We report a case of a 43-year-old woman who developed rheumatoid arthritis-like symptoms after taking relugolix, presenting a diagnostic challenge in distinguishing between initial symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and the side effects of the drug. The patient, scheduled for a total laparoscopic hysterectomy owing to uterine fibroids, started taking relugolix five and a half months prior to surgery. Three months later, she developed rheumatoid arthritis-like stiffness in both hands, especially in the mornings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile undergoing treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV), a 53-year-old male contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting in a disease flare. Although HCV became negative due to the use of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir, CV remained uncontrolled, and the patient was treated with prednisolone, azathioprine, colchicine, and rituximab. He had not been vaccinated against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined whether serum B cell activating factor (BAFF) is useful for predicting the remission of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) following rituximab treatment. We used the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) 2008 version 3 for the evaluation of 27 patients with AAV 6 months after rituximab treatment. Those with BVAS = 0 achieved remission, whereas those with BVAS score > 0 did not achieve remission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 39-year-old Japanese man presented with chest oppression in February 2017. Electrocardiogram showed ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI), and cardiac catheterisation revealed thrombotic occlusion of the right coronary artery (RCA), which was treated with thrombectomy, and he received warfarin. Three days after discharge, he complained of chest oppression again, and re-cardiac catheterisation showed thrombi occlusion of the circumflex artery (LCX) and 90% stenosis with thrombosis in the proximal site of the anterior descending artery (LAD) and RCA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Rinsho Meneki Gakkai Kaishi
February 2018
A 65-year-old woman with a 17-year history of polymyositis and 8-year history of rheumatoid arthritis who was treated with a low dose of prednisolone and tacrolimus (Tac) was admitted to our hospital because of general malaise and hypertension. Blood tests showed thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia with fragmented erythrocytes, and hypercreatinemia. Based on these clinical features, she was diagnosed with thrombotic micro-angiopathy (TMA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Rinsho Meneki Gakkai Kaishi
September 2017
Background: Familial mediterranean fever (FMF) is a single inherited autoinflammatory disease characterized by periodic fever with relatively short duration of 1 to 3 days and sterile serositis. Although the prevalence rate is highest in the Mediterranean coastal area, a large number of cases have been reported recently by genetic analysis by identification of MEFV (Mediterranean fever) which is responsible gene in Japan too. In outpatient department of rheumatology, diagnosis and treatment of FMF is performed in cases where fever and abdominal pain attack are repeated for a short period of time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Rinsho Meneki Gakkai Kaishi
March 2017
A 48-year-old woman had suffered from a fever and general fatigue, and visited the other hospital for fever elevation in November 2013, at which time interstitial lung disease was revealed. In January 2014, she experienced an eruption in the hand and developed peripheral blood flow damage. Under a diagnosis of adult Still's disease, the patient was administered 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Rinsho Meneki Gakkai Kaishi
March 2017
Anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS) antibody is one of the myositis-specific autoantibodies to make a diagnosis of polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). Recently a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit of concurrently detected anti-ARS antibodies (anti-Jo-1, anti-PL-7, anti-PL-12, anti-EJ and anti-KS) have become to measure in the clinical setting. To evaluate the reliability of this ELISA kit, we measured anti-ARS antibodies in 75 PM and DM patients using by this ELISA assay and compared them with the results by RNA immunoprecipitation assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamilial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease caused by Mediterranean FeVergene (MEFV) mutations on Chromosome 16, and characterized by periodic fever of and serositis. FMF is the result of gain-of-function mutations in pyrin that lead to interleukin-1β activation. FMF can be classified as "typical" and "atypical" types based on clinical finding and genetic screening.
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