Abdominal tuberculosis in pediatrics: A case report.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease which most commonly compromises the respiratory system, whereas abdominal involvement is rare, thus its diagnosis is a challenge. The clinical manifestations of abdominal tuberculosis as well as its physical examination findings are usually non-specific and, frequently, similar to those of other diseases, so it is critical to consider abdominal tuberculosis among the differential diagnoses. Here we report the clinical case of a 15-year-old male patient hospitalized for a prolonged febrile syndrome associated with abdominal pain, diarrhea, night sweats, and weight loss.

A case of systemic lupus erythematosus associated with longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis, cerebral neutrophilic vasculitis, and cerebritis.

Systemic Lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with multiple clinical presentations and manifestations. Here, we report an intriguing case of a 30-year-old female with full-blown SLE, associated with longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) manifested by lower extremity weakness, neurogenic bladder and bowel, and central nervous system (CNS) lupus clinically manifested by changes in mood and behavior as well as neutrophilic vasculitis and cerebritis on pathology. LETM is a rare complication of SLE; however, what makes this case even more intriguing is that it additionally had cerebral lesions consistent with neutrophilic vasculitis and cerebritis, and that it may all have started at least 10 years prior with nonspecific musculoskeletal manifestations subsequently followed by a rash as well as intractable fevers of unknown etiology—much later attributed to her lupus.

Increased interleukin-1β gene expression in peripheral blood leukocytes is associated with increased pain and predicts risk for progression of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To evaluate whether gene expression profiles could serve as biomarkers of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) by examining gene expression profiles in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) from patients with OA compared with those from non-OA controls, and to determine whether candidate genomic biomarkers (PBL expression of inflammatory genes) predict an increased risk of disease progression in patients with symptomatic radiographic knee OA.

Methods: Three independent cohorts of patients with knee OA and non-OA control subjects were studied. Two cohorts (a learning cohort and a validation cohort) were recruited at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases (NYUHJD), and 1 cohort (a validation cohort) was recruited at Duke University Medical Center.

Long-term risks associated with biologic response modifiers used in rheumatic diseases.

Purpose Of Review: The introduction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists in 1998 has had a significant impact on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, as use of these agents has increased worldwide, infrequent adverse events that were not apparent in pivotal controlled clinical trials required for registration have emerged.

Recent Findings: These adverse events include serious infections, particularly tuberculosis, which may be atypical in presentation.