Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 11, Issue 1, 2015

Objectives: Patient experience is not routinely measured in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and no accepted standardised Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREM) tools currently exist. Commissioning for Quality in Rheumatoid Arthritis (CQRA) has developed, piloted and validated PREMs for RA and other rheumatic conditions. Methods: Focus groups were held with RA patients to identify key elements of the patient experience. T Read More

Background: Current studies and research support the role of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, few studies have focused on its impact on knee OA parameters. The aim of this study was to investigate if metabolic syndrome or its individual components affect the intensity of pain, functional disability, and radiographic severity in knee osteoarthritis women. Materials and Methods: We conducted Read More

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a characterized by generalized pain with widespread tender points in specific areas and is frequently accompanied by fatigue, stiffness, and a non-restorative sleep pattern. In the current retrospective study, we identified a subgroup of FM patients who had clinically important markers of inflammation. The study also explored the use of the original American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria in t Read More

Objective: To assess the relationship between disease activity, measured by DAS28, and radiographic progression, using X-Ray and US as tools to evaluate structural joint damage and residual inflammation, in early RA patients. Methods: Changes from baseline to week 52 in clinical variables and measures of radiographic progression were compared between early RA patients who received anti-TNF biologic therapy (192 patie Read More

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that tends to be progressive and chronic. Previous studies showed that oxidative stress has a main role in pathology of RA. The aim of this study was the easy elucidation of oxidative stress through pro-oxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) in these patients. Method: The sera of 130 RA patients and 130 age-matched healthy subjects (HS) were collected and the PAB wa Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis is the commonest inflammatory arthropathy, and affects synovium, cartilage and bone. Despite recent improvements with disease modifying biological agents, progressive joint destruction may continue eventually leading to the need for joint arthroplasty. The knee joint is involved in 90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and total knee arthroplasty is being performed in many patients to alleviate pain Read More

Thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis is the most common site of non-rheumatic degenerative lesion in the hand, and there are special features in rheumatic patients. None of various surgical treatment options can be declared as "gold standard" recently. The surgical treatment depends on patient's age, patient's claims in work and leisure, local bone stock, possible allergies, local comorbities, and local deformities.

The role of oral bacteria in the etiology of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is examined in this review. Periodontitis is related to AS to a significant degree, and periodontitis is significantly more prevalent in patients with AS. Anti-Pophyromonas gingivalis and anti-Prevotella intermedia antibodies titers are higher in AS patients than in healthy subjects. Eight randomized controlled trials that used sulfasalazine were reviewed. Moxifloxacin Read More

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a wide-spread, debilitating disease that is prominent in Western countries. It is associated with old age, obesity, and mechanical stress on the knee joint. By examining the recent literature on the effect of the anti-inflammatory prostaglandins 15d-PGJ2 and Δ12-PGJ2, we propose that new therapeutic agents for this disease could facilitate the transition from the COX-2-dependent pro-inflamm Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis affects around 1% of the global population with a predilection for Western societies. The treatment of the rheumatoid hip has gone through significant changes in recent years. Although osteotomies and synovectomies were previously commonplace, advances in arthroplasty technique and technology has seen these former procedures being performed less commonly. This article tackles some of t Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease of unknown etiology with development of persistent and erosive arthritis ultimately resulting in disability. The prevalence of RA is about 0.5-1% in adults worldwide. Radiographic changes in the joints at early stages of the disease are often absent. Accordingly, there is a need for instrumental methods of diagnosis with greater sensitivity. These include mag Read More