Pulmonary function test: its correlation with pulmonary high-resolution computed tomography in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Our objective was to try to evaluate lung affection and to correlate an easier and cheaper method with the high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings in patients with RA. Thirty-six RA patients were selected for HRCT lung scan (twelve patients with altered pulmonary function test (PFT) and 24 with normal PFT). The American Thoracic Society criteria were followed for the pulmonary test.

Improvement of ACTH response to insulin tolerance test in female patients with rheumatoid arthritis due to tumor necrosis factor inhibition.

Objective: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis evaluation has been conflicting in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Our aim was to evaluate the HPA axis response to the insulin tolerance test (ITT) in premenopausal female patients with RA before and after anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy (anti-TNF therapy).

Design: A comparative cross-sectional analysis.

[Mycophenolate mofetil in lupus nephritis refractory to intravenous cyclophosphamide].

Objective: To evaluate the use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in lupus nephritis (LN) patients with prior failure to intravenous cyclophosphamide over a 12-month follow-up.

Patients And Methods: Eleven patients with LN were included. MMF doses ranged from 1.

Common carotid intima-media thickness and von Willebrand factor serum levels in rheumatoid arthritis female patients without cardiovascular risk factors.

High atherosclerosis prevalence was found in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the von Willebrand factor (vWF) was shown to be a marker for endothelial damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of intima-media thickness of the left common carotid artery with vWF serum levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients without cardiovascular risk factors. We included 55 RA female patients, each with at least 5 years of duration of the disease, and 20 healthy female subjects as members of the control group.