Increased platelet reactivity as measured by plasma glycoprotein VI in gout.

Patients with gout have an increased risk of cardiovascular events. The glycoprotein VI (GPVI) receptor is found exclusively on platelets and megakaryocytes, is proteolytically cleaved upon platelet activation, and detectable in plasma as soluble GPVI (sGPVI). Therefore, elevated sGPVI is a marker of platelet activation and a risk marker for cardiovascular events.

From BILAG to BILAG-based combined lupus assessment-30 years on.

Disease activity in SLE can be difficult to measure and there is no biomarker that uniformly reflects disease activity. There are various disease activity scores, but there is no gold standard assessment tool. This is a review of the development of the BILAG index from the classic BILAG disease activity index to the BILAG-2004 disease activity index and composite response criteria.

Cardiac transplant in a family pedigree of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy secondary to a mutation in the AMP gene.

The phenotype of this unique condition comprises left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), accessory pathways, atrial arrhythmia and premature failure of the atrioventricular node. At age 11, his ECG showed marked voltage criteria for LVH but his echocardiography was negative. He declined further screening but was reassessed at 21 years of age.

Attitudes towards exercise in patients with chronic disease: the influence of comorbid factors on motivation and ability to exercise.

Background: Exercise is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. It has a well defined role in maintaining health in chronic illness. This study was undertaken to determine attitudes towards exercise in patients admitted to hospital with medical illnesses.

Giant iliopsoas bursitis: a complication of chronic arthritis.

Iliopsoas bursitis is a poorly recognized cause of hip pain that requires early recognition to avoid potentially serious complications caused by compression of adjacent structures. It can occur in the setting of trauma in athletes or those who engage in heavy labor and is also associated with acute or chronic arthritis. We describe the cases of 2 patients, one of whom developed a femoral neuropathy, while the other had marked venous compression of the lower limb resulting from enlargement of the iliopsoas bursa.

Spontaneous resolution of lung opacities reported as metastases in a patient with a history of leiomyosarcoma.

This is a case of a 69-year-old woman who was diagnosed as having metastatic leiomyosarcoma. She presented with multiple lung opacities on plain films and CT scans following resection of a high-grade leiomyosarcoma of the uterus 16 months earlier. The radiological, oncology, gynaecology and respiratory teams diagnosed metastatic cancer on the basis of the clinical presentation and radiological appearance.