Rheumatoid Nodules.

Rheumatoid nodules are a common manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis. These lesions are often easily identified based on typical diagnostic features and characteristic locations. When biopsied, nodules have a characteristic histologic appearance.

Gout in ambulatory care settings in the United States.

Objective: To describe the ambulatory care utilization by patients with gouty arthritis (gout) in the United States using a nationally representative sample.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey design based on the ambulatory care data from the 2002 US National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was used to examine the ambulatory care burden for gout, the characteristics of gout patients, the types of providers who see gout patients, and prescribing patterns associated with the management of gout. Weighted analyses were performed to estimate the effect of age, sex, and ethnicity on the association with gout and prescription of allopurinol.

Dual roles of immunoregulatory cytokine TGF-beta in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity-mediated organ damage.

Ample evidence suggests a role of TGF-beta in preventing autoimmunity. Multiorgan inflammatory disease, spontaneous activation of self-reactive T cells, and autoantibody production are hallmarks of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus. These features are reminiscent of the immunopathology manifest in TGF-beta1-deficient mice.

Absence of cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody in nonarthritic patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Objective: The increased prevalence of rheumatoid factor (RF) in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection markedly diminishes the diagnostic specificity of serum rheumatoid factor (RF) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with HCV. Cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody, a highly specific biomarker for RA in the general population, may have better diagnostic utility for RA in the HCV population. To investigate if CCP antibody retains its specificity for RA in HCV infection, we determined the prevalence of CCP antibodies and examined the relationship between RF production and CCP antibody levels in a population of nonarthritic patients with chronic HCV infection.