Scandinavian journal of rheumatology
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2014
Increased arterial stiffness is independently associated with metabolic syndrome and damage index in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.
We evaluated whether traditional or non-traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-related risk factors were associated with pathological arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) adjusted for patients' age and blood pressure. ⋯ We have found a close link between metabolic syndrome and SLICC/ACR score with increased aortic stiffness. These variables might be an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis in SLE women without clinical evidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD).
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2014
Resistin as a factor in osteoarthritis: synovial fluid resistin concentrations correlate positively with interleukin 6 and matrix metalloproteinases MMP-1 and MMP-3.
Resistin is an adipocytokine that has been related to inflammation and insulin resistance. Following knee injury, elevated levels of resistin have been found in synovial fluid (SF) while very little is known about the role of resistin in osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of the present study was to investigate resistin levels in OA joints and to determine if it is associated with inflammatory and catabolic factors in the joints. ⋯ Resistin is present in OA joints and is released from OA cartilage. Levels of resistin in SF are associated with inflammatory and catabolic factors, suggesting that resistin has a role to play in the pathogenesis of, and as a possible drug target in, OA.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2014
Making the invisible visible: bioelectrical impedance analysis demonstrates unfavourable body composition in rheumatoid arthritis patients in clinical practice.
To examine differences between the assessment of body composition by body mass index (BMI) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ A high frequency of unfavourable body composition, predominantly reduced FFMI and elevated FMI, was found in a cohort of RA patients with moderately active disease, turning BMI into an unreliable method for assessment of body composition in RA. BIA, however, might be the preferred method to assess FFMI and FMI in RA patients in clinical practice, as it is easy to use and relatively inexpensive.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Jan 2013
Multicenter StudyLong-term outcome of severe alveolar haemorrhage in ANCA-associated vasculitis: a retrospective cohort study.
Alveolar haemorrhage (AH) is a major cause of early death in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). There is a paucity of information regarding the outcomes of AAV patients presenting with severe AH. ⋯ Severe AH was more commonly associated with PR3-ANCA (vs. MPO-ANCA) and strongly correlated with renal vasculitis. Current treatment of severe AH leads to remission but long-term mortality remains high. Concurrent renal failure and older age were associated with higher mortality.