The prevalence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in patients with osteoporosis.

Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of dizziness. There is some evidence that osteoporosis is a risk factor for BPPV.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of BPPV in patients with proven osteoporosis.

Feelings of guilt and shame in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study aims to determine whether patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience more general feelings of guilt and shame than their peers without RA and to examine possible correlates of guilt and shame in RA. In a cross-sectional survey study, 85 out-patients with RA (77 % female; median disease duration, 11 years) and 59 peer controls completed the Experience of Shame Scale (ESS) and the Test of Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA). Patients additionally completed measures of health status, self-efficacy, cognitive emotion regulation, and numerical rating scales for life satisfaction and happiness.

The association of Sweet's syndrome with sarcoidosis.

We report a 43-year-old woman with biopsy proven Sweet's syndrome with massive mediastinal lymphadenopathy. No other clinical signs compatible with sarcoidosis were present. Mediastinoscopy was performed to establish a diagnosis.

Prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is a common clinical problem. This review briefly summarizes the pathogenesis of this disorder. All relevant studies on the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis are discussed more in detail.

Increased bone mass with pamidronate treatment in rheumatoid arthritis. Results of a three-year randomized, double-blind trial.

Objectives: Osteoporosis is a frequent complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We therefore investigated the effect of oral pamidronate therapy as a specific bone-sparing agent in RA.

Methods: The study design was a 3-year randomized, double-blind trial of 300 mg oral pamidronate/day compared with placebo in 105 RA patients.

Clinical and biochemical response to single infusion of pamidronate in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: a double blind placebo controlled study.

Objective: To assess the effects of 3-amino-1-hydroxypropylidine-1,1-bisphosphonate (pamidronate) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Thirty patients with active RA were randomly allocated to receive a single intravenous infusion of placebo, 20 mg pamidronate, or 40 mg pamidronate.

Results: Pamidronate treatment resulted in a rapid and sustained reduction in urinary calcium and hydroxyproline excretions.

Sepsis syndrome and death after bronchoalveolar lavage.

Bronchoalveolar lavage is widely used in the management of patients with interstitial lung diseases and is considered a safe procedure. We describe a patient who died with a picture consistent with acute pulmonary edema and septic shock following bronchoalveolar lavage. This potential complication has not been previously reported.

Bone mineral density in ambulant, non-steroid treated female patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Bone mass measurements were performed in a group of 30 ambulant, non-steroid treated female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of relatively short duration (mean 4.9 years). The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine and femoral neck was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and related to parameters of disease activity and severity.

Bone metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis; relation to disease activity.

Biochemical parameters of bone metabolism were investigated in 105 ambulant, non-steroid treated patients with RA and compared with parameters of disease activity. Urinary calcium (Ca) and hydroxyproline (OHP) excretions, as parameters of bone resorption and serum alkaline phosphatase (AP), as a parameter of bone formation, were positively related to parameters of disease activity. Serum osteocalcin, another parameter of bone formation, was not related to parameters of disease activity.

Polyarthritis as the presenting symptom of the occurrence and recurrence of a laryngeal carcinoma.

A 50 year old male smoker presented with an identical seronegative polyarthritis before both the occurrence and recurrence of a laryngeal tumour. The interval between the joint symptoms and discovery of the tumour was 11 and 13 months respectively. Treatment of the tumour resulted in complete disappearance of the arthritis on both occasions.

Tenosynovitis due to Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare: case report and a review of the literature.

A 57-year-old female patient presented with a tenosynovitis due to Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAI). A relapse occurred following surgical treatment, after which she was successfully treated with ansamycin and ethambutol. Previously reported cases of tenosynovitis due to MAI are reviewed and the treatment modalities are discussed.

Total knee arthroplasty infection due to Gemella haemolysans.

Gemella haemolysans, a relatively unknown commensal of the upper respiratory tract, rarely causes clinically important infections. This report deals with an infection of a total knee arthroplasty due to Gemella haemolysans in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. The microbiology of this bacterium is discussed and the clinical features of previously reported cases of Gemella infections are briefly reviewed.

An unusual presentation of sarcoidosis.

We describe a 35-year-old woman with arthralgias and skin lesions suggesting sarcoidosis. No pulmonary lesions were present. The diagnosis was established by histological examination of a swollen and discolored scar.

Alizarin red S staining of synovial fluid in inflammatory joint disorders.

In 153 patients with mainly inflammatory joint disorders alizarin red S staining was used to detect calcium-containing crystals in synovial fluid (SF). The reproducibility of the results of this staining technique in 207 SF samples proved to be fairly good (65% concordant results after two observations). Electron-microscope studies confirmed the presence of apatite or calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystals in 92% of the alizarin red S positive samples, and in 27% of the weakly positive samples.

Significance of rheumatoid factor isotypes in seronegative rheumatoid arthritis.

In a cross-sectional study of 124 patients with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and negative agglutination assays, rheumatoid factor (RF) isotypes were measured using an ELISA technique. Elevated levels of IgA-RF were found in 55 patients (44%), IgG-RF in 99 (80%), and IgM-RF in 20 (16%). The levels of IgA- and IgM-RF correlated with each other (P less than 0.

Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome in a patient with sero-negative oligoarthritis.

The Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome is a rare disease consisting of orofacial swellings, facial nerve palsy and plicated tongue. The etiology is unknown. On histopathological examination a characteristic granulomatous inflammation is found.