Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 10, Issue 1, 2014

Improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to autoimmunity have resulted in advances toward the diagnosis, management, and treatment of rheumatologic diseases. Many of these mechanisms overlap with inflammatory disease states and cancer, where nanoscience is increasingly being applied for pharmacologic and diagnostic purposes [1-6]. Additionally, nanoscience has furthered the study of cellular Read More

A variety of imaging modalities assists in the diagnosis and assessment of rheumatoid arthritis and of other rheumatic disorders; however, the definitive diagnosis of inflammatory arthritides can be challenging, especially in the early stages of disease. Consequently, there is significant research underway in expanding imaging sensitivity and specificity to aid in diagnostics of early stage inflammation and management of Read More

Nanotechnology, or the use of technology at the submicron scale, and its application to medicine (nanomedicine) draws from many ideas and technological advancements across myriad fields of materials technology and has improved biomedical understanding. Nanotechnology puts current materials science on the same physical scale as classic immune mediating substances, including viruses, moieties found on prok Read More

Nanoparticles (NPs) provide several advantages over the small molecule drugs including prolonged circulation time and enhanced delivery to targeted sites. Once a NP enters the body, it interacts with host’s immune system and is engulfed by cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). The interaction between NPs and the immune cells can result in immunosuppression or immunostimulation, which may enhance Read More

The diagnosis of Fixed Sagittal Imbalance (FSI), previously known as Flat Back Syndrome, requires the measurement of spinal curvatures on a lateral radiograph in the standing position (C7-S1). It can be difficult to position a spastic patient, sometimes repeated exposure are required, at separate thoracic and lumbar levels, increasing the radiation dosage. CT Scanography is suggested as an alternative radiological diagno Read More

For many years observational studies and clinical trials on systemic sclerosis (SSc) have been carried out only on patients who met the 1980 American College of Rheumatology-ACR preliminary classification criteria. However, this lead to the exclusion from all those studies of subset patients, particularly those with a limited cutaneous SSc-sine scleroderma subset, because, despite a diagnosis of SSc based on Raynau Read More

The objective of this umbrella systematic review was to identify, evaluate, and synthesize systematic reviews of physical activity interventions for adults with fibromyalgia (FM) focussing on four outcomes: pain, multidimensional function (wellness or quality of life), physical function (self-reported physical function or measured physical fitness) and adverse effects. A further objective was to link these outcomes with details Read More