Outcome of refractory to conventional and/or biologic treatment adult Still's disease following canakinumab treatment: Countrywide data in 50 patients.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of the IL-1b inhibitor canakinumab in all adults with refractory Still's disease identified from the National Organization For Medicines for off-label drug use.

Methods: In a retrospective longitudinal multicenter cohort of 50 patients (median age 39 years) with active Still's disease despite treatment with corticosteroids (n = 11), conventional and synthetic (n = 34) and/or biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (n = 30), we assessed the efficacy of canakinumab 150-300 mg administered every 4 (n = 47) or 8 weeks (n = 3) as combination therapy or monotherapy (n = 7) during a median follow-up of 27 (3-84) months.

Results: Α complete response was initially observed in 78% of patients within 3 months (median), irrespective of age at disease onset.

Influence of methotrexate on radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis: a sixty-month prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate if methotrexate (MTX) can slow disease progression, as determined radiographically, in comparison to other disease modifying drugs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Materials And Methods: Pairs of hand and wrist radiographs from 30 patients treated with MTX and 30 treated with D-penicillamine (DP) were evaluated blindly and separately by two radiologists (A and B) using reference radiographs for scoring. A scale scoring similar to Larsen's standard radiographs with minor modifications was used.

Subgroups of primary Sjögren's syndrome. Sjögren's syndrome in male and paediatric Greek patients.

Objectives: To describe the clinical and serological findings in male and paediatric Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients.

Patients And Methods: Using the European criteria for the diagnosis of SS 12 male and 13 paediatric patients were identified and compared with those of 30 consecutive unselected adult female SS patients.

Results: The mean (SD) age of paediatric patients was 9.

Inner ear involvement in rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective clinical study.

Sensorineural hearing loss in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported to be the result of the extra-articular manifestation of the disease (rheumatoid nodular vasculitis) or due to drug ototoxicity. In an attempt to investigate the presence of sensorineural hearing loss and the possible causes for it we investigated prospectively 45 RA patients (42 female; three male) with a mean age of 52.5 +/- 10.

Antiphospholipid syndrome: clinical and therapeutic aspects.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome with particular attention to their initial clinical features, final diagnoses and the course of thrombotic events in association with therapy. The methodology applied was the following: retrospective analysis of 30 patient files (20 female, 10 male) with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Four types of therapy were evaluated for their efficacy to prevent thrombotic recurrences, aspirin 100 mg daily plus low-dose prednisone 10-15 mg daily, warfarin (with international normalized ratio 2 to 2.