OBJECTIVE To evaluate frequency of fibromyalgia in rheumatoid arthritis and its effect on disease activity score. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The Indus Hospital, Karachi, from December 2010 to May 2011. METHODOLOGY All adult patients of either gender diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis on the basis of clinical, laboratory and X-ray criteria were included ...

INTRODUCTION Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have become the treatment standard for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although several general-population studies document that a large population of patients diagnosed with RA do not use DMARDs, little is known about this group. We explored the characteristics, experiences, and knowledge of a low-income, elderly RA populatio...

OBJECTIVES To study the long term tolerance of parenteral gold and subsequent drug treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, including prediction of outcome and 'survival' of sequential treatments. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of 376 patients was made, including a detailed screening of 237 patients treated in 1989. Reasons for discontinuing treatment were analysed in life table...

Methotrexate (MTX) is well-established as the "anchor drug" for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to be used early and aggressively, with higher long-term effectiveness, tolerability, and safety than any other disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD). However, about 20% to 40% of patients experience incomplete responses to MTX and require further therapy, with options including other...

Disease activity assessment is a cornerstone of monitoring rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development and guidance for rituximab treatment. Beside clinical signs and symptoms biomarkers (RF and anti-CCP) are important early predictors of response to therapy and they can predict disease development. Autoantibody (RF and anti-CCP) seropositivity has been associated with positive response to rituximab ...

OBJECTIVE The prescription of biologic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients has varied considerably across different regions. Previous studies have shown physician preferences to be an important determinant in the decision to select biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) rather than nonbiologic, synthetic DMARDs (sDMARDs) alone. The aim of this study was to test the hy...

BACKGROUND Although disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the cornerstone of treatment for inflammatory rheumatic diseases, medication adherence to DMARDs is often suboptimal. Effective interventions to improve adherence to DMARDs are lacking, and new targets are needed to improve adherence. The aim of the present study was to explore patients' barriers and facilitators of optimal...

The aim of this study was to assess the change of IL-37 concentrations in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy, and to establish a correlation between Interleukin-37 and pro-inflammatory cytokines in plasma and disease activity. The plasma level of IL-37 was determined using ELISA in 50 newly diagnosed RA patients and 30 healthy controls...

INTRODUCTION Cardiovascular benefits and improved survival have resulted in statins becoming the most prescribed drugs in USA. There is a small but significant risk of developing statin induced rhabdomyolysis especially in combination with other lipid lowering medications for example fibrates like Gemfibrozil. CASE PRESENTATION We describe a case of an 82 year old male patient who developed r...