Cut-off levels of salivary beta2-microglobulin and sodium differentiating patients with Sjögren's syndrome from those without it and healthy controls.

Objectives: For the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS), cut-off levels of β2-microglobulin (β2MG) and sodium (Na+) in unstimulated whole saliva have not yet been shown. We aimed to determine the cut-off levels of salivary β2MG and Na+ which differentiate SS patients from non-SS patients and healthy controls.

Methods: Seventy-one patients of primary SS (pSS, 69 females/2 males, 60.

Anti-SS-A (Ro) antibody is positively associated with steroid-induced psychiatric events in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

Forty-five systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients who had steroid at a prednisolone dose of 0.8 mg/kg/day or more were retrospectively studied for psychiatric events that developed after the therapy. Simple insomnia was excluded.

Safety of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors and a basic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in Japanese patients with NSAID-induced urticaria and/or angioedema: Comparison of meloxicam, etodolac and tiaramide.

The identification of a safe and reliable alternative for patients with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced urticaria/angioedema is a frequent problem for dermatologists and other practitioners. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors have been reported to be safe for NSAID-intolerant patients from the US and Europe but not all of them have yet been approved for use in Japan. It was our objective to investigate the clinical manifestations of oral NSAID challenges in Japanese patients with histories of urticaria and/or angioedema after the intake of NSAIDs and to find safe alternative drugs, including COX-2 inhibitors and a basic anti-inflammatory drug.