Scandinavian journal of rheumatology
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
In situ analysis of interleukin-6 expression at different sites of zygapophyseal joints from patients with ankylosing spondylitis in comparison to controls.
Analysis of interleukin (IL)-6 serum levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) has indicated that IL-6 might be a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in AS. However, two placebo-controlled trials with monoclonal antibodies directed against the IL-6 receptor have failed to demonstrate the efficacy of the monoclonal humanized anti-human IL-6 receptor antibody over placebo for the treatment of symptoms of AS. In this study we conducted an in situ analysis of IL-6 expression at different sites of inflammation in zygapophyseal joints of patients with AS in comparison to osteoarthritis autopsy controls (CO). ⋯ This in situ analysis confirms that IL-6 is not a key player in the pathogenesis of inflammatory processes in spondyloarthritides (SpA). The relevance of pro-inflammatory agents in axial SpA might be studied better in situ in bony specimens at the primary site of inflammation.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Pain sensitization and degenerative changes are associated with aberrant plantar loading in patients with painful knee osteoarthritis.
This study focused on the biomechanical implications of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and the association with pain. The plantar loading force distribution of the foot was determined and correlated to degenerative knee changes, function, pain intensity, and pain sensitization. ⋯ This study shows that mean maximum plantar foot force distribution in patients with painful knee OA is associated with specific pain mechanisms, function, radiological findings, and pain intensity.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines and cytokine receptors in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a cross-sectional comparative study.
Insight into the most important inflammatory pathways in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) could be of importance in risk stratification and the development of treatment strategies. Therefore, we aimed to compare circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers between AS patients and controls, and explore associations between these biomarkers and clinical measures of disease activity. ⋯ Significantly higher plasma levels of sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2, and OPG and numerically but non-significantly higher levels of IL-23 were found in AS patients compared to controls, indicating that these cytokines and cytokine receptors are important inflammatory pathways. Clinical measures of disease activity were not significantly correlated with circulating inflammatory markers.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Natural course of bone marrow oedema on magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joints in patients with early inflammatory back pain: a 2-year follow-up study.
To describe the distribution and evolution over time of bone marrow oedema (BME) on magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joint (MRI-SIJ) in patients with recent-onset inflammatory back pain (IBP) suspected for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). ⋯ BME shows a fluctuating course in patients with early IBP suspected for axSpA. This may have an impact on diagnosis and the overall performance of the ASAS axSpA criteria.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyFear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity in adults with rheumatoid arthritis.
The aim of this study was to describe fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity and explore how these beliefs correlate with sociodemographic, disease-specific, and psychosocial factors in adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ High fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity in patients with RA were found to be associated with being male and having a below average income, a high level of pain, poor health, a low HRQoL, and low ESES score. Additional research is warranted for adults with RA to capture the multiple potential correlates to fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity.