Alternative for anti-TNF antibodies for arthritis treatment.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a proinflammatory cytokine, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases, including arthritis. Neutralization of this cytokine by anti-TNF-α antibodies has shown its efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is now widely used. Nevertheless, some patients currently treated with anti-TNF-α remain refractory or become nonresponder to these treatments.

Does joint effusion influence the clinical response to a single Hylan GF-20 injection for hip osteoarthritis?

Objective: To evaluate the influence of a joint effusion on the clinical response to a single injection of Hylan GF-20 for hip osteoarthritis.

Method: We prospectively included patients scheduled for intraarticular Hylan GF-20 injection to treat hip osteoarthritis. Disease severity was assessed based on the Kellgren-Lawrence radiological grade.

A particular form of septic arthritis: septic arthritis of facet joint.

Only about 40 cases of septic arthritis of the facet joints have been reported to date. We report 6 new cases including 2 at the cervical spine, which is rarely involved. Mean age was 61.

[Clinical diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis in case of joint and muscular presentations].

The diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis in case of joint and muscular presentations is generally suggested by epidemiological factors. However, as a rule, laboratory testing is required to confirm the diagnosis. When considering the epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis in France, the only areas free of ticks infected by Borrelia burgdorgeri sl, are those close to the Mediterranean sea or at high altitude.

Inflammatory and structural evaluation in spondyloarthritis: magnetic resonance imaging analysis of axial and peripheral involvement.

Objective: To determine the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) criteria of most value in the assessment of patients with spondyloarthropathy (SpA) with axial or peripheral involvement.

Methods: Fat suppressed (FS)-T2 and pre- and postinjection FS-T1 images were obtained in the most symptomatic region (axial or peripheral) of patients requiring tumor necrosis factor-a blockers. Thirty-eight MRI (21 axial and 17 peripheral) were blindly scored at synovial (S) and entheseal (E) sites by 2 experienced observers screening for 7 inflammatory and 7 structural predefined criteria, which were evaluated for frequency (N) and intra- and interobserver reproducibility.

Alveolar echinococcosis of the spine.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare parasitic disease caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis. It differs from cystic echinococcosis caused by Echinococcus granulosus. The main endemic areas of AE are Alaska, Canada, Japan, and parts of Europe.

Macroscopic and microscopic features of synovial membrane inflammation in the osteoarthritic knee: correlating magnetic resonance imaging findings with disease severity.

Objective: To determine the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), macroscopic, and microscopic characteristics of synovial membrane inflammation, to study the relationship between disease severity and the degree of synovial inflammation on MRI and on macroscopic and microscopic examination, and to look for colocalization of chondral lesions and synovial inflammation.

Methods: Thirty-nine patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) were classified into 2 groups according to the severity of cartilage lesions as revealed by chondroscopy. Group 1 (n = 14) had mild cartilage lesion(s) without exposure of subchondral bone.

Tuberculosis of the patella.

Background: A rare case of patella tuberculosis in a 33-year-old man is presented. In the last two decades, tuberculosis has made a vigorous comeback, due mainly to large-scale migration of populations and the increasing number of immunosuppressed patients. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis accounts for less than 3% of cases, and sites like the patella are very rare.

[Familial articular chondrocalcinosis: study of an Alsatian family].

Familial articular chondrocalcinosis is a chronic articular disease characterized by acute intermittent attacks of arthritis, presence of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal in synovial fluid, cartilage and periarticular soft tissue and by x rays calcium deposition in articular cartilage. A family originating from Alsace, with an autosomal dominant transmission has been studied. As in English and Argentinean families, a linkage to the short arm of chromosome 5p has been found.

Is quality of life affected by season and weather conditions in ankylosing spondylitis?

Objective: To examine the links between the quality of life (QOL) and season and weather conditions in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients.

Methods: A cohort of 146 AS patients (67% males), with a mean age of 47.3 years and a mean disease duration of 12.

Longitudinal study of rheumatoid arthritis patients discloses sustained elevated serum levels of soluble CD106 (V-CAM).

