Intra-articular methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis: a clinical and sonographic study.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of intra-articular methotrexate (MTX) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Twenty-three consecutive patients, 10 with RA and 13 with PsA, with prevalent or unique arthritic involvement of one knee, were treated with intra-articular injections of MTX 10 mg every 7 days for 8 weeks. Before the beginning of the treatment and after 9 and 17 weeks, the patients underwent a clinical evaluation measuring maximal knee flexion angle, visual analog scale (VAS) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Raynaud's phenomenon in undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD).

The aim of this study was to ascertain which clinical and immunological factors are associated with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) in patients with undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) and to investigate microvascular involvement. A total of 78 patients were evaluated. They all showed symptoms suggestive of a connective tissue disorder (CTD), but did not fulfil the criteria for any of the defined CTDs.