Comparative effectiveness of JAK inhibitors and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background/aims: We aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) vs. biologic disease- modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had an inadequate response to conventional synthetic DMARDs.

Methods: A quasi-experimental, multi-center, prospective, non-randomized study was conducted to compare response rates between JAKi and bDMARDs in patients with RA naïve to targeted therapy.

Quality Indicators for Evaluating the Health Care of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Korean Expert Consensus.

Background: There is increasing interest in the quality of health care and considerable efforts are being made to improve it. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease that can result in favorable outcomes when appropriate diagnosis and treatment are provided. However, several studies have shown that RA is often managed inappropriately.

Korean Observational Study Network for Arthritis (KORONA): establishment of a prospective multicenter cohort for rheumatoid arthritis in South Korea.

Objectives: The object of this study was to introduce the KORean Observational study Network for Arthritis (KORONA) registry with an emphasis on the design of the Korean rheumatoid arthritis (RA) national database, as well as to provide an overview of the RA patients who are currently registered in KORONA.

Methods: The KORONA was established in July 2009 by the Clinical Research Center for Rheumatoid Arthritis (CRCRA) in South Korea. KORONA is based on a prospective protocol and standard, defined data collection instruments.

The major determinants of arterial stiffness in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis are age and systolic blood pressure, not disease-related factors.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease, and to identify factors, especially those related to rheumatoid arthritis, influencing arterial stiffness in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A total of 262 patients with rheumatoid arthritis managed in a tertiary clinic were included.

Acute retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis in an unusual location: a case report in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and atlantoaxial subluxation.

Retropharyngeal calcific tendinitis is defined as inflammation of the longus colli muscle and is caused by the deposition of calcium hydroxyapatite crystals, which usually involves the superior oblique fibers of the longus colli muscle from C1-3. Diagnosis is usually made by detecting amorphous calcification and prevertebral soft tissue swelling on radiograph, CT or MRI. In this report, we introduce a case of this disease which was misdiagnosed as a retropharyngeal tuberculous abscess, or a muscle strain of the ongus colli muscle.

Incidence of tuberculosis among korean patients with ankylosing spondylitis who are taking tumor necrosis factor blockers.

Objective: To assess the incidence and relative risk of new tuberculosis (TB) infections in Korean patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and patients with AS who are undergoing treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers.

Methods: New cases of TB were identified by reviewing the medical records of 919 patients with AS not treated with TNF blockers and those of 354 patients with AS treated with adalimumab (n = 66), infliximab (n = 78), or etanercept (n = 210) between 2002 and 2009. Reference data were obtained from the Korean National Tuberculosis Association.

A case of microscopic polyangiitis associated with aortic valve insufficiency.

Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is an anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis characterized by inflammation of small-sized vessels. Although there have been some reports of ANCA-associated vasculitis presenting as aortitis syndrome, MPA rarely involves large-sized vessels such as the aorta. We report an unusual case of MPA combined with severe acute aortic valve insufficiency in a 56-year-old man.

Safety and clinical responses in ankylosing spondylitis after three months of etanercept therapy.

We aimed to evaluate the safety and clinical responses in Korean ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients after three months of etanercept therapy. AS patients satisfying the Modified New York Criteria were enrolled. They were assessed for safety and clinical responses at enrollment and after three months of etanercept therapy.

Single nucleotide polymorphism of COL6A1 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Objective: To investigate the genetic association between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of collagen 6A1 gene (COL6A1), the candidate gene for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Methods: One-hundred thirty Korean patients with AS (M: 116, F: 14, age: 29.0 +/- 4.

Prevalence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in cervical spines in Koreans.

Methods: We reviewed the reports of the radiologic examination of cervical spines from January 2002 to September 2005 in Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. OPLL was indicated by the presence of heterotopic ossification in the posterior longitudinal ligament on lateral cervical radiograph.

Prevalence of ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: A cross-sectional radiological examination was performed in patients diagnosed with AS. A bone and joint radiologist screened and confirmed the cervical radiographs of these patients.

Incidence of tuberculosis in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA): effects of RA itself and of tumor necrosis factor blockers.

Objective: To elucidate the incidence rate and relative risk of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in patients with RA treated with tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF) blockers in Korea.

Methods: Using data from the Korean National Tuberculosis Association (KNTA) as a control and data from a single-center cohort of patients with RA, we conducted an evaluation of 1285 patients with RA not exposed to TNF blockers and reviewed medical records of 90 and 103 patients with RA treated with infliximab and etanercept, respectively, between 2001 and 2005.

Results: The mean incidence rate of TB, reported by the KNTA, was 67.

Cyclooxygenase-2 genotype and rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine the association between cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) genotypes and risk and severity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a Korean population.

Methods: A total of 258 Korean patients with RA and 400 control subjects were recruited from Hanyang University Hospital. Subjects were genotyped for the -765G/C polymorphism of the COX-2 gene by RFLP-PCR analysis.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism in Korean patients with systemic sclerosis.

To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism is associated with the development and clinical features of systemic sclerosis (SSc) in Korean, we studied seventy two Korean patients with SSc fulfilling the ACR preliminary classification criteria. The controls were 114 healthy, disease free Koreans. ACE I/D genotypes were determined by PCR method using oligonucleotides.

Eosinophilic fasciitis associated with autoimmune thyroiditis.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) is scleroderma-like disease without Raynaud's phenomenon or visceral involvement. It is characterized by painful swelling of the extremities, accompanied by rapid weight gain, fever and myalgia. The acute state of disease is associated with significant peripheral blood eosinophilia, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hypergammaglobulinemia.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Korean version of the EQ-5D in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Korean version of the EQ-5D in rheumatic conditions.

Methods: Translation, back-translation and cognitive debriefing were performed according to the EuroQol group's guidelines. For validity, 508 patients were recruited and administered the EQ-5D, Short-Form 36 and condition-specific measures.

Pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis and reactive arthritis.

Purpose Of Review: The hallmark of ankylosing spondylitis is acute and chronic spinal inflammation initiating in the sacroiliac joints, often coupled with enthesitis, presenting as chronic inflammation at the sites of ligamentous and tendinous insertions into bone. Peripheral joint synovitis can be a prominent feature as well. Reactive arthritis is a sterile synovitis arising after an extra-articular infection of enteric or urogenital tracts.

Association analyses of DNA methyltransferase-1 (DNMT1) polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus.

The etiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is very complex, and genetic factors appear to play a significant role in susceptibility to SLE, in determining the disease expression, and in the autoantibody profiles of individuals with SLE. DNA methyltransferase-1 (DNMT1) is a major enzyme that determines genomic methylation patterns and both maintains methyltransferase and exhibits de novo DNA methylation activity in vivo. In order to clarify the association of DNMT1 polymorphisms with SLE, we scrutinized the genetic polymorphisms in exons and their boundaries of DNMT1, including the -1,500 bp promoter region, by direct sequencing in 24 Korean individuals.

A case of refractory Henoch-Schönlein purpura treated with thalidomide.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura is an acute, self-limited vasculitis syndrome which shows characteristic skin, joint, renal and gastrointestinal manifestations. It is common in childhood and may also occur in adults with fatal complications such as nephritis and gastrointestinal bleeding. We experienced a case of a 20-year-old woman who presented with palpable purpura and severe arthritis.