Ultrasound-guided caudal epidural steroid injection in chronic radicular low back pain: short-term electrophysiologic benefits.

Objective: To assess the short-term efficacy of ultrasound-guided caudal epidural steroid injections (ESIs) in improving pain, and nerve function as measured by electrophysiological testing in chronic radicular low back pain.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with chronic radicular low back pain were randomized into one of two groups. The injection group ( = 20) underwent a single ultrasound-guided Caudal ESI of 1 ml of 40 mg ml Triamcinolone Acetonide (Kenacort-A), with local anesthetic.

The Arabic LupusPRO: A Cross-Cultural Validation of a Disease-Specific Patient-Reported Outcome Tool for Quality of Life in Lupus Patients.

Objective: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Arabic version of LupusPRO v.1.8 and to test its reliability and validity.

MTHFR functional genetic variation and methotrexate treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis.

Aim: To date, functional MTHFR SNPs have been tested for their impact on low-dose methotrexate (MTX) response in small rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohorts. We sought to test their effect in the single largest cohort studied to date, and undertook a meta-analysis utilizing stringent study inclusion criteria.

Materials & Methods: RA patients treated with MTX monotherapy from the Yorkshire Early Arthritis Register (YEAR) were genotyped using RFLP assays, and tested for association with treatment efficacy.

Evaluation of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy in the management of patients with discogenic lumbar radiculopathy.

Aim: This randomized clinical trial was designed to evaluate the effect of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) in the management of patients with discogenic lumbar radiculopathy.

Methods: Forty patients suffering from lumbar radiculopathy due to lumbar disc prolapse were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a study group that included 20 patients who received PEMF therapy and a control group that included 20 patients who received placebo treatment. Both groups were evaluated at bases line and after 3 weeks by using a visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-10), somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) for selected dermatomes and Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (OSW), and findings were compared before and after treatment.

Diminished CD4+CD25+ T-lymphocytes in peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The exact aetio-pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is still speculative, where dysregulation or depletion of CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes is among the supposed mechanisms. In this study, we thought to investigate patients with SLE for percentages of CD4+CD25+ T cells in their peripheral blood and to correlate this with their disease activity scores. Twenty-five patients with SLE who fulfilled, at least, four of the revised Criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and twenty healthy volunteers participated in this study.