The radiological assessment of axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis: a validation study of the BASRI total and the modified SASSS scoring methods.

Objectives: To assess the validity of the BASRI and m-SASSS scores for the radiological axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Secondary end-points were to report on clinical, functional and radiographic characteristics of axial involvement.

Methods: Inclusion criteria were satisfaction of the CASPAR criteria and the presence of clinical, functional and/or radiological axial involvement.

Rapid interactome profiling by massive sequencing.

We have developed a high-throughput protein expression and interaction analysis platform that combines cDNA phage display library selection and massive gene sequencing using the 454 platform. A phage display library of open reading frame (ORF) fragments was created from mRNA derived from different tissues. This was used to study the interaction network of the enzyme transglutaminase 2 (TG2), a multifunctional enzyme involved in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis, associated with many different pathologies.

Late-onset rheumatoid arthritis and late-onset spondyloarthritis.

Both rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis may have a late onset. Elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis is usually defined as rheumatoid arthritis with onset at age 60 or over. It appears to be a heterogeneous disease, with a seropositive subset resembling adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis, and a less severe seronegative subset which sometimes exhibits features overlapping with those of polymyalgia rheumatica.

Impact of coagulation-balance gene predictors on efficacy of photodynamic therapy for choroidal neovascularization in pathologic myopia.

Purpose: To investigate whether different coagulation-balance genetic backgrounds might explain the variable clinical outcomes detected, after a single photodynamic therapy with verteporfin (PDT-V), in Caucasian patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (PM).

Design: Retrospective, consecutive, nonrandomized, interventional cases series.

Participants: Two hundred thirty-four patients exclusively treated with standardized PDT-V for the presence of PM-related classic CNV.

Protective effect of polyphenols from Glycyrrhiza glabra against oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells.

In the present article, we have investigated the antioxidant properties of methanolic liquorice polyphenol extracts (LPE(s)). Polyphenol extraction was performed with 60% and 100% methanol. Analysis of LPE(s) by thin-layer chromatography revealed that a higher amount of polyphenols was recovered by extraction with 60% methanol.

A comprehensive analysis of filamentous phage display vectors for cytoplasmic proteins: an analysis with different fluorescent proteins.

Filamentous phage display has been extensively used to select proteins with binding properties of specific interest. Although many different display platforms using filamentous phage have been described, no comprehensive comparison of their abilities to display similar proteins has been conducted. This is particularly important for the display of cytoplasmic proteins, which are often poorly displayed with standard filamentous phage vectors.

Predicting fibrosis worsening in obese patients with NASH through parenchymal fibronectin, HOMA-IR, and hypertension.

Objectives: Few published studies have examined the results obtained from repeat liver biopsies in obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The progressive form of this disease may be largely limited to a subgroup of NAFLD patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The presence of intralobular fibronectin (Fn) and other variables was investigated in relation to subsequent fibrosis progression.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis: differentiation from ankylosing spondylitis.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) share involvement of the axial skeleton and peripheral entheses. Both diseases produce bone proliferations in the later phases of their course. Although the aspect of these bone proliferations is dissimilar, confusion of radiologic differential diagnosis between the two diseases exists mostly as a consequence of a lack of awareness of their characteristic clinical and radiographic features.

Psoriatic arthritis: pharmacoeconomic considerations.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists provide a clinically and economically efficient treatment option for psoriatic arthritis (PsA). PsA is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the musculoskeletal system that, if untreated, can be disabling due to the progressive joint damage and the considerable impact on functional status and health-related quality of life. Therapies for PsA have been disappointing until recently.

Psoriatic arthritis sine psoriasis.

In about 20% of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) the rheumatological manifestations precede the onset of the cutaneous lesions. If there is a family history of psoriasis these patients are diagnosed as having psoriatic arthritis sine psoriasis. In the past, they were also classified among patients with undifferentiated spondyloarthritis.

Efficacy of bosentan in the treatment of a patient with mixed connective tissue disease complicated by pulmonary arterial hypertension.

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of bosentan in the treatment of severe pulmonary hypertension in a young female patient with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) associated with antiphospholipid syndrome. A 27-year-old woman presented with sudden onset of dyspnea. She had not experienced any dyspnea before this period, and she was known to have MCTD.

Profiling the autoantibody repertoire by screening phage-displayed human cDNA libraries.

The advent of the serological identification of antigens by procedures such as cDNA cloning and recombinant protein expression has allowed the direct molecular definition of immunogenic proteins. The phage-display technology provides several advantages over conventional immunoscreening procedures based on plasmid or lambda-phage cDNA libraries. So far, attempts to display open reading frames, such as those encoded by cDNA fragments, on filamentous phages have not been very successful.

Near Infrared Spectroscopy in healthy preterm and term newborns: correlation with gestational age and standard monitoring parameters.

Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is an emerging technique for brain oxygenation monitoring in newborns complicated by acute and chronic hypoxia. However, data regarding cerebral oxygenation normal values are still lacking and matter of debate. Therefore, we investigate whether NIRS parameters in healthy preterm/term infants are gestational age and delivery modalities dependent and correlate with standard monitoring parameters.

Parnaparin versus aspirin in the treatment of retinal vein occlusion. A randomized, double blind, controlled study.

Introduction: Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a common cause of unilateral visual loss. Evidence based treatment recommendations for patients with RVO cannot be made because of the lack of adequate clinical trials. To compare the efficacy and safety of aspirin and of a low molecular weight heparin, parnaparin, in the treatment of RVO.

Contrast-enhanced sonography versus biopsy for the differential diagnosis of thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Aim: To clarify which method has accuracy: 2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound or biopsy of portal vein thrombus in the differential diagnosis of portal vein thrombosis.

Methods: One hundred and eighty-six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and portal vein thrombosis underwent in blinded fashion a 2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound and biopsy of portal vein thrombus; both results were examined on the basis of the follow-up of patients compared to reference-standard.

Results: One hundred and eight patients completed the study.

Psoriatic arthritis spondylitis radiology index: a modified index for radiologic assessment of axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: To develop and validate a modified index for assessing the radiologic axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a group of patients with established disease.

Methods: Patients were included on clinical and/or radiologic criteria. The modified index combined features of existing radiologic indices for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with the addition of scores for the facet joints of the cervical and lumbar regions.

Hepatitis C virus infection does not preclude standard breast cancer-directed therapy.

In the United States, over 3 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and over 200,000 women develop breast cancer annually. Yet, no published studies have investigated the tolerability of breast cancer- directed therapy among women with HCV infection. We reviewed records at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and identified 35 patients with chronic HCV infection who were treated for breast cancer between the years 1991 and 2005.

Treatment strategies for early psoriatic arthritis.

Background: Until a few years ago, the early diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) did not receive much attention, especially in view of the lack of drugs capable of altering the disease course. This changed with the introduction of the TNF-alpha-blocking agents, as a result of which the early diagnosis of PsA is now a topic of great interest.

Objective: The aim of the study was to review the treatment for PsA in order to determine the optimal approach to managing early disease.

Sensitivity of the classification of psoriatic arthritis criteria in early psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: To determine the sensitivity of the CASPAR criteria in patients with early psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: Consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of PsA and a disease duration < 12 months were enrolled for study. The proportion of patients meeting the criteria (i.