Purpura and serum mixed cryoglobulinemia in psoriatic arthritis.

We here firstly describe the case of a psoriatic arthritis associated with cutaneous purpura and lower limbs weakness. The presence of type III mixed cryoglobulinemia in serum was the only possible detected cause. Discrepancies with the hepatitis C virus-related mixed cryoglobulinemia picture are discussed.

Effects of combined antiviral therapy on asymptomatic mixed cryoglobulinemia in naive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a preliminary study.

The clinical spectrum of mixed cryoglobulinemia embraces several manifestations: recurrent vascular purpura, weakness, arthralgia/arthritis, glomerulonephritis, peripheral neuropathies, and Raynaud's phenomenon. Mixed cryoglobulinemia is currently treated with steroids, low-antigen content diet, immunosuppressors, plasma exchange, and antiviral therapy, namely, alpha -interferon alone or, more recently, in association with ribavirin. In the present research, we verified the effectiveness of combined therapy with interferon and ribavirin on asymptomatic mixed cryoglobulinemia in naïve (never treated before) patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Pharmacological management of undifferentiated spondyloarthropathies.

Among undifferentiated spondyloarthropathies (uSpA) are included incomplete forms or early phases of definite seronegative spondyloarthritides and cases of spondyloarthritides that remain undifferentiated. The treatment of all spondyloarthritides is more conditioned by the disease localisation, number of involved districts and severity of inflammation rather than by the subtype of the spondyloarthritides itself. Specific studies focused on the pharmacological approach to uSpA are scarce.

Hepatitis C virus infection in psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), compared with patients affected by non HCV-related rheumatic degenerative disorders.

Methods: One-hundred consecutive subjects with PsA, and a statistically comparable group of 100 consecutive patients with peripheral osteoarthritis (OA) or sciatica due to L4-L5 or L5-S1 herniated disc were tested for HCV infection with a third-generation microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA). Positive cases were submitted to a third-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) confirmatory test.

Management of hepatitis C virus-related arthritis.

In recent years, hepatitis C virus-related arthritis (HCVrA) has been recognised as an autonomous rheumatic disorder. Two subsets of the disease have been identified: a polyarthritis involving small joints that resembles rheumatoid arthritis, but is usually milder, and a mono-oligoarthritis that shows an intermittent course and is frequently associated with the presence of cryo-globulins in serum. Few data about HCVrA treatment are reported in the literature.

Management of reactive arthritis.

Reactive arthritis (ReA) is an aseptic form of articular inflammation induced by infections mainly localised in the gastrointestinal (enteroarthritis) or urogenital (uroarthritis) tracts. The bacteria principally involved as causative agents are Chlamydia, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter and Yersinia. The clinical picture is usually characterised by a mono-oligoarthritis of the lower limbs.