Choice of and response to treatment in patients with early-diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis: Real-world data from an inception cohort in Japan (NICER-J).

Objective: Various guidelines recommend that patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) try to achieve clinical remission within 6 months, and early therapeutic intervention is important to this end. This study aimed to investigate short-term treatment outcomes of patients with early-diagnosed RA in clinical practice and to examine predictive factors for achieving remission.

Methods: Of the 210 patients enrolled in the multicenter RA inception cohort, 172 patients who were followed up to 6 months after treatment initiation (baseline) were included.

Relationships between concomitant biologic DMARDs and prednisolone administration and blood tacrolimus exposure or serum CYP3A4/5-related markers in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between concomitant biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and prednisolone administration and blood tacrolimus exposure or serum CYP3A4/5-related markers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients without severe disease activity.

Methods: Forty-six RA patients treated with oral tacrolimus once daily for maintenance of clinical remission to moderate disease activity were enrolled. The blood concentrations of tacrolimus and its major metabolite were determined at 12 h after the evening dosing.

Exchange-correlation interaction and AO-hybridization of alkali-metal atomic clusters.

The structure of alkali-metal atomic clusters is optimized with B3P86 hybrid functional for the highest spin state as well as with B3LYP hybrid functional for the lowest spin state. A dramatic change from plane to solid occurs in the highest spin state when the number of constituent atoms is four. The binding, exchange, and correlation energies are evaluated for both the highest and lowest spin states.

Involvement of IL-33 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis: the effect of etanercept on the serum levels of IL-33.

To investigate the role of interleukin (IL)-33 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, we measured the serum levels of IL-33 in RA patients before and after the administration of etanercept. Twenty-four patients with RA were treated with etanercept. Clinical and laboratory examinations, including serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and hemoglobin (Hb); white blood cell (WBC) and red blood cell (RBC) counts; and the Disease Activity Score of 28 joints including CRP (DAS28-CRP), were performed at the baseline and at 3 and 6 months after the initial treatment with etanercept.

Arthroscopic treatment of a medial meniscal cyst using a posterior trans-septal approach: a case report.

Arthroscopic partial menisectomy followed by cyst decompression is currently recommended for treatment of a meniscal cyst. However, it is doubtful whether partial menisectomy should be performed on cysts communicating with the joint in cases without a meniscal tear on its surface since meniscal function will be sacrificed. In this report, a meniscal cyst arising from the posterior horn of the medial meniscus without meniscal tear on its surface was resected using an arthroscopic posterior trans-septal approach.

Comparison between resection arthroplasty alone and resection arthroplasty with arthrodesis of the first MTP joint for rheumatoid forefoot deformities.

It has been reported that nearly 90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have problems with their feet. Several methods of treating hallux valgus deformity in RA have previously been reported, including arthrodesis and joint resection, and good results have been observed with surgical procedures. In this report, we compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of resection arthroplasty alone (the first method) and resection arthroplasty with arthrodesis of the first MTP joint (the second method) for the treatment of forefoot deformities of RA patients.

Reduction of oxidative stress marker levels by anti-TNF-alpha antibody, infliximab, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of anti-TNF-alpha antibody, infliximab, on oxidative stress markers representing DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and glycoxidation.

Methods: Twenty-three RA patients underwent infliximab treatment and were analyzed for 30 weeks. Six patients who experienced side effects and one patient who had a reduced efficacy of infliximab were discontinued the infliximab treatment at 30-54 weeks.

Photodynamic therapy using talaporfin sodium for synovial membrane from rheumatoid arthritis patients and collagen-induced arthritis rats.

We investigated the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using talaporfin sodium as a new method of synovectomy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We first used RA synovial membrane (RASM) for in vitro and in vivo study. The RASM was obtained from patients with RA during total knee replacement.

Methotrexate reduces the levels of pentosidine and 8-hydroxy-deoxy guanosine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study was performed to investigate whether methotrexate (MTX) affects the levels of oxidative stress markers, including pentosidine one of the glycation end products (AGEs) or 8-hydroxy-deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG). These stress markers represent DNA damage; 19 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients underwent MTX treatment. The levels of serum total, urinary total, urinary-free pentosidine and also urinary 8-OHdG, as well as clinical parameters, including disease activity scores for 28 joints (DAS28) were measured at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after the initial treatment with MTX.

