Lumbar bone erosion with anterior dural ectasia in ankylosing spondylitis: a case report.

Bony erosion and dural ectasia rarely occur in the posterior part of the vertebral body in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Because of the compression of nerve tissue that adheres to the inflamed dura mater, a range of neurologic symptoms may develop. Few studies have investigated therapies for this condition, and surgical intervention might alleviate the neurologic dysfunction.

Clinical and MRI response to dose reduction of an etanercept-biosimilar for hip arthritis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: an observational, retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Hip arthritis plays a critical role in the prognosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Dose reduction of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors preserves general improvement of AS, so this study attempted to examine the equivalence between Yisaipu® tapering and conventional therapy for hip arthritis in AS patients, using clinical parameters and magnetic resonance image (MRI).

Methods: AS patients received this etanercept-biosimilar injections (50 mg/week) in the first 12 weeks.

[Efficacy of local injection of RhTNFR: Fc in collagen-induced arthritis of rats].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α receptor II: IgG fusion protein (RhTNFR:Fc) local injection in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) of rats.

Methods: Twenty-four CIA rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: single therapy (Group I), multiply therapies (Group II) and control (Group III). Group I received normal saline thrice after a single RhTNFR:Fc local treatment while Groups II and III had 4 times of RhTNFR:Fc or normal saline local injection.

Suppression of acute ethanol-induced hepatic steatosis by docosahexaenoic acid is associated with downregulation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 and inflammatory cytokines.

Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to hepatic steatosis. Omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to be effective in reducing hepatic accumulation of triglycerides (TG) by downregulation of TG biosynthesis in the liver. The aim of this study was to examine whether supplementation with the n-3 PUFA, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), can effectively reduce acute alcohol-induced hepatic steatosis.

[Expressions of CD147 in peripheral monocytes and T lymphocytes of patients with ankylosing spondylitis].

Objective: To investigate the roles of CD147 in the pathogenesis and development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression levels of CD147 in peripheral monocytes and T lymphocytes of 30 AS patients, 30 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 30 healthy controls (HC). reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to evaluate the expression levels of CD147 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

Screening disease-associated proteins from sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparative proteomic study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation at the synovial membrane. Although great progress has been made recently in exploring the etiology and pathogenesis of RA, its molecular pathological mechanism remains to be further defined and it is still a great challenge in determining the diagnosis and in choosing the appropriate therapy in early patients. This study was performed to screen candidate RA-associated serum proteins by comparative proteomics to provide research clues to early diagnosis and treatment of RA.

[Study on expressions of CD25 and CD127 in CD4+ peripheral T lymphocytes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Objective: To study the proportion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and investigate the significance of Tregs change in the incidence and inflammatory activity of RA.

Methods: Three-color fluorescence flow cytometry was used to detect the CD4, CD25 and CD127 markers in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 25 RA patients and 31 healthy volunteers (HVs). The proportions of CD4(+)CD25(+), CD4(+)CD25(high), CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(-) and CD4(+)CD25(high)CD127(-) cells were compared between the two groups and correlation analysis was conducted between Tregs and disease activity indices which including disease activity score (DAS28-4), tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), time of morning stiffness, patient's global assessment of disease activity on a 100 mm VAS by doctor and patients, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein.

Value of the peripheral blood B-cells subsets in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Background: The role of B-cell remains an enigma in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). This study aimed to investigate the distributions of B-cells and subsets in peripheral blood of AS patients and observe their changes in etanercept-treated AS patents.

Methods: We detected the proportions of CD19(+) B-cell, naive B-cell (CD19(+)CD27-), memory B-cell (CD19(+)CD27dim) and plasmablast (CD19(+)CD27high) in peripheral blood of 66 patients with AS (39 at active stage, 27 at stable stage; 35 patients with peripheral joint involvement, 31 patients with axial involvement alone), 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 30 healthy volunteers using flow cytometry.