A 79-year-old non-smoker woman was admitted to our hospital following 15 days of unproductive coughing, moderate fever (38°C) and asthenia. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis five years before; the dia gnosis was made based on the presence of morning stiffness, symmetric joint pain and swelling in fingers, wrists, elbows, and ankles, and a positivity for both rheumatoid factor (1/160) ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of the three nonergot dopamine-receptor agonists (DAs) pramipexole, ropinirole, and rotigotine for the treatment of early and advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). MATERIALS AND METHODS Bayesian network meta-analyses were performed separately for early and advanced PD, and at time points 11-16 and 24-28 weeks. Outcomes for early PD included improvement on the Un...

Background: Biological therapy is indicated in the treatment of RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) after failure of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) by the ACR/EULAR recommendations. The objective of the study is to describe the characteristics of Saudi patients at the initiation of biological therapy and to evaluate clinical effectiveness of this therapy measured by the disease activity ...

Introduction In recent years, it is suggested that platelet histogram indices, such as mean platelet volume (MPV) may be related to the activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to assess relationship between MPV and activity of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Sixty consecutive patients fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for RA were recruited f...

OBJECTIVES The following study aims to evaluate the monotherapy with biologic agents: Infliximab (IFX), Etanercept (ETA), Adalimumab (ADA) and Rituximab (RTX) in patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS To achieve these objectives, the database of "Dr. I. Cantacuzino" Clinical Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, was used. The study was retrospective a...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of embedded nurse-led versus conventional physician-led follow-up on disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS In a systematic literature search, we identified randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on the efficacy of nurse-led follow-up on disease control in patients with RA compared with physician-led follow-up. Primary out...

OBJECTIVES To assess whether any benefits from adjunctive homeopathic intervention in patients with RA are due to the homeopathic consultation, homeopathic remedies or both. METHODS Exploratory double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial conducted from January 2008 to July 2008, in patients with active stable RA receiving conventional therapy. Eighty-three participants from three second...

Hard exclusive processes give us unique possibility to study internal structure of hadrons. The theoretical description of exclusive processes is based on the QCD factorization approach [1–6]. Scattering amplitudes (decay amplitudes) in this approach are given by convolution of the coefficient function which can be calculated perturbatively with nonpertubative functions – the distribution ampli...

BACKGROUND According to Beck theory, dysfunctional attitude has a central role in emergence of depression. The aim of this study was to determine contributions of dysfunctional attitude and general health index to depression. METHODS In this case-control study, two groups of subjects participated. The first group consisted of 65 patients with major depression and dysthymic disorder, who were ...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the clinical relevance of the production of anti-infliximab antibodies (anti-infliximab Abs) in patients with RA undergoing infliximab treatment over a prolonged period of time. METHODS Clinical characteristics, serum trough infliximab and antibody levels were evaluated in 85 RA patients treated with infliximab for a median of 4.42 (interval 0.4-10.2) years. DAS in 28 joi...