Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 15, Issue 2, 2019

Background: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disease with an etiology that is not clearly understood. Amongst the different organs that may be affected, the lungs are the most common. Musculoskeletal manifestations of the disease are uncommon. Objectives: They include arthropathy, bone lesions, or myopathy, all of which may occur as initial symptoms or develop during the course of the disease. Method Read More

Background: Depression and anxiety are common neuropsychiatric complaints in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). While numerous studies have been performed to investigate the prevalence, impact, and associated factors of depression and anxiety, current literature presents mixed results. In particular, the prevalence of anxiety and depression varies substantially between studies due to methodologic Read More

The pathological hallmarks of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) constitute an inter-related triad of autoimmunity, vasculopathy and tissue remodeling. Many signaling mediators have been implicated in SSc pathology; most focusing on individual components of this pathogenic triad and current treatment paradigms tend to approach management of such as distinct entities. The present review shall examine the role of Vascular Endothelial Read More

Background: Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disabling musculoskeletal condition among the elderly. Self-reported instability is one of the impairments associated with osteoarthritis. A complete understanding of the self-reported instability in knee OA is essential, to identify the best strategies for overcoming this impairment. The focus of this scoping review is to provide an overview of evidence supported information about the pre Read More

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a widespread autoimmune disease and inflammation and bone destruction are two main issues in rheumatoid arthritis. Objective: To discussing metformin effects on rheumatoid arthritis complications. Methods: We conducted a narrative literature search including clinical trials, experimental studies on laboratory animals and cell lines. Our search covered Medline, PubMed and Google Schol Read More

Background: Selenium is an essential trace element with fundamental effects on human biology. Trace elements deficiency is not an uncommon finding in autoimmune diseases. This deficiency may be a consequence of autoimmune diseases or may contribute to their etiology. With regard to evidence showing the association between selenium deficiency and generation of reactive oxygen species and subsequent inflammation Read More

Objective: The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of conventional TMJ imaging in depicting osseous changes in mandibular condyle and glenoid fossa in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) by comparing the finding against CT and with an objective that if conventional TMJ imaging modality can appreciate the osseous changes in RA and OA then what is the need for CT scan. Read More

Objective: To investigate the changes of serum Uric Acid (sUA), lipids and Cystatin C (CysC) in primary gout patients, and to explore the clinical significance in gout patients. Methods: sUA, CysC, high-sensitivity C-reactive Protein (hsCRP) and other biochemical parameters were measured in 326 gout patient and 210 healthy control subjects, blood cell counts were also detected. Clinical data were collected from gout patients. Read More

Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) involves genetic, environmental, and hormonal alterations, including Vitamin D deficiency. Objective: To evaluate the association between vitamin D levels with anti-dsDNA, complement proteins, immunoglobulins levels and disease activity scores. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. The levels of 25-OH vitamin D were measured in patients older than 18 years Read More

Background: The presence of neuropatic pain (NeP) is common in subjects with established Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and it can influence the disease remission. These aspects have not been investigated in patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (ERA). Objective: To investigate the effect of NeP on the achievement of remission in patients with ERA. Method: The study involved consecutive ERA patients with moderate or high Read More

Background: Amyloidosis is a life-threatening complication of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) that should be detected as early as possible to avoid its morbidity and mortality. Objective: To detect subclinical amyloidosis in RA patients without proteinuria and a disease duration more than 5 years. Patients: Eighty-six RA patients seen between October 2013 and August 2014 were recruited for the study. Those with 5 years disease d Read More

Background: Interpreting the structure in the wrist is complicated by the existence of multiple joints as well as variability in bone shapes and anatomical patterns. Previous studies have evaluated lunate and capitate shape in an attempt to understand functional anatomical patterns. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe anatomical shapes and wrist patterns in normal wrist radiographs. We hypothesized Read More

Background: Scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare systemic autoimmune disease. Many conditions mimic the presentation of SSc, especially skin thickening and fibrosis. One of these conditions is scleredema, a rare collagen and mucin deposition disorder which was found to be associated with diabetes mellitus, streptococcal infection or monoclonal gammopathy. Case Presentation: A 55 years old female present Read More