Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 13, Issue 1, 2017

The treatment of metacarpophalangeal destruction by rheumatoid arthritis is an indication for arthroplasty, the swanson spacer is one of the options. The flexible silicone spacer may be implanted with or without titanium guide sleeves ("grommets"). However, the imaginary abrasion protection for the silicone grommets may in turn lead through micro-movements to wear. A 69 years old female patient suffering from r Read More

Sjogren's syndrome is a common autoimmune disease that presents with sicca symptoms and extraglandular features. Sjogren's syndrome is presumably as common as RA; yet it is poorly understood, underdiagnosed and undertreated. From the usual identity as an autoimmune exocrinopathy to its most recent designate as an autoimmune epithelitis – the journey of SS is complex. We herein review some of the Read More

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis with a predilection for the hand and wrist. The aggressive nature of the disease can lead to severe joint destruction causing significant disability. Surgical options for pan-carpal arthritis include total wrist arthroplasty and total wrist fusion both with varying outcomes, yet both have a role in the carefully selected patients. Fusion remains a popular procedur Read More

Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder characterized by immune dysregulation and formation of autoantibodies. A high index of suspicion is necessary to diagnose SLE. Children have more systemic involvement than adults. Kidney involvement is seen in a significant proportion of children. With advancement of therapy the survival rate of patients with SLE has significantly improve Read More

In many cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) joints of the upper extremities are affected. However, involvement of weight bearing joints of the lower extremities is strongly associated with a decreased activities of daily living ability such as gait disorder. Once the progression of weight bearing joint destruction occurs, lower extremity function will decrease even if RA disease activity is improved by pharmacotherapy. In this article, we Read More

Background: Ultrasound is one of the most promising candidates for the detection of inflammation and structural damage in hand osteoarthritis. Objective: To evaluate new advances of US as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in hand osteoarthritis assessment. Methods: We conducted a Medline on PubMed search for articles about “ultrasonography” and “hand OA” published between January 2012 and 15th April 2016, limiting our Read More

Background: The rheumatologic manifestations of hematologic neoplasms are a collection of diverse syndromes. This review aims to describe the most common syndromes in the context of potential mechanisms of pathogenesis. Methods: We undertook a structured search of the available peer-reviewed literature describing paraneoplastic phenomena associated with hematologic neoplasms and the most current literature Read More

Background: Zn (Zn) is an essential trace element with important roles in protein structure and function. Labile Zn is the fraction available for regulatory functions through it loose binding to albumin. As Zn deprivation reduces labile Zn levels and leads to an immune compromised state, we investigated labile Zn levels in the context of systemic autoimmune disease. Methods: Cross sectional case control study in patients with Read More

Objective: To compare serum 25 OH vitamin D (25 (OH) D) levels between medial femoro-tibial knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients and controls, and to detect structural progression in patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis in relation to baseline 25(OH) D levels in a oneyear longitudinal prospective cohort study. Methods: Thirty eight patients with medial femoro-tibial knee OA according to the ACR criteria and Read More

Objective: Podoplanin (PDPN) mediates tumor cell migration and invasion, which phenomena might also play a role in severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Therefore, the precise cellular distribution of PDPN and it’s relationships with inflammation was studied in RA treated with biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD) or conventional DMARDs (cDMARD). Methods: PDPN+ cells were immunostained by NZ-1 mAb, Read More