Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 15, Issue 1, 2019

The Treat-to-Target (T2T) principle has been advocated in a number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory medical illnesses. Tight control of disease activity has been shown to improve the outcome of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis as compared to the conventional approach. However, whether T2T can be applied to patients with lupus nephritis is still under emerging discussion. Treatment of lupus nephritis sho Read More

Background: Behçet's Disease (BD) is characterized by numerous systemic manifestations and is known for its ability to affect both, arteries and the veins. However, the etiology of BD is only partially understood, and previous studies have demonstrated a role for genetic and epigenetic factors that contribute to disease pathophysiology. Several studies have implicated T cells and monocytes in the pathogenesis of BD especially Read More

Background: In the last decade, we have come to better understand and manage the vasculitides. The classification of vasculitides has been revised. Genome- wide association studies and linkage analyses have been undertaken in hope of better understanding the pathogenesis of vasculitides. Comprehensive genetic studies have highlighted new pathways that may guide us in more targeted therapies. Description o Read More

Immune-mediated necrotizing myopathies (IMNMs) are a group of acquired autoimmune muscle disorders which are characterized by proximal muscle weakness, high levels of creatinine kinase, and myopathic findings on electromyogram (EMG). Muscle biopsy in IMNM differentiates it from the other subgroups of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis (IIM) by the presence of myofibre necrosis and prominent regeneration without Read More

Current patient care in rheumatology relies primarily on a combination of traditional clinical assessment and standard laboratory tests. Investigators seek to discover new biomarkers and novel technologies to boost the research in this field. Mechanistic biomarkers such as cytokines, cell types, antibodies, signaling molecules, are rooted in the mechanism underlying the disease and can guide the clinical management Read More

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic multi systemic disorder with the unclarified ethiopathology. Although several markers have been presented for recognition of RA, but none of them has been specific. New markers such as HLA typing and activity of Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) isoenzymes could be useful and specific. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the pattern of ADA isoenzymes activity and HLA t Read More

Background: Musculoskeletal Injury (MSKI), a common problem in both military and physically active civilian populations, has been suggested to result from both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Objective: To investigate prospectively whether gait biomechanics, aerobic fitness levels and smoking status as well as entry military selection test variables can be used to predict MSKI development during recruit training. Method Read More

Background and Objectives: Concomitant neurologic manifestations and positive antiphospholipid antibodies (APAs) have been investigated in different manners. The present study aimed to investigate the association between neurologic manifestations and APAs. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 100 consecutive patients with selected neurological manifestations and at least Read More

Objective: To 1. implement flipped classroom rheumatology teaching for undergraduate education. 2. Evaluate outcomes of teaching using OSCE assessment and student perceived effectiveness and satisfaction survey. Methods: The flipped classroom education, 55-students, was conducted in 3 phases. Phase 1: Carried out in the students’ own time. Web links were emailed to assist exposure of the instructional part of the lesso Read More

Background: Systemic sclerosis is a disorder of connective tissue with unknown cause, affecting the skin and internal organs, characterized by fibrotic changes. Objective: To determine the correlation between serum homocysteine level and interstitial lung involvement in systemic sclerosis. Materials and Methods: In this case – control study, 59 patients who fulfilled the ACR/EULAR classification criteria for systemic sclerosis a Read More

Introduction: Gauzoma is an iatrogenic complication which occurs rarely due to surgical team negligence. Depending on the sterility of the retained tissue, it can lead to life threatening surgical complications or may remain asymptomatic for many years and be detected incidentally in imaging studies. It may be mistaken as tumors or aneurysms. Thus, high clinical suspicion is needed to diagnose them in patients with past histor Read More