[Clinical effectiveness and tolerance of auranofin in patients with chronic polyarthritis. Results of a multicenter long-term study].

In an open multicenter trial, 90 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were treated with a daily dose of 6 mg auranofin. The duration of the treatment was 12 months. A significant improvement in the following parameters was observed: grip strength, number of swollen and painful joints after the 4th month, blood erythrocyte sedimentation rate decreased significantly after the 2nd month.

[Comprehensive review of the possibilities and limits of drug therapy of rheumatic diseases].

Practically 10-20% of all patients registered with a General Practitioner complains of symptoms in some way associated with rheumatism. Incidences of this disorder are distributed in such a way as to form a pattern whereby 55% is troubled with extra-articulary rheumatism, 38% with arthrosis and spondylarthrosis and 7% with rheumatoid arthritis. It is of most importance that the General Practitioner identifies these patients during the early stages of their disorder, and that he commerces the necessary treatment immediately.

[The value of pyrophosphate scintigraphy for the assessment of the activity of spondylarthritis ankylopoietica (author's transl)].

Seriological and scintigraphic activity was compared in 29 patients with spondylarthritis ankylopoietica (Bechterew's disease). Among our cases, 11 serologically active patients also had positive scans. the details being: cervical vertebral column in 5, thoracic vertebral column in 7 cases and the lumbar vertebral column and iliosacral joint in all 11 patients.

[Joint scintigraphy using 99mTc pyrophosphate].

Joint scintigraphy was performed in 85 patients suffering from a variety of rheumatic diseases, using a gamma camera and line scanner. Tc-pyrophosphate was the radio nuclide employed; it accumulates selectively in the juxta-articular parts of the bone. The method provides an objective demonstration of inflammatory and degenerative rheumatic joint changes.