically engineered treatments for RA have expanded the armamentarium of antirheumatic agents. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted through PubMed. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: At present, a common strategy for the treatment of RA uses methotrexate either as monotherapy or in combination with a variety of conventional and/or biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), with the goal of inducing remission of active disease. The choice of which agent(s) to use is based upon patient-specific criteria (activity of disease, comorbidities, patient preferences, costs etc.). Emerging therapies that target specific cytokines and growth factors in the inflammatory cascade of RA offer a potent new means of modifying disease activity, but many questions regarding their use remain unanswered.
20349068 Development of interstitial pneumonia in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis induced by is 2012 May Here, we report a 56-year-old patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had been treated with methotrexate and sulfuasalazine, but the disease activity remained high. Therefore, we planned TNF-blocker treatment for this patient. A tuberculin skin test was positive, we started anti-tuberculosis (TB) chemoprophylaxis with isoniazid (INH). However, liver dysfunction was appeared after 2 weeks from the start of INH. Therefore, we discontinued INH transiently and tried the desensitization of INH. However, interstitial pneumonia was developed 2 weeks after the re-start of INH, we decided to stop the INH prophylaxis. Interstitial pneumonia was improved by corticosteroid treatments. This case report shows that INH-induced IP can be occurred during the course of anti-TB chemoprophylaxis in patients with RA.
20603592 [Measurement of inflammatory cytokines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis]. 2010 Jun BACKGROUND: Inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin (IL)-6 play an important role in pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated the possibility whether TNFalpha and IL-6 could be used as an objective marker reflecting treatment response in RA. METHODS: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) together with TNFalpha and IL-6 were measured in 159 specimens obtained from 95 RA patients. RA patients were divided into pre-treatment, methotrexate (MTX) and non-MTX groups by treatment regimen and into inactive and active groups by disease activity. The agreement between changes in marker levels and treatment response, and the correlation between each marker were analyzed. RESULTS: IL-6 was higher in active than in inactive group of patients in all three different treatment subgroups, but TNFalpha was not different between the two groups. IL-6 showed a better agreement with treatment response (MTX group, K=0.58; non-MTX group, K=0.21) than ESR or CRP, whereas TNFalpha did not show an agreement with treatment response. IL-6 was correlated with both ESR (r=0.22) and CRP (r=0.54), but TNFalpha was correlated only with ESR (r=0.21). CONCLUSIONS: Unlike TNFalpha, IL-6 reflects disease activity of RA and shows a better agreement with treatment response than ESR or CRP, indicating that it has an association with clinical features of RA. Therefore IL-6 could be used as an additional marker in the evaluation of treatment response when markers like ESR or CRP show results discordant from clinical features.
19404938 Rheumatoid arthritis joint progression in sustained remission is determined by disease act 2009 May OBJECTIVE: Joint damage is related to disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the degree of its progression and the temporal associations between disease activity and joint damage are unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a latency in the effect of disease activity on radiographic progression in patients with RA. METHODS: Data were obtained from the PREMIER trial, a 2-year randomized, controlled clinical trial of adalimumab plus methotrexate versus methotrexate alone or adalimumab alone in early RA. Radiographic progression of joint damage was calculated using the modified total Sharp score in a subset of patients whose disease was in remission (Simplified Disease Activity Index
20012868 Functional capacity in rheumatoid arthritis patients: comparison between Spanish and Brazi 2011 Feb The main objective of this study is to compare Spanish and Brazilian self-reported health-related functional capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 197 patients diagnosed with RA were studied in Spain (n = 127) and Brazil (n = 70). Pain (Visual analog scale) and functional capacity (Health Assessment Questionnaire/HAQ) were assessed. Patients were questioned about regular exercise practice. Comparisons between groups were performed with Chi-square tests and Student t test. Pearson's correlation coefficient and linear regression models were used to analyze the associations. Brazilian patients were younger (p = 0.013), had worse levels of pain (p = 0.001) and a trend to experience worse functional capacity (p = 0.057) than Spanish ones. Spanish RA patients had higher body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.019) and longer disease duration (p = 0.001). Also, a higher percentage of subjects with RA from the Spanish cohort had been elected to take early retirement when compared with Brazilian patients (p = 0.010). Spanish RA patients had received more drugs than Brazilians (oral corticosteroids p = 0.010, Leflunomide p = 0.023, Methotrexate p = 0.072, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs p = 0.064, biologic therapies p = 0.001). The functional capacity (HAQ) was correlated with age (p = 0.001), disease duration (p = 0.001), age at diagnosis (p = 0.001), pain (p = 0.001) and BMI (p = 0.001) in Spanish patients. In Brazilian, these correlations were only found with disease duration (p = 0.004) and pain (p = 0.001). In conclusion, our data suggest a better management of RA in Spanish when compared with Brazilians. Even with less pain and functional capacity, they receive more drug treatment and a higher percentage of them are retired early.
19360433 Subjective audiological tests and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in patients with 2009 Nov We investigated hearing functions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using audiological tests and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). The study group consisted of 20 adult patients with RA (7 males, 13 females); 20 adult healthy subjects without RA (7 males, 13 females) were recruited as controls. All patients were evaluated by pure tone audiometry, high frequency audiometry, tympanometry and TEOAEs. There were no statistical differences between the study and control groups with respect to the pure tone and high frequency audiometries. TEOAE results of 1.0-2.0 kHz % and of 1.5 and 3.0 kHz amplitude values were significantly lower, and ipsilateral stapes reflex threshold value at 1.0 kHz was significantly higher in the study group when compared to respective values in the control group. In elderly patients and those with longer disease duration, RA nodules and higher methotrexate cumulative doses, hearing thresholds increased and TEOAE values decreased. In active stage of the disease, hearing thresholds diminished and in higher Brinkman Index values, TEOAE values decreased. Compliance values decreased in patients with higher Ritchie Articular Index, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and platelet counts, and longer disease duration. Sensorineural hearing loss is generally observed in patients with RA, and this condition may be detected by TEOAEs in an early period of the disease. Inflammation during the active stage of the disease and the subsequent fibrosis may cause conductive hearing loss of varying degrees. In those patients detected as having initiation of TEOAE decrease, vasodilator treatment and antioxidant drugs may be useful in protecting the inner ear.