Rheumatology News & Articles

1 Overview of vasculitis and vasculopathy in rheumatoid arthritis--something to think about Clinical Rheumatology, May 7, 2013
Radic M et al. - Advances in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with disease-modifying biologic and nonbiologic agents will probably continue to reduce the incidence of vasculitis. Since the goal of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is to decrease inflammatory burden, successful treatment may theoretically reduce the risk of accelerated atherosclerosis. The vasculature plays a crucial role in inflammation and atherosclerosis associated with the pathogenesis of rheumatoid ...

2 The levels of β-thromboglobulin in female rheumatoid arthritis patients as activation criteria Rheumatology International, April 30, 2013
Karatoprak C et al. - The activation of the platelets plays a key role in the formation of thrombosis. The variables such as mean platelet volume, platelet factor 4 and β-thromboglobulin have been used in the demonstration of the platelet activation. However, when the literature was reviewed, there was not found any study investigating the level of β-thromboglobulin in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The authors' goal is to evaluate the ...

3 Identification of novel markers in rheumatoid arthritis through integrated analysis of DNA methylation and microRNA expression Journal of Autoimmunity , February 11, 2013
De la Rica L et al. - In rheumatoid arthritis, several cell types are involved in the destruction of the joints, synovial fibroblasts being among the most important. In this study the authors performed DNA methylation and miRNA expression screening of a set of rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts and compared the results with those obtained from osteoarthritis patients with a normal phenotype. The study enabled the identification of novel dysregulated targets in rheumatoid arthritis ...

4 Impact of Fatigue on Psychological Outcomes in Adults Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis Nursing Research, May 10, 2013
Franklin AL et al. - The aim of the study was to examine the unique influence of rheumatoid arthritis-related fatigue on three psychological outcomes: depressive symptoms, perceived health impairment, and satisfaction with abilities. The study indicates that rheumatoid arthritis-related fatigue contributes to diminished psychological well-being in older adults aging with rheumatoid arthritis and suggests the need for psychoeducational and management strategies that ...

5 Impact of Fatigue on Psychological Outcomes in Adults Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis Nursing Research, May 13, 2013
Franklin AL et al. - The aim of the study was to examine the unique influence of rheumatoid arthritis-related fatigue on three psychological outcomes: depressive symptoms, perceived health impairment, and satisfaction with abilities. The study indicates that rheumatoid arthritis-related fatigue contributes to diminished psychological well-being in older adults aging with rheumatoid arthritis and suggests the need for psychoeducational and management strategies that ...

6 People getting a grip on arthritis II: An innovative strategy to implement clinical practice guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients through Facebook Health Education Journal, February 12, 2013
Brosseau L et al. - The purpose of the study is to determine if an updated online evidence-based educational programme delivered through Facebook is effective in improving the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy of patients with arthritis in relation to evidence-based self-management rehabilitation interventions for osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This online programme can provide patient organization representatives with the opportunity to ...

7 Location of CD4+ T Cell Priming Regulates the Differentiation of Th1 and Th17 Cells and Their Contribution to Arthritis The Journal of Immunology, May 9, 2013
Rodeghero R et al. - Th cytokines IFN-γ and IL-17 are linked to the development of autoimmune disease. In models of rheumatoid arthritis, that is, proteoglycan (PG)-induced arthritis, IFN-γ is required, whereas in collagen-induced arthritis, IL-17 is necessary for development of arthritis. In this study the authors show that the route of immunization determines the requirement for either IFN-γ or IL-17 in arthritis. The ...

8 Longterm Effects of Rituximab on B Cell Counts and Autoantibody Production in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Use of High-sensitivity Flow Cytometry for More Sensitive Assessment of B Cell Depletion The Journal of Rheumatology, April 12, 2013
Vancsa A et al. - The study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of longterm rituximab (RTX) therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and study correlations among B cell depletion, clinical response, and autoantibody production. In RA, clinical response to RTX is associated with the extent of B cell depletion and with autoantibody production. Changes in CD19+ B cell numbers correlate with those in disease activity and, in seropositive patients, also with IgM RF, but not with ACPA ...

9 Impaired beta cell function is present in non-diabetic rheumatoid arthritis patients Arthritis Research & Therapy, February 4, 2013
Ferraz-Amaro I et al. - To investigate how markers of beta cell secretion (proinsulin processing metabolites) are expressed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and their potential relationship with the insulin resistance (IR) observed in these patients. Beta cell function is impaired in non-diabetic and non-on corticoids RA patients by a mechanism that seems to be, at least in part, independent of IR.

10 Health care quality indicators on the management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis: a literature review Rheumatology, February 1, 2013
Strombeck B et al. - To make an inventory of quality and content of currently available and published sets of health care quality indicators (HCQIs) for RA and OA. Only a limited number of HCQI sets for the management of OA and RA are available, mainly including process indicators. The developmental process was methodologically suboptimal in all cases. As improvement of health care quality is an ongoing process, there is a need for development of HCQIs covering different aspects of ...