Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · May 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialRadiographic, clinical, and functional outcomes of treatment with adalimumab (a human anti-tumor necrosis factor monoclonal antibody) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis receiving concomitant methotrexate therapy: a randomized, placebo-controlled, 52-week trial.
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is an important proinflammatory cytokine that mediates inflammatory synovitis and articular matrix degradation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated the ability of adalimumab, a human anti-TNF monoclonal antibody, to inhibit the progression of structural joint damage, reduce the signs and symptoms, and improve physical function in patients with active RA receiving concomitant treatment with methotrexate (MTX). ⋯ In this 52-week trial, adalimumab was more effective than placebo at inhibiting the progression of structural joint damage, reducing the signs and symptoms, and improving physical function in patients with active RA who had demonstrated an incomplete response to MTX.
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Several investigators have speculated that mechanical stress might play an important role in the development of hand osteoarthritis (OA). Chopsticks, used universally as eating utensils in China, increase joint loading in the first through third fingers. We conducted a population-based survey among elderly Chinese individuals living in Beijing, to explore whether chopsticks use is associated with prevalent hand OA. ⋯ This epidemiologic study investigated the relationship of chopsticks use to hand arthropathy. The results suggest that chopsticks use is associated with an increased prevalence of OA in the IP joint of the thumb, and in the second and third PIP and MCP joints.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · May 2004
Expression of Toll-like receptor 2 on CD16+ blood monocytes and synovial tissue macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis.
CD16 (IgG Fcgamma receptor type IIIA [FcgammaRIIIA])-expressing CD14+ monocytes express high levels of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) and are able to efficiently produce proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha). To understand the role of CD16 and TLR-2 in monocyte and macrophage activation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we investigated the expression of TLR-2 on CD16+ blood monocytes and synovial tissue macrophages and the effect of CD16 and TLR-2 activation on cytokine production. ⋯ These results suggest that CD16+ monocytes and synovial tissue macrophages with high TLR-2 expression may be induced by M-CSF and IL-10, and their production of TNFalpha could be simulated by endogenous TLR ligands such as Hsp60 and FcgammaRIIIA ligation by small immune complexes in RA joints.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · May 2004
Comparative StudyDistribution of radiographic osteoarthritis between the right and left hands, hips, and knees.
To investigate whether radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) is asymmetric and greater on the right side than on the left side in the hands, hips, and knees. ⋯ This discordance in symmetry suggests that the relative importance of biomechanical factors in the pathogenesis of OA is site-specific and may be discordant for cartilage and bone.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · May 2004
Progression of radiographic hip osteoarthritis over eight years in a community sample of elderly white women.
To describe progression over 8 years in a community-based sample of elderly women with radiographic findings of hip osteoarthritis (RHOA) with or without hip pain. ⋯ Among women recruited from the community, radiographic and clinical progression was greater in those with symptomatic RHOA, but still substantially less frequent than previously reported for hip OA patients in clinical settings. Asymptomatic RHOA and hips with an isolated finding of mild JSN (MJS of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm) were unlikely to progress over 8 years.