The history of the (Young) AEMI(E) and the EFIM.

The European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM) was formed in 1996 through a merger between the Association Européenne de Médicine Interne (d' Ensemble) (AEMI(E)) and the Forum of Presidents of National Societies of Internal Medicine (IM). It arose as a result of ideas from Carcassi (Rome/Cagliari) and Merino (Alicante) to transform the largely French-speaking and rather elitist AEMI into a more easily accessible and English-speaking federation of national societies. The founding meeting of the General Assembly of the EFIM took place in May 1996 in Paris.

Multicenter study of the safety/efficacy of misoprostol in the prevention and treatment of NSAID-induced gastroduodenal lesions.

Gastrointestinal symptoms and lesions are often associated with the clinical use of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). An open-label, single arm multicenter Italian study evaluated if misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 analogue with gastroduodenal mucosal protective activity, was effective in the prevention and treatment of NSAID-induced gastroduodenal lesions. Patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), in treatment with NSAIDs and suffering from gastric symptoms or gastroduodenal lesions related to NSAID use, were admitted to the study.

History of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA).

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) was first described in 1868 as "hyperostosis of the entire skeleton". It has also been mistaken for acromegaly. In 1887-1888 the first description was given of a dermatological disorder "cutis verticis girata" which coexisted with the peculiar bone anomalies of HOA.

Nerve growth factor in the synovial fluid of patients with chronic arthritis.

Cytokines regulate nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis during inflammatory processes. Since cytokines are also involved in the inflammatory processes of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, we examined levels of NGF in patients with rheumatoid or other types of chronic arthritis. NGF was present in the synovial fluid and synovium of patients with chronic arthritis, but was undetectable in control fluids.