[The Dead Sea--a unique resort for patients suffering from joint diseases].

The Dead Sea area is an excellent and unique resort for patients suffering from a wide range of inflammatory and non-inflammatory joint diseases. Factors contributing to the beneficial effect are the high concentration of salts and minerals in the Dead Sea water and in the water from springs in the area, medical mud, and the unique climatic conditions including high barometric pressure, relative low humidity and high temperatures. This review describes the various balneotherapy modalities and the existing body of research describing their utility.

A rare complication of infective endocarditis: left main coronary artery embolization resulting in sudden death.

Whilst systemic septic embolization is a common complication of infective endocarditis, a second, less frequently reported, complication is the embolization of vegetative material to the coronary arteries that rarely results in acute myocardial infarction and sudden death. The case is presented of an acute cardiac death in a patient with aortic valve endocarditis, caused by acute occlusion of the left main coronary artery with vegetative material.

Pulmonary functions testing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: A high incidence of abnormal pulmonary function tests has been reported in cross-sectional studies among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Few patients have been enrolled in longitudinal studies.

Objectives: To perform PFT in rheumatoid arthritic patients without pulmonary involvement and to identify variables related to changes in PFT over 5 years of follow-up.

[Physical trauma and fibromyalgia--is there a true association?].

A total of 25-50% of fibromyalgia patients (FM) report the occurrence of physical trauma that preceded the onset of their symptoms by several weeks to several months. Yet, there is still no agreement among experts as to whether physical trauma can cause FM. The severity of the injury varies, but is usually milder than that seen in patients with post-traumatic stress syndrome.

A rare case of enterobacter endocarditis superimposed on a mitral valve rheumatoid nodule.

We present the case of a 56-year-old man with longstanding seropositive active erosive and deforming rheumatoid arthritis with no peripheral rheumatoid nodules; he immigrated from the former Soviet Union (where he did not receive any disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs) to Israel in 1995. In February 2005, he had a buccogingival mucosal abscess on his lower lip, which was treated by surgical drainage, followed by prolonged antibiotic therapy. One and a half years later, he had 2 episodes of transient ischemic attacks characterized by speech difficulties and moderate weakness on his right side.

[Work related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity].

Various musculoskeletal syndromes are considered to be work-related. The prevalence of a few of these syndromes is high. Repeated or continuous application of force over a prolonged period to the same muscle group, tendon, bursa or peripheral nerve, can cause cumulative damage.

Therapy with mud compresses for knee osteoarthritis: comparison of natural mud preparations with mineral-depleted mud.

Mud pack therapy is an alternative mode of treatment for rheumatic diseases. It is based on the application of heated mud packs to the entire body or to specific areas, such as over joints. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of treatment with mud compresses at patients' homes for osteoarthritis of the knee.

[Dead Sea and Tiberias as health resort areas for patients suffering from different types of arthritis].

In the last two decades balneotherapy and climatotherapy have been shown to be effective in cases of inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis and non-inflammatory arthritis such as osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. This review presents different modalities of balneotherapy, their mechanism of action, side-effects and major contraindications. The article also summarizes all the publications on clinical trials conducted in the Dead Sea and Tiberias.

Duplex study of the carotid and femoral arteries of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a controlled study.

Background: "Ultrasonic biopsy" (U-B) is a noninvasive screening technique to detect early atherosclerotic plaques and arterial wall changes.

Aim: To identify atherosclerosis (AS) in the common carotid artery (CCA) and common femoral artery (CFA) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their matched controls.

Methods: Fifty-seven consecutive RA patients were enrolled in the study.

Spa therapy for ankylosing spondylltis at the Dead Sea.

Background: The efficacy of spa therapy in ankylosing spondylitis has not been investigated extensively.

Objective: To study the efficacy of balneotherapy and climatic therapy (climatotherapy) at the Dead Sea area in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Methods: In a single-blind randomized controlled study, 28 patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis were allocated into two groups of 14 patients each.

Duplex study of the carotid and femoral arteries of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled study.

Objective: To identify atherosclerosis in the common carotid (CCA) and common femoral arteries (CFA) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and matched controls.

Methods: Fifty-one consecutive patients with SLE were enrolled in the study. Controls were matched by age, sex, ethnicity, and atherosclerosis risk factors.

Mud compress therapy for the hands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of home treatment with mud compresses for the hands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Forty-five patients suffering from RA were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, controlled study. Twenty-two were treated with true mud compresses (treatment group) and 23 were treated with attenuated mud compresses (control group).