Abnormalities in left ventricular diastolic function in male patients with rheumatoid arthritis without clinically evident cardiovascular disease.

Epidemiological studies have suggested that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease. We studied cardiac performance in 12 asymptomatic male patients with RA and 14 control subjects to elucidate early disturbances in cardiac function. In echocardiography, isovolumic relaxation time was longer (64 +/- 6 vs.

Cardiovascular mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 500 men and 500 women, aged 40 years and over, together with a control population matched by age and sex were followed up with respect to cause-specific mortality over a 10-year period. The overall mortality was significantly higher in both men and women with RA than in the controls. A statistically significant increase in mortality from all cardiovascular diseases (p less than 0.

Sulfasalazine in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. A twenty-six-week, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Eighty-five patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were randomized to receive either sulfasalazine (less than or equal to 3 gm/day, mean 2.5) or placebo for 26 weeks. There was a statistically significant improvement, compared with baseline, in most of the clinical variables in patients receiving the active drug.

Mortality from amyloidosis and renal diseases in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 500 men and 500 women, aged 40 years and over, together with a control population matched by age and sex, were observed over a 10 year period. The overall mortality was significantly higher in both men and women with rheumatoid arthritis than in the controls due to an excess mortality from infections and cardiovascular and renal diseases. During the follow up 31 patients with RA (12 male, 19 female) and one male control subject died from amyloidosis and 42 RA patients (19 male, 23 female) and one male control from renal diseases.

Cancer mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 500 males and 500 females, aged 40 years and over, together with an age and sex matched control population, were observed over a 10-year period. The overall mortality was significantly higher in both men and women with RA than in the controls. During the followup, 42 patients with RA (28 males, 14 females) and 58 control subjects (36 males, 22 females) died from malignant neoplasms, but this difference was not statistically significant.

Death certificate and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 500 males and 500 females, aged 40 years and over, together with an age- and sex-matched control population, were observed over a 10-year period. Altogether 208 male and 148 female RA patients died during the follow-up period. RA was mentioned on the death certificates of 111 men (53%) and for 96 women (65%).

Ten year mortality and causes of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Five hundred men and 500 women, aged 40 or over, with rheumatoid arthritis, together with a control population matched for age and sex, were observed over 10 years. During that time 352 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (208 men, 144 women) and 221 controls (148 men, 73 women) died. The overall mortality was significantly higher (p less than 0.

Xerostomia in Sjögren's syndrome treated with Sali-Synt. A double-blind cross-over trial.

In a double-blind cross-over trial, a new synthetic saliva Sali-Synt was compared with placebo for the treatment of xerostomia in Sjögren's syndrome. Sali-Synt may soothe the pain in the mouth and reduces sleep disturbances better than placebo, but no statistically significant differences were found. Seven patients of 12 preferred Sali-Synt to placebo in helping xerostomia.

Quantitative sacro-iliac scintigraphy. I. Methodological aspects.

Methodological aspects of quantitative sacroiliac scintigraphy (QSS) using [99mmTc]methylene diphosphonate (MDP) were studied. To improve the diagnostic value of QSS it is important to understand the errors involved in the calculated indices. The accumulated radioactivity in the sacro-iliac joint, compared with that in the sacral bone (SI ratio), decreased linearly with age, by about 24% from the age of 15 years to 71 years.

Diclofenac sodium (Voltaren) and indomethacin in the ambulatory treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind multicentre study.

In a double-blind crossover trial conducted on a multicentre basis, 109 patients with "classic" or "definite" rheumatoid arthritis were treated for two weeks with diclofenac sodium (Voltaren, 25 mg t.i.d.

Death rate and causes of death in RA patients during a period of five years.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 500 males and 500 females, aged 40 years or over, together with an age and sex matched control population, were observed over a 5-year period. During the follow-up 176 RA patients and 107 controls died. The most common causes of death in RA patients were cardiovascular diseases (86 patients), renal failure (33 patients), infections (23 patients), and malignant neoplasms (21 patients); in the controls, the corresponding data are cardiovascular diseases (53), malignant neoplasms (30), infections (9), and accidents (8).

Prolonged treatment with tolfenamic acid in inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

The aim of this study was in the first place to elucidate the tolerance of rheumatic patients to prolonged treatment with tolfenamic acid. 91 patients took part in the trial, most of them suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The daily dose of tolfenamic acid was 600 mg and the trial lasted 6 months.

Causes of death in autopsied RA patients.

Among 3115 autopsied patients, rheumatoid arthritis was registered in 41 patients (1.3%). The causes of death of these were correlated with the causes of death of 310 non-rheumatoid autopsied patients.

Death rate and causes of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 500 males and 500 females, aged 40 years or over, and an age- and sex-matched control population were observed over a 3-year period. During the follow-up, 122 RA patients and 69 controls had died. The most common causes of death in RA patients were cardiovascular diseases (57 patients), renal failure (27 patients), infections (19 patients), and malignant neoplasms (11 patients); in the controls, the respective data are: cardiovascular diseases (35 people), malignant neoplasms (21 people), accidents (7 people), and infections (5 people).