Publications by authors named "B J Radovits"

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of anakinra in treating acute gout flares in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, active comparator, non-inferiority (NI) trial.

Methods: Patients with a crystal-proven acute gout flare were randomized (1: 1) to treatment with anakinra or treatment as usual (free choice: either colchicine, naproxen or prednisone). The primary end point was the change in pain between baseline and the averaged pain score on days 2-4 measured on a five-point rating scale.

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Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are characterized by periarticular bone erosion; periarticular bone formation is a feature in PsA. The effect of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) on periarticular bone remodeling is unclear in both diseases. Our aim was to assess the response of bone turnover markers (BTM) and hand bone mineral density (BMD) to anti-TNF over 3 years in RA and PsA.

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Objective: To investigate mortality rates, causes of death, time trends in mortality, prognostic factors for mortality, and the relationship between disease activity and mortality over a 23-year period in an inception cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: A prospective inception cohort of RA patients diagnosed between January 1985 and October 2007 was followed for up to 23 years after diagnosis. Excess mortality was analyzed by comparing the observed mortality in the RA cohort with the expected mortality based on the general population of The Netherlands, matched for age, sex, and calendar year.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that frequently affects people aged >or=65 years, causing significant impairment with pain and functional disability. Elderly RA patients have specific problems, including co-morbid diseases, numerous concomitant medications, greater number of damaged joints as a result of longer disease duration and often a more severe disease presentation in elderly-onset RA. These factors, together with an age-related decline in the immune defence mechanisms, make elderly patients more vulnerable.

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