Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a rheumatic disease characterized by fibrosis, microvascular damage and immune dysregulation. Two major subsets, limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) can be defined, according to the extent of skin involvement. Increasing evidence indicates a role for galectins in immune and vascular programs, extracellular matrix remodeling and fibrosis, suggesting their possible involvement in SSc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: No inherent renal lesions are known in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but urinary abnormalities and renal dysfunction have been described.
Objective: First, we describe the histopathological findings of renal biopsies (RBs) in patients with RA and associated clinical manifestations. Second, we evaluated time evolution of RA and the relationship between drugs and renal disease.
The hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency is an inborn error of purine metabolism, linked to the X chromosome. The clinical phenotypes associated with HPRT deficiency varied according to the level of enzyme deficiency, with a large spectrum of neurologic features like self-injurious behaviour in patients with complete deficiency. We report a 20-year-old man who had asymmetric polyarthritis, tophi, hyperuricemia, nephrolithiasis and mild neurologic symptoms with undetectable levels of HPRT activity in lysed erythrocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: American Indian-Europeans, Asians, and African Americans have an excess morbidity from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a higher prevalence of lupus nephritis than do Caucasians. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between genetic ancestry and sociodemographic characteristics and clinical features in a large cohort of American Indian-European SLE patients.
Methods: A total of 2,116 SLE patients of American Indian-European origin and 4,001 SLE patients of European descent for whom we had clinical data were included in the study.
Unlabelled: Twenty to 71% of patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) will develop systemic manifestations.
Objective: To characterize the clinical-serological presentation and the frequency of systemic manifestations in patients with primary SS.
Methods: Retrospective study including patients with SS visited in "Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires" during the period from January 2000 to August 2008.
Palindromic rheumatism is characterized by multiple recurrent episodes of arthritis and periarthritis (mono or oligoarticular) that may last hours or days, disappearing without sequels. We report a 69-year-old male with a history of hypertension and a presumptive diagnosis of gout due to recurrent episodes of arthritis and periarthritis in the last thirty years. They involved at least two joints, lasted few days and were self limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of the following study was to analyze maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnant patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the influence of SLE exacerbations on those pregnancies. Seventy-two pregnancies in 61 SLE patients treated between January 1986 and February 2004 in Hospital de Clínicas "José de San Martin" were reviewed retrospectively. Patient age was 28.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiverse pleuropulmonary manifestations, including pleural effusion, rheumatoid nodulosis, fibrosis, obliterans brochiolitis, bronchiectasias, vasculitis, drug-induced lung disease, and obliterans bronchiolitis with organized pneumonia, have been described in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bronchiolitis obliterans organized pneumonia (BOOP) is an uncommon condition described in patients with RA but not in juvenile RA (JRA). We described a patient with JRA who developed a BOOP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA white female patient developed overlapping features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) with severe pulmonary compromise. She was treated with steroids and azathioprine, which improved her clinical condition and spirometric status. In May 2002 she presented with continuous pain in her left ankle that continued even during rest and under treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF