Psoriatic arthritis among Egyptian patients with psoriasis attending the dermatology clinic: prevalence, comorbidities, and clinical predictors.

Objectives: Early diagnosis and treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) help to prevent progressive joint involvement and disabilities. There is a problem in the early diagnosis of PsA worldwide, which may be attributed to the dermatologists missing PsA symptoms and signs and a lack of effective screening tools.

Aim Of The Study: The current study was designed to assess the prevalence, comorbidities, and clinical predictors associated with the development of PsA in psoriasis patients.

A juvenile dermatomyositis: demographics, characteristics and disease outcome in an Egyptian cohort.

Objectives: To study the demographics, characteristics, management and disease outcome of Egyptian children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of the records of 134 JDM patients attending two centres in Cairo, Egypt from January 2010 to December 2019. A total of 128 patients were included in the study, all of which fulfilled either the Bohan and Peter criteria and/or the EULAR/ACR classification criteria of 2017.

A Review of the Prevalence and Unmet Needs in the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Africa and the Middle East.

Estimates of the global prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) range from 0.24 to 1%, but vary considerably around the globe. A variation in RA prevalence is also expected across Africa and the Middle East, due to ethnic, climate, and socioeconomic differences.

A comparative study between the disease characteristics in adult-onset and childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus in Egyptian patients attending a large university hospital.

Introduction: Disease features and laboratory abnormalities differ among adult-onset and childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (aSLE and cSLE). Socioeconomic status both independent of, and in combination with, ethnicity influences the disease phenotype and outcome.

Objective: To compare the various disease features among patients with cSLE and aSLE in a limited monetary income Egyptian cohort attending a large free-of-charge university hospital.

Disease burden and treatment challenges of psoriatic arthritis in Africa and the Middle East.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, inflammatory arthropathy occurring in up to 30% of patients with psoriasis, and is characterized by multiple manifestations including peripheral arthritis, enthesitis, dactylitis, spondylitis, and psoriatic skin and nail disease. This complex and heterogeneous disease is poorly understood and its diagnosis and treatment are suboptimal, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, where very few studies into the impact of PsA have been carried out. This article aims to highlight the disease burden of PsA in the region as well as to identify unmet clinical needs.

Vitamin D status in Egyptian patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

There are scanty data on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relation to disease activity among patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JoSLE) in the Middle East and North Africa, an area known to be endemic for vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency. The aim of this study was, therefore, to study vitamin D status and its relation to disease activity and parameters in Egyptian patients with JoSLE. Serum levels of 25(OH) D3 in 70 JoSLE patients were compared to 40 age-, sex-, and body mass index-matched healthy controls.

Challenges and opportunities in the early diagnosis and optimal management of rheumatoid arthritis in Africa and the Middle East.

Early diagnosis and early initiation of disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy slow the progression of joint damage and decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). According to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) guidelines, treatment should be initiated with methotrexate and addition of biological DMARDs such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors should be considered for RA patients who respond insufficiently to methotrexate and/or other synthetic DMARDs and have poor prognostic factors. Africa and the Middle East is a large geographical region with varying treatment practices and standards of care in RA.

Suboptimal management of rheumatoid arthritis in the Middle East and Africa: could the EULAR recommendations be the start of a solution?

Although the prevalence of RA in the Middle East and Africa is comparable with that in other parts of the world, evidence indicates that its management in this region is suboptimal for a variety of reasons, including misconceptions and misunderstandings about the disease's prevalence and severity in the region, compounded by the lack of local epidemiological and health-economic data around the disease; the perception that RA is a low priority compared with other more prevalent conditions; delayed diagnosis, referral and treatment; and a lack of a region-specific, evidence-based management approach. In the absence of such an approach, the EULAR treatment recommendations may provide a useful starting point for the creation of guidelines to suit local circumstances. However, although agreement with the EULAR recommendations is high, many barriers prevent their implementation in clinical practise, including lack of timely referral to rheumatologists; suboptimal use of synthetic DMARDs; poor access to biologics; lack of awareness of the burden of RA among healthcare professionals, patients and payers; and lack of appropriate staffing levels.

The practical value of biologics registries in Africa and Middle East: challenges and opportunities.

Biologics, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, are increasingly used for the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. The efficacy of these drugs has been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, these studies are conducted in controlled environments, and the results may not necessarily reflect clinical outcomes in daily clinical practice.

Prevalence and clinical presentations of hepatitis C virus among patients admitted to the rheumatology ward.

To study the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies among patients admitted to the rheumatology department, Cairo University hospitals, in 6-month period as well as to determine whether chronic HCV infection was the primary cause of their admission or just a concomitant association with the rheumatic disease. One hundred and fifty-seven patients were included in this study. They represent all patients admitted to the rheumatology inpatient department of Cairo University hospitals during the study period.

MEFV mutations in Egyptian patients suffering from familial Mediterranean fever: analysis of 12 gene mutations.

The objective of the study is to screen 12 MEFV gene mutations in Egyptian patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and to study the initial hypothesis that the phenotypic expression of the disease may be attributable to the existence of a particular mutation. We enrolled 136 Egyptian patients (74 males, and 62 females) with a clinical diagnosis of FMF. DNA was amplified by PCR and subjected to reverse hybridization for the detection of 12 MEFV gene mutations.

Human leukocyte antigen and autoantibodies association with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus.

In this study we investigated the association between autoantibodies production and MHC class II alleles in fifty three Egyptian children patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A significant association was found between expression of HLA-DR4 and HLA-DR13 genes and the generation of anti-ribonucleoprotein and IgG cardiolipin antibodies respectively, in contrast to the negative association of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) with HLA-DR8 and HLA-DR14. Analysis of HLA-DR alleles and autoantibodies frequencies in relation to different clinical manifestations revealed significant association between HLA-DR13 and vasculitis, while, HLA-DR1 and HLA-DR3 were significantly associated with seizures.

A cross-cultural study of pain intensity in Egyptian and Dutch women with rheumatoid arthritis.

Unlabelled: It has been suggested that patients from Mediterranean cultures tend to report more intense pain than their Northern or Western European counterparts in comparable medical conditions. However, empirical data to support this hypothesis are limited. The goals of the present study were to examine differences in pain intensity reports between Dutch and Egyptian women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to examine the influence of possible confounding variables using multivariate analyses.

The validity and reliability of the graphic rating scale and verbal rating scale for measuring pain across cultures: a study in Egyptian and Dutch women with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To compare the validity and reliability of a graphic rating scale (GRS) and a verbal rating scale (VRS) for measuring pain intensity in young female Egyptian and Dutch patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Data were obtained in a cross-cultural study of 42 Egyptian and 30 Dutch female outpatients with stable RA. Construct validity was assessed by correlating the scales with other core measures of disease activity in RA.

Camptodactyly, arthropathy, coxa vara, and pericarditis syndrome among egyptians.

Objective: To highlight the clinical, radiological, and pathological presentations of 10 Egyptian patients with camptodactyly, arthropathy, coxa vara, and pericarditis (CACP) syndrome. Methods. Ten cases underwent a full history, complete clinical examination, laboratory and radiological investigations (and magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, of knee joints); arthroscopic histopathological synovial studies were performed in 6 cases.