Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2009
Relationships between the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire, tender point count, and muscle strength in female patients with fibromyalgia: a cohort study.
To test the hypothesis that fibromyalgia (FM) patients with reduced lower extremity strength are more symptomatic and tender than FM patients with normal muscle strength. ⋯ Significantly reduced knee muscle strength was found in more than half of the patients. Patients with subnormal muscle strength were not more symptomatic or tender than patients with normal muscle strength. There were no clinically significant correlations between FIQ, tender point count, and muscle strength; therefore, reduced knee muscle strength appears to be a common objective abnormality in FM that is independent of measurements of disease activity. The implication of this finding in regard to the clinical assessment of FM needs further study.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2009
Review Meta AnalysisThe effectiveness of Tai Chi for chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
To determine whether Tai Chi improves pain, disability, physical performance, and/or health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in people with chronic musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ The available data on the effect of Tai Chi are sparse and derived principally from low-quality studies. These data suggest that Tai Chi has a small positive effect on pain and disability in people with arthritis. The extent to which it benefits other forms of musculoskeletal pain is unclear.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2009
Association of concomitant fibromyalgia with worse disease activity score in 28 joints, health assessment questionnaire, and short form 36 scores in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
To study the association of the presence of fibromyalgia (FM) with the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28), the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) health survey in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ FM is related to worse scores on the DAS28, HAQ, and SF-36 in patients with RA. The presence of FM may have major implications in the interpretation of the DAS28 score because it is related to higher scores independently of objective evidence of RA activity.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2009
Clinical disease among patients heterozygous for familial Mediterranean fever.
To define the molecular basis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in patients with only 1 mutation in the MEFV gene. ⋯ These findings are highly consistent with the existence of a clinical phenotype among some patients who are heterozygous for FMF and could explain the vertical transmission in some families. A single mutation in the MEFV gene may be much more common than was previously thought and may include up to 25% of patients who are diagnosed as having FMF.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Jun 2009
Familial Mediterranean fever with a single MEFV mutation: where is the second hit?
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) has traditionally been considered an autosomal-recessive disease; however, it has been observed that a substantial number of patients with clinical FMF possess only 1 demonstrable MEFV mutation. The purpose of this study was to perform an extensive search for a second MEFV mutation in 46 patients diagnosed clinically as having FMF and carrying only 1 high-penetrance FMF mutation. ⋯ Our data underscore the existence of a significant subset of FMF patients who are carriers of only 1 MEFV mutation and demonstrate that complete MEFV sequencing is not likely to yield a second mutation. Screening for the set of the most common mutations and detection of a single mutation appears to be sufficient in the presence of clinical symptoms for the diagnosis of FMF and the initiation of a trial of colchicine.