Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases articles from October 2002

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases archives from October 2002

Treating human autoimmune disease by depleting B cells: rituximab treatment is safe and justifies continued study. (Leader).
October 1, 2002... The development of rituximab has raised the hope of a new therapeutic approach for autoimmune diseases. In the United Sates rituximab is approved for indolent CD20+ B cell lymphomas, and it is also being evaluated in many different types of...

Imaging of the hand and wrist in RA: interrelationships and comparisons of imaging with clinical disease activity. (Leader).
October 1, 2002... In the past decade, elucidation of pathophysiological pathways relevant in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has continued, leading to continuing advances in drug treatment. At the same time, several clinical trials have shown the efficacy of early...

Interleukin 17 synergises with tumour necrosis factor [alpha] to induce cartilage destruction in vitro. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Background: Interleukin 17 (IL17) is produced by activated T cells and has been implicated in the development of bone lesions and cartilage degradation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objective: To determine whether IL17, alone or together...

Power Doppler sonography in the assessment of synovial tissue of the knee joint in rheumatoid arthritis: a preliminary experience. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Objective: To investigate the intra-articular vascularisation of the synovial pannus in the knee of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with power Doppler uhrasonography (PDS) and an echo contrast agent and correlate the area under the...

Clinical outcome in 22 patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with B lymphocyte depletion. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Objectives: To obtain evidence for dose response and to extend evidence of safety and efficacy for B lymphocyte depletion in rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Twenty two patients with rheumatoid arthritis received a total of 29 treatments...

Impartial investigations identify wayward walking. (Echo).(gait disorders in children with arthritis)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Children with arthritis may be stopped from adopting harmful walking patterns by objective analysis leading ultimately to individually targeted treatment, preliminary results have shown. The children studied had juvenile idiopathic arthritis...

Mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated actively from the time of diagnosis. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Objectives: To evaluate the mortality rates among patients with early rheumatoid arthritis CRA) treated actively according to the "sawtooth" strategy. Methods: The study included 150 early, disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)...

Prospective two year follow up study comparing novel and conventional imaging procedures in patients with arthritic finger joints. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Objective: To carry out a prospective two year follow up study comparing conventional radiography, three-phase bone scintigraphy, ultrasonography (US), and three dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with precontrast and dynamic...

Ultrasonography of entheseal insertions in the lower limb in spondyloarthropathy. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Objective: To compare ultrasonography (US) with clinical examination in the detection of entheseal abnormality of the lower limb in patients with spondyloarthropathy (SPA). Methods: 35 patients with SpA (ankylosing spondylitis 27;...

Annual incidence of inflammatory joint diseases in a population based study in southern Sweden. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Objective: To estimate the annual incidence of inflammatory joint diseases in a population based prospective referral study in an adult population in Kronoberg County in southern Sweden. Methods: The patients were referred from primary...

Synovial macrophage-osteoclast differentiation in inflammatory arthritis. (Extended Report).
October 1, 2002... Background: Pathological bone resorption (marginal erosions and juxta-articular osteoporosis) by osteoclasts commonly occurs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To define the nature of the mononuclear precursor cells from which...

Treatment of refractory antibody mediated autoimmune disorders with an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (rituximab). (Concise Report).
October 1, 2002... Background: Rituximab, a chimeric monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody, has recently been used for the treatment of refractory antibody mediated autoimmune diseases such as immune mediated thrombocytopenia and haemolytic anaemia. Patients:...

Effect of bisphosphonates on viability, proliferation, and dexamethasone-induced apoptosis of articular chondrocytes. (Concise Report).
October 1, 2002... Background: Bisphosphonates (BP)increase bone mass in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and are effective in the prevention and treatment of steroid-induced osteoporosis. However, little is known about their direct effects on chondrocytes....

Anti-Ro52 reactivity is an independent and additional serum marker in connective tissue disease. (Concise Report).
October 1, 2002... Objective: To determine whether anti-Ro52 is an independent serum marker in connective tissue disease. Methods: Over a two year period, 1727 consecutive antinuclear antibody (ANA) positive serum samples were analysed in parallel by...

Low levels of apoptosis and high FLIP expression in early rheumatoid arthritis synovium. (Concise Report).(FLICE-like inhibitory protein)
October 1, 2002... Objectives: To define synovial apoptosis with respect to disease duration, inflammatory cell type, FLIP (FLICE-like inhibitory protein), and cytokines expression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Synovial biopsy...

Systematic sclerosis following human cytomegalovirus infection. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... Systematic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterised by skin and visceral organ involvement.(1 2) The cause of SSc is still unknown; it has been suggested that one or more factors may be responsible for the disease through...

A case of orbital myositis associated with rheumatoid arthritis. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... CASE REPORT A 51 year old woman with a 34 year history of seropositive, erosive, nodular rheumatoid arthritis (RA) complained of non-specific headache and diplopia of insidious onset at a routine appointment with her ophthalmologist. Her...

Stiff man syndrome presenting with low back pain. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... Stiff man syndrome (SMS) is a rare, disabling neurological disorder characterised by progressive muscle rigidity and painful episodic spasms of the axial and proximal limb muscles. Diagnosis is based on the recognition of typical clinical...

A 26 week randomised, double blind, placebo controlled exploratory study of sulfasalazine in juvenile onset spondyloarthropathies. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... Juvenile onset spondyloarthropathies (SPA) comprise a group of conditions, characterised by recurrent episodes of arthritis and enthesitis that may lead to structural changes and functional impairment. (1) Except for mild to moderate cases,...

Leflunomide decreases joint erosions and induces reparative changes in a patient with psoriatic arthritis. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... Were read with great interest the article by Scott and colleagues, (1) in which they report radiological improvement or halting of disease progression with leflunomide treatment in a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)....

Stress fracture of base of the acromion. (Letters).
October 1, 2002... Fractures of the scapula occur infrequently, with a fracture of the acromion being an even rarer entity. Acromial fractures constitute 9% of fractures of the scapula, which amounts to 3-5% of shoulder girdle injuries. (1) Fractures of the...

[[alpha].sub.1] antitrypsin deficiency in a patient with systemic vasculitis and primary Sjogren's syndrome.
October 1, 2002... The internal homoeostasis in man is critically dependent on regulation of proteolytic enzymes in tissues and fluids by endogenous inhibitors, [[alpha].sub.1] Antitrypsin is the most abundant protease inhibitor (Pi) in plasma, and controls...

Sjogren's syndrome criteria. (Matters Arising).
October 1, 2002... In the June issue of the Annals Manthorpe comments on the recently proposed US-European classification criteria for Sjogren's syndrome (SS). (1) We would like to deal with some of the issues he raises, and add some comments. Now that the...

A brief history of spa therapy. (Matters Arising).
October 1, 2002... We read with great interest the paper entitled "A brief history of spa therapy" by van Tubergen and van der Linden in the March edition of the Annals. (1) Spas have certainly played an important part throughout the centuries not only in...

Pathological Basis of Orthopaedic and Rheumatic Disease.(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... N A Athanasou. (Pp385, 95 [pounds sterling].) London: Edward Arnold, 2001. ISBN 0-3407-6382-5 The author provides an overview of the pathology of orthopaedic and rheumatic diseases which could help pathologists in finding the correct...

Forthcoming events. (PostScript).
October 1, 2002... 7th International Conference on Eicosanoids and Other Bioactive Lipids in Cancer, Inflammation and Related Diseases 14-17 Oct 2002; Nashville, Tennessee, USA Contact: Lawrence J Marnett, Biochemistry Department, Vanderbilt...