Survival, causes of death, and prognostic factors in systemic sclerosis: analysis of 947 Brazilian patients.

Objective: To analyze survival, prognostic factors, and causes of death in a large cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: From 1991 to 2010, 947 patients with SSc were treated at 2 referral university centers in Brazil. Causes of death were considered SSc-related and non-SSc-related.

Increased levels of rheumatoid factors after TNF inhibitor in rheumatoid arthritis.

Targeted inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is an effective therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In some rare cases, autoimmune phenomena, including drug-induced lupus and vasculitis, is described. However, the immunological mechanisms underlying the development of autoimmunity are unknown.

Undifferentiated spondyloarthritis: a longterm followup.

Objective: To analyze the longterm followup of a series of Brazilian patients with undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA).

Methods: Prospective study analyzing a group of 111 patients with the diagnosis of uSpA, fulfilling the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group and the Amor criteria, who were followed for 5 to 10 years in a single university referral center. Patients had their outcome analyzed at 5, 7, and 10 years.

Frequency of HLA-B27 and its alleles in patients with Reiter syndrome: comparison with the frequency in other spondyloarthropathies and a healthy control population.

This retrospective study analyzed the HLA-B 27 alleles in a group of 20 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of Reiter syndrome (RS) followed in a tertiary referral university hospital in Brazil, during the period 1990-2006, and compared the data with that observed in other patients with spondyloarthropathies followed at the same institution. Eight cases were associated to gastrointestinal infection, eight cases to previous urethritis, and four cases presented no established preceding infection. HLA-B 27 alleles were typed by polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA hybridized with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (HLA-B 2,701 to HLA-B 2,721).

Characterization and outcome of uveitis in 350 patients with spondyloarthropathies.

This retrospective study analyzed 350 patients with the diagnosis of spondyloarthropathies (SPA) (207 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 80 with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathies (USPA) and 63 with psoriatic arthritis (PsA)) attended at a tertiary referral hospital for a minimum period of 5 years. All the patients presented complete clinical (axial and peripheral involvement, heel enthesopathies, extra-articular manifestations) and radiologic (sacroiliac, lumbar, dorsal and cervical spine) evaluation. HLA-B27 and respective alleles were searched.

Pulmonary involvement in ankylosing spondylitis.

This is a prospective study analyzing 52 asymptomatic, consecutive patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), who submitted to a pulmonary investigation that included plain chest radiography, pulmonary function test (PFT), and thoracic high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The results were compared according to sex, race, dorsal spine involvement, thoracic diameter, smoking status, and HLA-B27. There were four patients (8%) with an altered plain chest radiograph.

Adult-onset Still disease in southeast Brazil.

Background: Adult-onset Still disease (AOSD) has been described all over the world. Clinical presentations and prognosis have varied in different studies.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the clinical presentation and the evolution of AOSD at a tertiary referral center in southeast Brazil.

Sporothrix schenckii infection presented as monoarthritis: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Septic arthritis demands early diagnosis and correct treatment if the function of the joint is to be restored. Sometimes, as in fungal infection, signs and symptoms may be mild and the diagnosis delayed. Nevertheless, the outcome of fungal arthritis is severe and usually causes joint disability.

Intestinal ischemia as a single manifestation of thromboangiitis obliterans--a case report.

Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) is an inflammatory, nonocclusive, and nonatherosclerotic vascular disease. It commonly affects arteries, veins, and surrounding neural elements and is directly related to smoking. Although distal vessels of lower and upper extremities are the most commonly involved, other vessels such as intestinal arteries can be rarely affected.

Acute cholecystitis at initial presentation of polyarteritis nodosa.

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology. Although gastrointestinal involvement may be seen in half of the cases of PAN, vasculitis of the gallbladder at the disease onset is a rare presentation. We report a case of a 48-year-old man who was admitted due to acute cholecystitis.

Camurati-Engelmann disease: failure of response to bisphosphonates: report of two cases.

Camurati-Engelmann disease is a rare bone disorder characterized by cortical thickening of the diaphysis of tubular bones, with sparing of the epiphysis. It has variable degrees of penetrance and expression, but may be very disabling for the affected individuals who manifest the painful symptoms. The authors report on two women with typical presentation of severe Camurati-Engelmann disease whose treatment with bisphosphonates failed to add any improvement beyond that elicited by corticosteroids alone.

Increased serum levels of interleukin-8 in polyarteritis nodosa and Behçet's disease.

The pathogenesis of Behçet's disease (BD) and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is not yet well established. Endothelial cells have been shown to express chemokines that are involved in inflammatory processes. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent chemoattractant and activator of neutrophils.

[Churg strauss Syndrome: a rare vasculitis].

The aim of this report is to verify the demographic, clinical, laboratorial and histopathological findings of patients with CSS followed in a University Clinical Hospital. We reviewed the medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of CSS. Only patients who fulfilled ACR criteria were included.

Undifferentiated spondyloarthropathies in Brazilians: importance of HLA-B27 and the B7-CREG alleles in characterization and disease progression.

Objective: To analyze the profile of the HLA-B27 and B7 cross-reactive group (CREG) alleles and the role of these markers in disease characterization and progression in patients with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathies (uSpA).

Methods: A total of 80 patients with a diagnosis of uSpA (40 HLA-B27 positive and 40 HLA-B27 negative) were prospectively studied for 2 years. The control group consisted of 66 HLA-B27 positive and 112 HLA-B27 negative individuals without a history of seronegative SpA.

Differential diagnosis of optic neuritis in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis.

The authors report a 38-year-old white man with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who presented with recurrent ischaemic optic neuritis. The initial diagnosis was of multiple sclerosis, but further investigation showed serology and cerebrospinal fluid culture positive for syphilis. After treatment for tertiary syphilis with penicillin, there was complete remission of the ocular symptoms.