Efficacy and tolerability of probenecid as urate-lowering therapy in gout; clinical experience in high-prevalence population.

Objective: Probenecid is recommended as urate-lowering therapy (ULT) in patients with gout where xanthine oxidase inhibitors are ineffective, not tolerated, or contraindicated. The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of probenecid to achieve serum urate (SU) targets (< 0.36 mmol/l) in clinical practice.

Prevalence of airway and parenchymal abnormalities in newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Pulmonary disease is a well recognised and important extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of airway and parenchymal abnormalities in newly diagnosed patients with RA and to correlate these with clinical measures of RA severity and laboratory tests.

Methods: 60 patients with a new (symptom duration <12 months) diagnosis of RA (43 females, 42 European, mean age 54, 33 ever smoker, (17 current) underwent lung function testing and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scored by two independent radiologists.

Nail disease in psoriatic arthritis: distal phalangeal bone edema detected by magnetic resonance imaging predicts development of onycholysis and hyperkeratosis.

Objective: To examine the association between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of distal phalanx (DP) disease and the progression of nail pathology in psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: Clinical nail assessment and hand MRI scans were done on 34 patients with PsA. Twenty patients had repeat nail assessments after 1 year.

MRI bone oedema scores are higher in the arthritis mutilans form of psoriatic arthritis and correlate with high radiographic scores for joint damage.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of bone disease in the arthritis mutilans (AM) form of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: Twenty-eight patients with erosive PsA were enrolled (median disease duration of 14 years). Using x-rays of both hands and feet, 11 patients were classified as AM and 17 as non-AM (erosive psoriatic arthritis without bone lysis)by two observers.