1,721,008 research outputs found
Could myeloperoxidase represent a useful biomarker for erosive osteoarthritis of the hand?
No full textNot Applicable: it is a lette
Epidemiology of Behçet Syndrome
No full textBehçet disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disease typically characterized by oral and genital ulcers and variable manifestations affecting other organs, mainly skin and eye. Published epidemiologic studies on BD are difficult to compare because of different study designs, settings, methods and the lack of universally accepted classification criteria: 16 different sets of classification/diagnosis criteria have been published so far; in the beginning of the chapter we compare different criteria subsets with estimates of sensitivity and specificity. After that, we review epidemiologic clinical studies (registries, hospital records, district databases): consistent data point to higher incidence and prevalence rates of BD along the ancient Silk Road (stretching from the Middle Est to the Far East and Mediterranean Countries) compared to a lower prevalence in Northern European Countries and United States genetic and environmental factors have been evaluated as well as age of onset, male-to-female ratio and systems involvement
Pulmonary artery involvement in Takayasu arteritis. PET/CT versus CT angiography
No full textTo report a patient with Takayasu arteritis in whom 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computerised tomography (CT) failed to demonstrate pulmonary artery involvement
Clinical and radiographic distribution of structural damage in erosive and non erosive hand osteoarthritis.
No full textAbstract
OBJECTIVE:
To characterize the clinical and radiographic joint phenotype in erosive hand osteoarthritis (EHOA) and non-EHOA.
METHODS:
A total of 446 patients with HOA (233 with EHOA and 213 with non-EHOA) were evaluated. Demographic (sex and age at disease onset), clinical (body mass index and distribution of nodes), and radiographic features (Kellgren/Lawrence and Kallman's scores obtained from radiographs of both hands) from all patients were recorded.
RESULTS:
Patients with EHOA had a significantly earlier disease onset. Clinical and radiographic distribution of structural damage in the distal interphalangeal (DIP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and first carpometacarpal joints was similar in EHOA and non-EHOA. EHOA patients showed higher percentages of nodes and more severe radiographic scores; the more severe radiographic score of joints with nodes was due to both osteophytes and joint space narrowing (JSN). A direct correlation between osteophytes and JSN scores was observed. Central erosions (CE) were more prevalent in the DIP joints than in the PIP joints. Gull-wing pattern of CE was prevalent in the DIP joints, whereas saw-tooth pattern was prevalent in the PIP joints. Marginal erosions (ME) were present in 100% of EHOA patients and in 80% of non-EHOA patients. An ordinal correlation between the presence of ME and osteophyte score was found.
CONCLUSION:
We found quantitative, but not topographic, differences in structural damage between EHOA and non-EHOA. Heberden's nodes, severe radiologic scores, and CE were concentrated in the second, third, and fifth DIP joints of both hands. ME were also present in the majority of non-EHOA patients
Nightmare disorder and REM sleep behavior disorder in inflammatory arthritis: Possibility beyond neurodegeneration.
Full text linkOBJECTIVES:To investigate the prevalence of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) to ascertain if RBD could be an internal red flag signaling a fluctuating state of inflammation based on the theory of "protoconsciousness".
MATERIALS & METHODS:One hundred and three patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IA were consecutively recruited. The patients underwent general (IA activity, functional status, laboratory tests) and neurological evaluations. A neurologist investigated RBD and REM sleep parasomnias in a semi-structured interview. Sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, while the risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) was evaluated with the Berlin questionnaire. Beck Depression Inventory II and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory investigated depression and anxiety.
