Infliximab therapy increases body fat mass in early rheumatoid arthritis independently of changes in disease activity and levels of leptin and adiponectin: a randomised study over 21 months.

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with changes in body composition and bone mineral density (BMD). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether anti-TNF treatment in early RA has an impact on body composition and BMD besides that which could be achieved by intensive disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) combination therapy.

Methods: Forty patients with early RA who failed treatment with methotrexate up to 20 mg/week for 3 months were randomised to addition of sulphasalazine and hydroxychloroquine (treatment A) or addition of infliximab (treatment B).

Gonadal hormones in men with rheumatoid arthritis--from onset through 2 years.

Objective: To evaluate changes over a 2-year course in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in men with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from start of treatment with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs.

Methods: Forty-one men with early RA and with joint symptoms less than 1 year were studied. Mean age at inclusion was 53 years and mean disease duration 6 months.

Impact of low-dose prednisolone on bone synthesis and resorption in early rheumatoid arthritis: experiences from a two-year randomized study.

Introduction: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an increased frequency of osteoporosis, mainly because of increased bone resorption. Reduction of disease activity is suggested to reduce bone remodelling. It might also be possible that prednisolone treatment could cause this effect because prednisolone has been shown to arrest the development of joint destruction in early RA.

The foot: still the most important reason for walking incapacity in rheumatoid arthritis: distribution of symptomatic joints in 1,000 RA patients.

Background And Purpose: Our knowledge of frequency of foot involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is still often based on a study from Finland in 1956. Great changes in the treatment of RA may have led to a different situation. We investigated the distribution of joint involvement in RA patients today, with special attention given to the feet and subjective walking ability.

Effects of protein-rich supplementation and nandrolone on bone tissue after a hip fracture.

Background & Aims: Osteoporosis is a major health problem worldwide. Low weight is a major risk factor for low bone mass and fractures. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects on bone tissue of protein-rich supplementation alone or in combination with nandrolone decanoate in lean elderly women after a hip fracture.

Increased DHEAS levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis after treatment with tumor necrosis factor antagonists: evidence for improved adrenal function.

Objective: To determine if major reduction of inflammation with longterm tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist treatment has any influence on the adrenal and gonadal axes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Forty-eight patients with RA were treated with infliximab or etanercept for 2 years. Disease activity, clinical response, and physical function were evaluated and serum levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein and interleukin 6 were analyzed before start of treatment and after 1 and 2 years.

[TNF blockade in rheumatoid arthritis can cause severe fibrosing alveolitis. Six case reports].

TNF-blockade has been increasingly used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the safety is unclear and an increased risk of both tuberculosis and other infections has been identified. Recently severe fibrosing alveolitis has also been reported in RA-patients treated with TNF-blockade.

Effects of protein-rich supplementation and nandrolone in lean elderly women with femoral neck fractures.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of a protein-rich liquid supplementation, alone or in combination with the anabolic steroid nandrolone decanoate, on body composition, activities of daily living (ADL) status and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after a femoral neck fracture.

Methods: Sixty women, aged 83 +/- 5 years (mean +/- SD), BMI < 24 kg/m2 (20.4 +/- 2 kg/m2 ) and capable of co-operating, with a femoral neck fracture treated with internal fixation, were randomised to open treatment during 6 months with a protein-rich liquid formula alone (PR, Fortimel, 200 ml/day, 20 g protein/day) or in combination with nandrolone decanoate (PR/N, Deca-Durabol 25 mg i.

The influence of sex on rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective study of onset and outcome after 2 years.

Objective: This prospective study analyzed influence of patient's sex on early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) within one year of disease onset and after 2 years' followup.

Methods: A total of 844 consecutive patients, 538 women, with RA of less than 12 months were studied. Standardized clinical and radiographic assessments were performed at study entry and after 2 years.

Abnormal levels of serum dehydroepiandrosterone, estrone, and estradiol in men with rheumatoid arthritis: high correlation between serum estradiol and current degree of inflammation.

Objective: Men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher than normal frequency of low testosterone levels, but not much is known about other sex hormones. We investigated serum levels of estradiol, estrone, and the adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS) in men with RA and evaluated the association of various disease variables with these sex hormones.

Methods: Inflammatory activity, measured as disease activity score including 28 joints (Disease Activity Score 28), and degree of disability, measured with the Health Assessment Questionnaire, were estimated in 101 men with RA.

Bone mineral density in men with rheumatoid arthritis is associated with erosive disease and sulfasalazine treatment but not with sex hormones.

Objective: To quantify bone mineral density (BMD) in men with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to evaluate the influence of various disease-specific and non-disease-specific variables on bone mass.

Methods: Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was performed in 104 male patients with RA and BMD was measured in lumbar spine, femoral neck, trochanter, and Ward's triangle. Inflammatory activity, measured as Disease Activity Score including 28 joints (DAS28), degree of functional impairment measured with the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and sex hormones (bioavailable testosterone, DHEAS, estradiol, and estrone) were estimated.