Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2016

Methotrexate (MTX) was synthesised as a folate antagonist for use in treating childhood leukaemia in 1940s. Gubner and colleagues in 1953 used several log-order lower doses of MTX that mimicked the anti-inflammatory properties of cortisone. They used it successfully in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Their work was however overlooked because the Nobel Prize winning drug cortisone held sway in those days. With increasi Read More

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifaceted disorder defined by the alteration of homeostasis and degradation in articular cartilage. Recently mounting evidence suggests that OA should be conceived as an inflammatory disease rather than a simple wear-and-tear problem. Bradykinin (BK) and B2 receptors play a role in the pathogenesis of OA. The aim of this paper is to analyze preclinical and clinical studies examining the potentia Read More

The pre-operative assessment is used to clarify issues prior to surgery that can change management provided by a multidisciplinary team. A high proportion of rheumatoid arthritis patients are elderly requiring orthopaedic surgery which requires further investigations, assessment of risk through functional capacity and several anaesthetic considerations. Rheumatoid arthritis patients often provide a variety of medical issu Read More

Background: Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a rare disease entity highlighted by hypokalemia, flaccid paralysis, and thyrotoxicosis. It usually presents as sudden profound muscle weakness manifested as almost complete immobility and can affect proximal and distal limb muscles, respiratory musculature as well as the cardiac conduction system. Methods: A comprehensive review of Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis fro Read More

Background: The use of simulation-based learning in the medical field has many benefits, including patient safety, health care professional confidence, accelerating diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, meeting the unfulfilled demand for medical personnel, and lowering of medical errors. Developing of interactive learning tools for teaching a simulated clinical case studies program, is highly needed to improve speci Read More

The chronic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontal disease (PD) lead to confined destruction of soft and hard tissues as a result of inflammatory processes. Their pathogenesis is dictated by a network of inflammatory cells and its mediators. They also share some etiological risk factors and therapeutic alternatives. The evolution of focal infection theory is summarized in this review, with special reference to PD an Read More

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is strongly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have demonstrated that TNFα-inhibitors may reduce cardiovascular events (CVE) in patients with RA. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the ability of TNFα-inhibitors to reduce the risk of CVE in patients with RA. This study will update the findings of two earlier systematic reviews that Read More

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a world-wide chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton most likely caused by a microbial factor in genetically susceptible individuals. Over the last 40 years extensive data has been produced which shows that the majority of patients with AS possess the HLA-B27 genetic marker. Significantly elevated levels of Klebsiella antibodies have been demonstrated in 1556 AS patients in 16 different cou Read More

Our goals were to describe the balance of social support to negative social interactions (i.e. social constraint) for autoimmune disease patients and determine whether support and constraint from spouses and non-spousal family and friends interact to influence patients’ psychological adjustment. Using crosssectional survey data from 109 married vasculitis and lupus patients, we found that patients reported that spous Read More

The literature evaluating external anatomical measurements and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) remains inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to compare hand- shape measurements of patients with and without (CTS). A retrospective case - control study of participants with suspected CTS (male/female ratio of 0.69) was performed. Nerve conduction tests (NCT) defined 65 involved hands (CTS) and 73 control hands. Th Read More

Introduction: Vertebral fragility fractures are the most common fragility fracture. A significant proportion of patients still present to hospital for treatment due to their underlying older age and frailty syndrome. We aim to describe the prevalence of frailty within a cohort of hospitalised patients with vertebral fragility fracture using clinical frailty scales and comparing this group of patients with those that have a fragility fr Read More