Safety and efficacy of long-term etanercept in the treatment of methotrexate-refractory polyarticular-course juvenile idiopathic arthritis in Japan.

Objectives: Previous short-term trials found etanercept (0.2 or 0.4 mg/kg) to be effective and well tolerated in Japanese children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who were intolerant/resistant to methotrexate.

Definitive differences in laboratory and radiological characteristics between two subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis: systemic arthritis and polyarthritis.

We performed this study to investigate the differences in radiological and laboratory findings between systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (s-JIA) and polyarthritis (p-JIA). Twenty-two patients with s-JIA and 18 with p-JIA were enrolled. Their laboratory findings and radiographs were examined retrospectively.

Survey of psychological support for bereaved families in Japan.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the current conditions of psychological support for the families of children who died suddenly of disease or accident.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2415 medical facilities across the country that have at least 100 beds and are staffed by pediatricians. Of these, 981 facilities (40.

Whole blood interferon-gamma assay for tuberculosis in children in Japan.

Background: Whole blood interferon-gamma assay QuantiFERON-TB2G (QFT-2G), which is a new specific method for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), has been developed and used in the clinical field. The aim of the present study was to assess the usefulness of QFT-2G as an indicator, both for diagnosing childhood TB and for assessing therapeutic effectiveness.

Methods: The subjects were 61 children introduced to the TB outpatient department for the first time between June 2004 and March 2006.

[Clinical features and laboratory findings in children with both anti-dsDNA and anti-U1-RNP antibody].

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) includes clinical features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM), and systemic sclerosis (SSc) occurring in conjunction with a high anti-U1-RNP antibody titer. Childhood MCTD rarely manifests the symptoms and signs of DM/PM and SSc, and mostly does those of SLE. Thus, the diagnosis of childhood MCTD is inevitably based on the two major findings, Raynaud's phenomenon and a high titer of anti-U1-RNP antibody.