OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of tocilizumab in clinical practice in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with inadequate responses (IR) to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or both DMARDs and tumour necrosis factor α inhibitors (TNFis). METHODS Patients-categorised as TNFi-naive, TNFi-previous (washout) or TNFi-recent (no washout) -received open-label tocilizu...

OBJECTIVE This study investigated whether the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) can be used as an instrument to assess the need for social support measures that address activity limitations and participation issues in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS This multicenter observational study included patients with RA and disease duration of at least one year, consulting their r...

UNLABELLED The objective of the study was to compare disease characteristics over the first 5 years of disease in patients with RA, with disease onset in 1990s and 2000s, respectively. METHODS All 2235 patients with early RA (disease duration ≤12 months) were recruited from the BARFOT prospective observational study. These patients were divided into group 1 included 1992 to 1999 (N=1084, 66% ...

The outcome measures in rheumatology clinical trials (OMERACT) scores are the most mature quantitation system for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Direct measuring techniques of synovial volume have been reported with good reproducibility, although few reports have demonstrated the changes of these measures in response to treatment. To assess these clinical respons...

Although there is strong evidence supporting the short-term efficacy and safety of anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha agents, few studies have examined the long-term effects. We evaluated 511 patients with long-standing refractory rheumatoid arthritis treated with intravenous infusions of infliximab 3 mg/kg at weeks 0, 2, 6, and 14 and every 8 weeks thereafter for 4 years. Among the initial 511 ...

PURPOSE This study was performed to determine whether the serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 family cytokines are elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to investigate the relationship between IL-6 family cytokine levels and disease activity in RA patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS We obtained serum samples from 40 patients with RA and 40 age- and sex- matched healthy co...

OBJECTIVES Ultrasound (US) provides measurements of synovial morphology and vascularity. However, on an individual joint basis in RA, US measures do not relate well to clinical signs. This study investigates the relationship between composite US measures and the 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28), its components and acute phase markers in adult RA. METHODS RA synovial disease activity wa...

INTRODUCTION The objective of this study was to evaluate the real-world safety and effectiveness of adalimumab with methotrexate (MTX) in disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)- and biologic-naïve Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at risk of progressive structural joint damage. METHODS This multicenter, prospective, observational, postmarketing surveillance study was cond...

In order to investigate the predictive factors related to clinical efficacy and radiographic progression at 24 weeks by looking at the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 including baseline characteristics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with golimumab, serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 were analyzed every 4 weeks up to 24 weeks in 47 pat...

OBJECTIVE To compare, "in a real world," the performance of the most common composite activity indices in a cohort of PsA patients. METHODS A total of 171 PsA patients were involved. The following variables were evaluated: peripheral joint assessment, patient reported of pain, physician and patient assessments of disease activity, patient general health status, dactylitis digit count, Leeds E...