Optimal Tai Chi forms in knee osteoarthritis: An exploration from biomechanical rationale to pain reduction.

Objectives: Tai Chi (TC) shows some beneficial effects in reducing pain in knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, the selection of criteria TC forms in previous studies were unclear and inconsistent, possibly accounting for the varying outcomes and rendering the training effects suboptimal. We have selected four optimal TC (OTC) forms based on the knee joint load and its association with pain.

Deconstructing dogma: Nonoperative management of small bowel obstruction in the virgin abdomen.

Background: Management of small bowel obstruction (SBO) has become more conservative, especially in those patients with previous abdominal surgery (PAS). However, surgical dogma continues to recommend operative exploration for SBO with no PAS. With the increased use of computed tomography imaging resulting in more SBO diagnoses, it is important to reevaluate the role of mandatory operative exploration.

Data on genetic associations of carotid atherosclerosis markers in Mexican American and European American rheumatoid arthritis subjects.

Carotid Intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque are well established markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and are widely used for identifying subclinical atherosclerotic disease. We performed association analyses using Metabochip array to identify genetic variants that influence variation in CIMT and plaque, measured using B-mode ultrasonography, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Data on genetic associations of common variants associated with both CIMT and plaque in RA subjects involving Mexican Americans (MA) and European Americans (EA) populations are presented in this article.

A genetic association study of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque in Mexican Americans and European Americans with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background And Aims: Little is known about specific genetic determinants of carotid-intima-media thickness (CIMT) and carotid plaque in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We have used the Metabochip array to fine map and replicate loci that influence variation in these phenotypes in Mexican Americans (MAs) and European Americans (EAs).

Methods: CIMT and plaque were measured using ultrasound from 700 MA and 415 EA patients with RA and we conducted association analyses with the Metabochip single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data using PLINK.

Severe traumatic brain injuries in children: Does the type of trauma center matter?

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death among injured children. Depending on geographic location, and trauma resources, pediatric patients may be treated at pediatric (PTC), adult (ATC), or mixed trauma centers (MTC). The effect of the type of trauma center on outcomes in severe TBI is not known.

Use of Hydroxychloroquine Is Associated With Improved Lipid Profile in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

Background/purpose: We examined the association between hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and plasma lipid and glucose levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohort.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort analysis of 1261 RA patients comparing fasting lipid profiles and plasma glucose between patients who were and were not taking HCQ. We divided patients into 3 groups based on HCQ exposure during follow-up: those who had never taken HCQ, those who took it intermittently, and those who took it continuously.

Novel Protein Glycan-Derived Markers of Systemic Inflammation and C-Reactive Protein in Relation to Glycemia, Insulin Resistance, and Insulin Secretion.

Objective: N-acetylglucosamine/galactosamine (GlycA) and sialic acid (GlycB) moieties of glycosylated serum proteins are nonspecific measures of inflammation, but conclusive data on their relationship with insulin resistance or insulin secretion are missing. Therefore, we aimed to examine the relation of GlycA, GlycB, and C-reactive protein (CRP) to direct measures of insulin sensitivity (insulin sensitivity index [S]) and insulin secretion (acute insulin response [AIR]).

Research Design And Methods: This study used cross-sectional analyses and included 1,225 participants with and without type 2 diabetes in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS).

Genetic Variants Influencing Joint Damage in Mexican Americans and European Americans With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is heritable, but knowledge on specific genetic determinants of joint damage in RA is limited. We have used the Immunochip array to examine whether genetic variants influence variation in joint damage in a cohort of Mexican Americans (MA) and European Americans (EA) with RA. We studied 720 MA and 424 EA patients with RA.

Mortality in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): factors associated with recording RA on death certificates.

Background: Death certificates can be used to assess disease prevalence and incidence; however, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often remains unreported in death certificates. We sought to determine to what extent RA is underreported and what demographic and clinical characteristics could predict mention of RA in the death certificate.

Methods: We recruited 1328 patients with RA from private, public and military rheumatology practices and followed them prospectively for yearly evaluations.

Clinical and laboratory factors associated with interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the clinical, genetic, and environmental factors associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: We recruited patients with RA from rheumatology practices at the time of a scheduled visit. Each patient participated in a comprehensive assessment that included ascertainment of age, sex, joint tenderness and swelling, subcutaneous nodules, disease severity, use of methotrexate and prednisone, smoking status, rheumatoid factor (RF), antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP),erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28), and the presence of the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE).

