Evaluating disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis using 99mtc-glucosamine.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical utility of a novel radiotracer, Tc-glucosamine, in assessing disease activity of both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Twenty-five patients with RA (nine males and 16 females) and 12 patients with AS (all male) at various stages of disease were recruited for the study. A clinical history and examination was performed, followed by the measurement of hematological, biochemical, and autoimmune serological parameters to assess disease activity.

Correlation between peak intraocular pressure of the water drinking test and peak intraocular pressure induced by intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy.

Purpose: It was the aim of this study to determine any possible correlation between the peaks and changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) of a water drinking test and intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy (IVMPT) IOP response.

Methods: Patients with rheumatic disorders scheduled for IVMPT with normal ocular examination received a WDT before and after 3 days of IVMPT. The maximum value of IOPs detected during the WDT or IVMPT was regarded as peak IOP, and IOP change was defined as the difference between peak IOP and baseline IOP.

A comparison of performance of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide 2 and citrullinated protein antibodies in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in Iranian patients.

Antibodies to citrullinated proteins and rheumatoid factor (RF) are widely used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the antibodies to citrullinated proteins appear to be the most specific markers of the disease. The objective was to compare the diagnostic performance of the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide 2 (anti-CCP2) and citrullinated protein Antibodies (CPA) with RF in the diagnosis of RA. Serum samples of 139 patients with RA and 131 patients with other rheumatic diseases were checked for anti-CCP2, CPA uses citrullinated recombinant rat filaggrin as the antigen assay, and RF.