Etanercept reduces the oxidative stress marker levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of the TNF-alpha inhibitor etanercept on oxidation stress markers representing DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and protein glycosylation. Twenty-two rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients underwent etanercept treatment. The levels of serum total, urinary total, and urinary free pentosidine, which is an advanced glycation end-product (AGE), of urinary N(epsilon)-hexanoyl lysine (N(epsilon)-HEL), and of 8-hydroxy-deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG) were measured at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after the initial treatment with etanercept.

Etanercept reduces the serum levels of interleukin-23 and macrophage inflammatory protein-3 alpha in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of the soluble TNF-alpha receptor etanercept on the serum levels of IL-16, IL-17, IL-23, and macrophage inflammatory protein-3alpha (MIP-3alpha) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Twenty-two patients with RA were administered etanercept once or twice a week for more than 6 months, and we evaluated clinical and laboratory parameters and serum levels of IL-16, IL-17, IL-23, and MIP-3alpha at the baseline and at 3 and 6 months. Additionally, the production of IL-23 and MIP-3alpha of cultured synovial cells stimulated with TNF-alpha from RA patients was determined by ELISA.

The effect of methotrexate on bone metabolism markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence on urinary excretion levels of N-telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) and deoxypyridinoline (DPD) as a useful marker for bone resorption, and on serum-bone alkaline phosphate (BAP) levels as a useful marker for bone formation and an early marker of osteoblast differentiation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with methotrexate (MTX). Thirty patients with RA, diagnosed according to the criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, were involved in this study between March 2003 and January 2005. None of the patients had a history of hormone (estrogen) replacement therapy.

The effect of infliximab on chemokines in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by infiltration of lymphocytes, macrophages, and plasma cells into synovial membrane. The chemokines family promotes chemotactic activity in various leukocyte cell types. Chemokines thus play an essential role in the pathological formation of RA.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibody treatment reduces serum CXCL16 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The aim of this study was to analyze the change of serum chemokins levels of CXCL16, CX3CL1/Fractalkine, and CXCL10/interferon-gamma inducible protein-10 (IP-10) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), by infliximab treatment. The effects of infliximab treatment were studied in 23 patients with RA, over a period of 30 weeks. The serum levels of CXCL16, Fractalkine, and IP-10, were measured at the baseline, just before initial treatment, and at 14 and 30 weeks after the initial treatment, with infliximab by ELISA.

Treatment with anti-TNF-alpha antibody infliximab reduces serum IL-15 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The aim of this study was to analyze the change of serum cytokines and pentosidine levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by infliximab treatment. Twenty-three patients with RA were studied for 30 weeks on the effects of infliximab treatment. Serum levels of IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were measured with ELISA methods and pentosidine levels were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, both at baseline and at 14 and 30 weeks after the initial treatment with infliximab.

The effect of infliximab on bone metabolism markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate urinary excretion of N-telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX) and deoxypyridinoline (DPD), markers of bone resorption, and serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) level, a marker of bone formation and an early marker of osteoblast differentiation, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with infliximab.

Methods: Seventeen male and female patients (age 60.7+/-2.

The occurrence of a geode in the olecranon of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

Geode, a subchondral cyst, is sometimes seen in the femur, knee, or wrist in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). But the onset of a giant geode at the olecranon is extremely rare in a patient with RA. We describe herein a rare case of a giant geode at the olecranon in a patient with RA.

Soft x-ray absorption spectra of ilmenite family.

We have carried out soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy to study the electronic structure of ilmenite family, such as MnTiO3, FeTiO3, and CoTiO3 at the soft x-ray beamline, BL23SU, at the SPring-8. The Ti and M L2,3 absorption spectra of MTiO3 (M=Mn, Fe, and Co) show spectra of Ti4+ and M2+ electron configurations, respectively. Except the Fe L2,3 spectrum, those spectra were understood within the O(h) symmetry around the transition metal ions.