Etanercept is a tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) antagonist with anti-inflammatory effects. It is used in the treatment of dermatologic and rheumatologic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. However, etanercept has various cutaneous and systemic side effects. Herein, we report a case of generalized...

Cauda equina syndrome is an unusual complication of ankylosing spondylitis. We present a case of a 68-year-old woman with long-standing ankylosing spondylitis who developed cauda equina syndrome. MRI revealed a characteristic widening of the lumbosacral thecal sac and numerous dorsal thecal diverticula. MRI is a powerful, noninvasive tool to confirm the diagnosis and exclude a treatable compres...

Patients with ankylosing spondylitis often seem tall and slim, but it may be difficult to measure their height accurately because of fixed spinal deformities. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that patients with ankylosing spondylitis are taller than normal controls by measuring radiographs of the bones of the hands, since such measurements have been shown to reflect abnormalities ...

Ankylosing spondylitis is reported to involve not only the joints but other organs as well. Among these extra-articular involvements, uncommon complications associated with nervous system such as single root lesions, compression of the myelum and cauda equina syndrome have also been documented. Here we present a patient with long-standing ankylosing spondylitis who developed spastic paraparesis...

The circulating levels of sialic acid (N-acetylneuraminic acid) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were measured in 69 patients with spinal disorders of orthopaedic interest (ankylosing spondylitis 17, osteofluorosis 6, idiopathic backache 10, osteoarthrosis 16, osteoporosis 20). The serum GAG levels showed no statistically significant change from control values in the five disorders investigated in...

Circulating immunoblasts were studied in 39 cases of ankylosing spondylitis. The results were compared with 20 normal subjects and a group of 39 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, Immunoblasts were found to be increased in 11 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and in 22 patients with rheumatoid arthritis in contrast to the controls who were found to have a normal lymphoid cell population in ...

A patient with a 10 year history of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and Bence Jones proteinuria, and a 44 year history of ankylosing spondylitis, developed a nephrotic syndrome secondary to renal amyloidosis. Clinically the amyloidosis was ascribed to Bence Jones proteinuria rather than to the burnt out ankylosing spondylitis. However, histochemical and immunofluorescence sta...

In a retrospective study of 399 patients with ulcerative colitis, 27 patients had colitic arthritis, 17 had ankylosing spondylitis, and 20 had clubbing of the fingers. Colitic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis were not related to severity, extent of involvement, or duration of colitis. A significant association between colitic arthropathy and other complications of ulcerative colitis, such a...

All patients with ankylosing spondylitis attending our rheumatology clinics were reviewed to assess the effect of their disease on employment. Back movement was measured in three planes, chest expansion determined, and peripheral joint involvement was noted to see whether these correlated with work capability. Sixty patients were reviewed (47 men, 13 women; mean disease duration 24.3 years). Ni...

INTRODUCTION Concurrent rheumatoid factor seropositivity is occasionally detected in ankylosing spondylitis and often causes confusion in clinical routine. Overlap between various seronegative arthritides is a known but uncommon association. Differentiation of spondyloarthropathy from rheumatoid arthritis is important, since the natural history, complications, treatments and prognosis of the tw...