RESULTS:Patients had a mean age of 53.7 ± 14.6 years, 65% were women; 57.3% were in a clinically active phase of IA. Two women fulfilled ICSD-3 criteria for RBD appearing 11 years after and 20 years before IA onset respectively. 31 patients scored positive for nightmare disorder (ND), 8 for recurrent isolated sleep paralysis. 65 (63.1%) patients reported poor sleep quality and 25 (24.3%) resulted at high risk for OSAS. 32 (31.0%) patients scored positively for depression or anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of RBD in patients with IA did not differ from that in the general population, whereas ND presented a 2-fold increased prevalence. Whether RBD can be considered a red flag signaling an internal danger remains an open question, while ND may be a new player in this intriguing relation
Complement Expression and Activation in Osteoarthritis Joint Compartments
Full text linkObjective: To investigate complement(C) factors(F) and their activation fragments expression in OA joint tissues. Design: Immunohistochemistry and quantitative imaging were performed to analyze C3, C4, and CF (factor) B expression on osteochondral biopsies (43 patients) collected during arthroplasty. Isolated chondrocytes and synoviocytes, cartilage and synovial tissues obtained from surgical specimens of OA patients (15 patients) were cultured with or without IL-1β. Real time PCR for CFB, C3, and C4 was performed. Culture supernatants were analyzed for C3a, C5a, CFBa, and terminal complement complex (TCC) production. Results: In osteochondral biopsies, C factor expression was located in bone marrow, in a few subchondral bone cells and chondrocytes. C3 was the most expressed while factor C4 was the least expressed factor. Gene expression showed that all C factors analyzed were expressed both in chondrocytes and synoviocytes. In chondrocyte cultures and cartilage explants, CFB expression was significantly higher than C3 and C4. Furthermore, CFB, but not C3 and C4 expression was significantly induced by IL-1β. As to C activation factors, C3a was the most produced and CFBa was induced by IL-1β in synovial tissue. TCC production was undetectable in isolated chondrocytes and synoviocytes cell culture supernatants, whereas it was significantly augmented in cartilage explants. Conclusion: C factors were locally produced and activated in OA joint with the contribution of all tissues (cartilage, bone, and synovium). Our results support the involvement of innate immunity in OA and suggest an association between some C alternative pathway component and joint inflammation
Ultrasound detected inflammation is associated with the development of new bone erosions in hand osteoarthritis: a longitudinal study over 3.9 years
No full textSummaryObjectiveTo evaluate the association between ultrasound (US) detected inflammation at baseline and the subsequent development of new bone erosions at follow-up in patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA).Method32 of the 35 (10 controls, 12 patients with non erosive HOA (non-EHOA), 13 with EHOA subjects originally studied were re-evaluated 3.9 years after the initial study, by means of standard radiography and US examination. Kellgren–Lawrence (K-L) and Kallman scores were utilized to evaluate 576 interphalangeal (IP) joints. US detected synovial inflammation features were scored as present/absent. US detected bone erosions were also investigated. The association between synovial inflammation features at baseline and the development of new bone erosions was evaluated using the generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) after adjustment for patient effect, age, gender, body mass index.ResultsIn HOA patients, radiographic scores worsened and bone erosions progressed. In HOA patients similar percentages of joints with Power Doppler Signal (PDS) and gray scale (GS) synovitis were found comparing baseline and follow-up examinations, whilst a significant increase was found in the joints with effusions. Only a minority of joints were positive on both occasions (between 2 and 6 %), the majority fluctuated between positive and negative and vice versa. PDS positivity was associated with new radiographic central erosions and US-detected bone erosions, whereas GS synovitis and effusion were not.ConclusionsRadiographic scores and bone erosions increased over a period of about 4 years. Synovial inflammation as detected by PDS was associated with the appearance of new bone erosions
Clinical associations in patients with hand osteoarthritis
No full textOBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical associations of hand osteoarthritis (HOA) and their relationships with radiographic features.
METHODS: A total of 446 patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA; 233 with erosive HOA (EHOA) and 213 with non-EHOA) and 307 controls were evaluated. Demographic and clinical data from patients and controls were recorded based on medical records/clinical reports and an anamnesis of drug consumption. Posteroanterior radiographs of both hands were obtained from all HOA patients and were assessed using the Kellgren and Lawrence (K&L) and Kallman scoring systems.
RESULTS: After adjustment for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI), HOA patients showed a significantly increased odds ratio (OR) for hypercholesterolaemia [OR 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39-3.16, p < 0.0005] and autoimmune thyroiditis (OR 4.85, 95% CI 1.77-13.29, p = 0.002), as well as for knee (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.09-2.44, p = 0.018) and hip OA (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.07-3.27, p = 0.029). No significant increase for systemic hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus was found. Patients with EHOA and non-EHOA showed similar risks for the above-mentioned co-morbidities. A similar occurrence of clinical associations was also observed in patients with HOA alone and in those with generalized OA. No association between radiographic scores and clinical associations was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with HOA present a direct association with hypercholesterolaemia (and autoimmune thyroiditis) but do not show increased ischaemic cardiovascular manifestations compared to controls. No significant association between radiographic scores and co-morbidities was found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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