Association of socioeconomic status with treatment delays, disease activity, joint damage, and disability in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To examine the association of socioeconomic status (SES) and delays in disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment with clinical measures in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: RA patients were recruited from rheumatology practices. We assessed SES based on education, occupation, and income, and divided patients into tertiles.

Systemic inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors predict rapid progression of atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To estimate atherosclerosis progression and identify influencing factors in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We used carotid ultrasound to measure intima-media thickness (IMT) in RA patients, and ascertained cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, inflammation markers and medications. A second ultrasound was performed approximately 3 years later.

Glucocorticoid dose thresholds associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To delineate daily and cumulative glucocorticoid dose thresholds associated with increased mortality rates in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We studied RA patients recruited from rheumatology clinics. Annually, we assessed the glucocorticoid dose, demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, and laboratory features of RA, cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, and vital status.

Does the "Hispanic paradox" occur in rheumatoid arthritis? Survival data from a multiethnic cohort.

Objective: Despite lower socioeconomic status (SES) and higher disease burden, Hispanics in the US paradoxically display equal or lower mortality on average than non-Hispanic whites. Our objective was to determine if the "Hispanic paradox" occurs among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In a cohort of 706 RA patients, we compared differences in RA severity and comorbidity between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white ethnic groups at baseline.

Medical decision-making among Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites with chronic back and knee pain: a qualitative study.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders affect all racial and ethnic groups, including Hispanics. Because these disorders are not life-threatening, decision-making is generally preference-based. Little is known about whether Hispanics in the U.

Carotid atherosclerosis predicts incident acute coronary syndromes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The role of atherosclerosis in the acute coronary syndromes (ACS) that occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has not been quantified in detail. We undertook this study to determine the extent to which ACS are associated with carotid atherosclerosis in RA.

Methods: We prospectively ascertained ACS, defined as myocardial infarction, unstable angina, cardiac arrest, or death due to ischemic heart disease, in an RA cohort.

Effects of covariates and interactions on a genome-wide association analysis of rheumatoid arthritis.

While genetic and environmental factors and their interactions influence susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), causative genetic variants have not been identified. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of covariates and genotype x sex interactions on the genome-wide association analysis (GWAA) of RA using Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 Problem 1 data and a logistic regression approach as implemented in PLINK. After accounting for the effects of population stratification, effects of covariates and genotype x sex interactions on the GWAA of RA were assessed by conducting association and interaction analyses.

Impaired arterial function associated with thinning of cortical bone in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To evaluate the association between peripheral arterial function and cortical bone thickness in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we measured the combined cortical thickness (CCT) of the second metacarpal bone from hand radiographs, and the ankle-to-arm systolic blood pressure ratio, also known as ankle-brachial index (ABI), in RA patients. We evaluated the association between the 2 using multinomial logistic regression.

Acceleration of atherosclerosis during the course of rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are predisposed to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. This is thought to be caused in part, by exposure to chronic systemic inflammation during the course of the disease. We hypothesized that RA disease duration augments the effect of age on atherosclerosis.

Loss of cortical bone from the metacarpal diaphysis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: independent effects of systemic inflammation and glucocorticoids.

Objective: To identify factors associated with the loss of cortical diaphyseal bone over time in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We measured the combined cortical thickness (CCT) of the second metacarpal bone from digitized hand radiographs in an RA cohort. We estimated the rate of loss of CCT, and tested the effect of factors that could accelerate the rate.

Relative contribution of cardiovascular risk factors and rheumatoid arthritis clinical manifestations to atherosclerosis.

Objective: To estimate the contribution of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease manifestations to atherosclerosis in RA.

Methods: We used high-resolution carotid ultrasound to measure the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque in 631 RA patients. Using R(2) measures from multivariable models, we estimated the contribution of demographic characteristics (age, sex, and ethnic group), CV risk factors (diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, hypertension, and body mass index, and RA manifestations (joint tenderness, swelling, and deformity, nodules, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope, and cumulative glucocorticoid dose) to each of the outcomes.

Update of TNF-alpha antagonists and cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists were unexpectedly found to have no beneficial effects in moderate-to-severe heart failure in two large randomized clinical trials. In certain doses, the agents were found to be harmful. These results have important implications for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Paradoxical effect of body mass index on survival in rheumatoid arthritis: role of comorbidity and systemic inflammation.

Background: Despite high cardiovascular mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), few studies of body mass index (BMI) and obesity as risk factors for death in RA have been published.

Methods: We estimated the effect of BMI on survival in a cohort of 779 patients with RA adjusting for comorbidity, RA disease severity, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and other potential confounders.

Results: The cohort accrued 123 deaths in 3460 person-years (3.