Objective: To appreciate the evolution of serum angiogenic and/or adhesion molecules levels during a long term follow-up of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: Serum levels of 5 soluble adhesion/angiogenesis glycoproteins (VEGF, CD31, CD54, CD62E, CD106) were measured in Elisa in samples collected over 6 years in a cohort of 43 RA patients with monitored clinical parameters of disease activity and severity.

Results: RA patients had significantly higher levels (p < 0.

[Determination of the best diagnostic criteria of sacroiliitis with MRI].

Aim: To determine which signs are the most accurate in the diagnosis of sacroiliitis with MRI.

Material And Methods: 40 consecutive patients with inflammatory low back pain underwent MRI at 1.5 T with FSE T2 and SE T1 weighted-images before and after Gadolinium-DOTA injection.

Septic sacroiliitis during the postpartal period. Diagnostic contribution of magnetic resonance imaging.

Septic sacroiliitis is an uncommon condition that is often diagnosed late. Two cases in the immediate postpartal period are reported. Magnetic resonance imaging contributed decisively to the early diagnosis.

Quality of life in ankylosing spondylitis: validation of the ankylosing spondylitis Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2, a modified Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales Questionnaire.

Objective: To develop a questionnaire measuring quality of life in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: A focus group technique contributed to the generation of an AS-specific questionnaire using the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2) (12 dimensions), supplemented with items from the Health Assessment Questionnaire for the Spondylar-thropathies, as well as original new items. Patients from a self-help group provided data to assess the validity (n = 146) and reproducibility (n = 43) of the AS-AIMS2.

Amyloid and non-amyloid carpal tunnel syndrome in patients receiving chronic renal dialysis.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of amyloid deposits among patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) receiving dialysis, and to investigate the factors associated with amyloid and non-amyloid CTS.

Methods: Subjects for this prospective study were dialysis patients who underwent surgery for CTS in the same surgical unit between 1989 and 1997. CTS was diagnosed from clinical and electromyographic (EMG) findings.

Insufficiency fractures of the ilium.

Insufficiency fractures often occur in the sacrum and pubic rami but have rarely been reported in the ilium, where their frequency may be underestimated. We studied a series of 14 patients with insufficiency fractures of the ilium. Six patients had an oblique fracture through the wing of the ilium (which was bilateral in one case) and nine a supraacetabular fracture, with in one case a superomedial extension into the iliac wing.

Seroreactivity to Borrelia burgdorferi antigens in early rheumatoid arthritis: a case-control study.

This study investigates the seroreactivity to Borrelia burgdorferi antigens of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for < 5 yr. Subjects were matched with controls for age, sex and area of residence in order to minimize the risk of differential exposure to B. burgdorferi.

Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi by DNA amplification in synovial tissue samples from patients with Lyme arthritis.

Objective: To compare the detection rates of chromosomal flagellin gene from Borrelia burgdorferi in synovial tissue (ST) and synovial fluid (SF) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques.

Methods: B burgdorferi DNA was sought in SF and ST from 12 consecutive patients with Lyme arthritis and from 29 patients with noninfectious diseases (controls).

Results: No DNA amplification was observed in samples obtained from the 29 control patients, whereas B burgdorferi DNA was detected in all ST and/or SF samples from the 12 patients with Lyme arthritis.

Segregation analysis and variance components analysis of bone mineral density in healthy families.

Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in 1992-93 in 129 nuclear families, including 258 parents and 183 children, and was analyzed for familial resemblance factors. BMD measurements were adjusted on weight and age. Segregation analysis rejected the monogenic hypothesis and exhibited a strong polygenic component.

Development of a criterion for response to therapy at 6 months in multiple myeloma.

Unlabelled: To investigate the prognostic value of therapy at 6 months on survival in multiple myeloma, to develop a new criterion assessing response to initial therapy at 6 months, and to compare it to a current criterion. The types of initial and 6-month therapy were considered in a prognostic factor analysis in 70 patients treated in routine practice. Using the response to initial therapy defined by the clinician's decision as grouping variable in this group, a discriminant analysis identified the characteristics of responder patients.