What is the Link between Lung Involvement and Anti-CCP Antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-sectional Study.

Background: In Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), pulmonary involvement is one of the most frequent extra-articular manifestations. Several studies have demonstrated an association between RA-related lung disease and the positivity of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies.

Objective: Our aim is to describe the frequency of pulmonary involvement in the RA population and investigate the association between anti-CCP antibodies and diverse lung compartment involvement in RA patients.

Correction: Characteristics of Late-Onset Spondyloarthritis: Data from the Moroccan Registry of Biological Therapies in Rheumatic Diseases.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.39100.

Therapeutic Maintenance Level of Methotrexate in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A RBSMR Study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic maintenance level of methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis patients enrolled in the Moroccan biotherapy registry and to identify predictive factors for discontinuing MTX treatment.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the baseline data of the Moroccan biotherapy registry for RBSMR (a multicentric study that aims to evaluate tolerance of biological therapy on patients affected with rheumatic diseases). Demographics and disease features were compared using descriptive statistics.

Active tuberculosis infection in moroccan patients with rheumatic diseases under biologic therapy: A multicenter national study.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of active tuberculosis (TB) infection in Moroccan patients with rheumatic diseases under biologic therapy, and to describe the demographic characteristics of these patients as well as to explore potential risk factors.

Methods: This 14-year nationally representative multicenter study enrolled Moroccan patients with rheumatic diseases who had been treated with biologic therapy. Patient medical records were reviewed retrospectively for demographic characteristics, underlying rheumatic diseases, associated comorbidities, and TB-related data.

The first biological choice in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: data from the Moroccan register of biotherapies.

Introduction: the aim of our study is to determine, from data of the Moroccan register of biotherapies, the factors influencing the choice of the first prescribed biological treatment.

Methods: cross-sectional multicenter study including rheumatoid arthritis patients who were initiated the first biological treatment either: Rituximab, an anti-TNF, or Tocilizumab. The determinants related to the patient and disease have been gathered.

One-year direct costs of biological therapy in rheumatoid arthritis and its predictive factors: data from the Moroccan RBSMR registry.

The aim of the study was to estimate the annual direct costs of biological therapies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to establish possible factors associated with those costs. The main data source was the Moroccan registry of biological therapies in rheumatic diseases (RBSMR Registry). We included patients with available 1-year data.

Liver Fibrosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Treated with Methotrexate.

Introduction: Methotrexate (MTX) is a highly effective therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, it has been associated with a range of liver related adverse events. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence rate of liver fibrosis in RA patients and to assess the correlation of cumulative MTX dose with hepatic fibrosis in our context.

[Comparing data from ultrasound with electroneuromyography in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome].

This study aims to evaluate the advantages of ultrasound in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome by comparing it with electroneuromyography (ENMG). We conducted a cross-sectional study over a period of 6 months. All patients underwent ultrasound with measurement of the surface of the median nerve at the entrance of the carpal tunnel and electroneuromyographic examination of both wrists.

Distinctive Features in Spondyloarthritis Between Women and Man in Moroccan Context: Disease Beginning, Clinical Manifestations, Disease Activity and Function Scores.

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a common group of chronic rheumatic inflammatory diseases, which usually affects the axial skeleton, and are more frequently observed in males than in females. Several differences have been brought up in the clinical presentation of axSpA, according to the patient's gender. In fact; axSpA severity in women tends to be moderate, leading then, to an underdiagnosis in this category of patients.

Comparison of Non-radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis and Ankylosing Spondyltis from a Single Rheumatology Hospital in Morocco.

Background: According to the new classification criteria developed by The Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society, patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) can be classified in 2 subgroups: Patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis: ankylosing spondylitis patients (AS) and those with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).

Objective: The aim of the present study is to describe and discuss the differences and similarities between the two subgroups.

Patients And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a single rheumatology hospital in Morocco.

Should the Ultrasound of Hands be a Component of Rheumatoid Arthritis Remission Criteria?

Introduction: The definition of remission in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is still difficult to determine. An ultrasound of the hands may be important in helping confirm clinical remission.

Objective: This study's aim was to evaluate the interest in using an ultrasound of the hands to confirm clinical remission, as well as comparing the various remission scores (DAS 28 VS, DAS 28 CRP, and SDAI) and the ultrasound data, in order to deduce the most accurate score to confirm this remission.

[Ankylosing spondylitis associated with Still's disease: should it be considered a pathophysiologic link or a simple association?].

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory rheumatism; it is part of the group of spondyloarthrites. General signs such as fever and weight loss are of little importance. Adult Still's disease is a rare systemic condition, a diagnosis of exclusion commonly characterized by high hectic fever, rash, arthritis and various systemic manifestations.

Effectiveness of Argan Oil Consumption on Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common chronic degenerative disorder. It causes joint pain, walking difficulties and a decline in general physical function. Many pain drugs and treatment modalities can be prescribed for KOA.

Axial Spondyloarthritis and Cigarette Smoking.

Background: Smoking is one of the main environmental risk factors involved in several rheumatic diseases according to ACR 2014, it is included among the risk factors for severe axial spondyloarthritis.

Objectives: The objective is to study the association between smoking and the activity of the disease, the functional impact and the severity of the axial spondyloarthritis.

Methods: It is a transversal study with a descriptive and analytical aim, during the period between January 2014 and December 2015 conducted in the department of rheumatology at the CHU Hassan II of Fes.

Profile of Patients with Spondyloarthritis in Morocco.

Objectives: to describe the clinical and paraclinical profile of our population with spondyloarthritis and to investigate factors associated with active and severe disease.

Methods: A retrospective observational study, conducted in the rheumatology department at CHU Hassan II of Fez, analyzing the records of patients diagnosed as spondylarthritis during the period extending from January 2009 to June 2014. Patients having a spondyloarthritis associated with intestinal bowel disease and psoriasis, as well as reactive arthritis were excluded.

Efficacy of Argane Oil on Metabolic Syndrome in a Moroccan Knee Osteoarthritis Population.

Five medical conditions which characterize metabolic syndrome are abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting plasma glucose, high serum triglycerides, and low highdensity lipoproteins cholesterol. When a patient has any three of the five above conditions, he is known to have metabolic syndrome, and these conditions represent a key element in cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease which was shown to be affected by some of the parameters of metabolic syndrome.

Myositis ossificans progressive: case report.

Myositis ossificans progressiva (MOP) is an autosomal dominant disorder. There is a progressive ectopic ossification and skeletal malformation, mainly in the connective tissue of muscle. The diagnosis is based on the clinical findings and radiological demonstration of the skeletal malformations.

Rheumatoid arthritis and tabetic arthropathy: physiopathological link or simple association?

To the best of our knowledge, the association of rheumatoid arthritis and tabetic arthropathy has never been described before in the literature. We report here a first observation. We report the case of a 50-year-old man, treated for syphilitic arthritis evolving for 4 years, who presented with a table of rheumatoid arthritis.

Chronic tophaceous gout with unusual large tophi: case report.

Gout is a metabolic disease, which is characterized by acute or chronic arthritis, and deposition of monosodium urate crystals in joint, bones, soft tissues, and kidneys. But large tophi are unusual in chronic gout. We report the case of a 67-year-oldArabman presenting chronic tophaceous gout with unusual large tophi involving multiple joints: hands, feet, elbows, and knees.

An unusual cause of medial foot pain: The cornuate navicular.

The accessory navicular bone (ANB) is a secondary ossification center of the navicular bone and is rarely observed. Three distinct types of accessory navicular bones have been described. The type III, known as the cornuate navicular, is a rare morphological entity of the accessory navicular bone.