Polyarteritis nodosa and Sjögren's syndrome: overlap syndrome.

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) belongs to a group of necrotic angiitis. During the illness, necrotic changes are found in small and middle dimensions arteries. Primary Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic, autoimmunological systematic illness of connective tissue with characteristic infiltration of lymphocytes and plasmatic cells in endocrine glands.

[Addison's disease imitating fibromyalgia].

We present the case of a 33-year-old female with generalized pain in the musculoskeletal system, fatigue, and many other symptoms. She was initially diagnosed with fibromyalgia but other tests finally confirmed Addison's disease. Supplementation with adrenal hormones resulted in total remission of pain and of other symptoms.

[Adverse effects of cyclosporin a observed in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis].

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PA) represent diseases which often demand aggressive therapy in order to control the process and inhibit lesion formation in joints and organs. This kind of therapy can be achieved with cyclosporin A (CsA), particularly when combined with methotrexate (MTX). This combination is far more effective than single-drug therapy and is capable of significantly reducing the number of articular lesions.

[The quality of life of patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis in reference to their physical fitness and mental state].

Introduction: A chronic inflammation leads to joints deformations, which in consequence results in disability and decrease in quality of life. In the 1960s, the evaluation of the treatment of patients with chronic disease started to include quality of life.

The Aim Of The Study: to evaluate quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on the basis of chosen questionnaires; to determine the usefulness of chosen questionnaires in assessing quality of life of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis; to investigate whether quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis depends on radiological and functional stage of disease, its duration, their age, sex and activity of the disease.

[Adult-onset Still's disease].

Introduction: The authors present the course and manifestations of adult-onset Still's disease on the basis of five cases diagnosed at the Department of Rheumatology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin.

Material And Methods: The usefulness of two most popular sets of diagnostic criteria of adult-onset Still's disease (Yamaguchi and Cush) was analyzed. At onset of the disease, two out of five patients met both sets of the diagnostic criteria, two others met criteria of Yamaguchi and one of Cush.

[Quality of life and activity of disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) considering their age, activity of the disease, its duration and radiological stage.

Material And Methods: The study group consisted of 151 women (mean age 55.0 years, mean duration of RA 9.