Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Clinical Review.

Background: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is defined as a sudden loss of hearing, usually unilateral, of more than 30 dB in 3 contiguous frequencies of the tonal audiometry. SSNHL estimates an incidence ranging from 5 to 20 per 100.000 people per year.

Clinical Relevance of Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: Differential Regulation and Correlation With Disease Activity.

Galectins, a family of animal lectins, play central roles in immune system regulation, shaping both innate and adaptive responses in physiological and pathological processes. These include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic multifactorial autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory responses that affects both articular and extra-articular tissues. Galectins have been reported to play central roles in RA and its experimental animal models.

Effects of Amerindian Genetic Ancestry on Clinical Variables and Therapy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: To define whether Amerindian genetic ancestry correlates with clinical and therapeutic variables in admixed individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from Latin America.

Methods: Patients with RA (n = 1347) and healthy controls (n = 1012) from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Peru were included. Samples were genotyped for the Immunochip v1 using the Illumina platform.

Severe infections in patients with autoimmune diseases treated with cyclophosphamide.

Introduction: Infectious diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with connective tissue diseases. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, such as cyclophosphamide (CYC), increases the risk of infections. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence rates of severe infections in patients who received treatment with CYC.

Rheumatoid arthritis in Latin Americans enriched for Amerindian ancestry is associated with loci in chromosomes 1, 12, and 13, and the HLA class II region.

Objective: To identify susceptibility loci for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Latin American individuals with admixed European and Amerindian genetic ancestry.

Methods: Genotyping was performed in 1,475 patients with RA and 1,213 control subjects, using a customized BeadArray containing 196,524 markers covering loci previously associated with various autoimmune diseases. Principal components analysis (EigenSoft package) and Structure software were used to identify outliers and define the population substructure.

Impact of genetic ancestry and sociodemographic status on the clinical expression of systemic lupus erythematosus in American Indian-European populations.

Objective: 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.

Elastofibroma dorsi: review of 4 cases.

Elastofibroma dorsi is a benign, uncommon fibroelastic tissue condition, more common in women after the fifth decade of life. It is usually located in the subscapular region, and can sometimes be bilateral. We present 4 patients, between 53 and 73 years of age, with this disease.

A girl with cutaneous lesions, polyarthritis, and antinuclear antibodies positivity.

On October 1996, a 14-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital because cutaneous lesions, asthenia, and arthralgias. On examination, there was nonscarring hair thinning with a widened part over the frontal hairline, polymorphic papulosquamous rash on her face, neck, arms, and trunk, and livedo reticularis in her legs. Multiple aphtous ulcers were present on the buccal and nasal mucosa.

Coronary artery aneurysms in Wegener's granulomatosis.

Atherosclerosis is the main cause of coronary artery aneurysm, however they can be observed in connective tissue diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and vasculitis. Kawasaki's disease and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) are the systemic vasculitis that more often present coronary artery aneurysms. There are descriptions in the literature that small vessel vasculitis such as microscopic polyangiitis and PAN could develop coronary artery aneurysm, which are infrequent in other ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Shoulder manifestations of diabetes mellitus.

The musculoskeletal system can be affected by diabetes in a number of ways. The shoulder is one of the frequently affected sites. One of the rheumatic conditions caused by diabetes is frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis), which is characterized by pain and severe limited active and passive range of motion of the glenohumeral joint, particularly external rotation.

Polyarteritis nodosa complicated by antiphospholipid syndrome.

Polyarteritis nodosa is a necrotizing vasculitis of small and medium-sized arteries that spares the smallest blood vessels (arterioles, venules, and capillaries). Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disorder characterized by venous or arterial thrombosis and/or by fetal losses, associated with antiphospholipid antibodies. The association of both diseases is infrequent.