OBJECTIVE To characterize the ultrasound (US) pattern of joint involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). METHODS Seventeen patients with pSS, 18 with secondary Sjögren's syndrome (sSS), and 17 healthy controls underwent US examinations of various articular regions. Synovitis (synovial hypertrophy/joint effusion), power Doppler (PD) signals, and erosions were assessed. RESULTS In pati...

AIM To evaluate the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints (MCP2 and 5) in healthy subjects by ultrasonography (US) using a high frequency transducer (18 MHz) and to verify the interobserver agreement. MATERIAL AND METHODS We enrolled 50 healthy volunteers (37 women, age between 30-58 years, mean age 41.7 years, divided into 3 groups according to age: 30-39, 40-49, and 50-58 years). The subjects we...

OBJECTIVE To examine the hypothesis that gold rings might delay articular erosion at the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint of the left ring finger in ring wearers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Consecutive patients with RA were recruited. They were classified as ring wearers if they had worn a gold ring on the left ring finger throughout most of the time since disease onset, or as non-...

UNLABELLED The recent global resurgence of arthritogenic alphaviruses, in particular chikungunya virus (CHIKV), highlights an urgent need for the development of therapeutic intervention strategies. While there has been significant progress in defining the pathophysiology of alphaviral disease, relatively little is known about the mechanisms involved in CHIKV-induced arthritis or potential thera...

Quantitative macroradiographic examination of a group of early to moderately advanced rheumatoid patients showed the wrist and hand to have an average of 75 (SD 26) erosions out of 142 possible sites. Joint involvement was greatest in the wrist followed by the metacarpophalangeal (MCP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints respectively. In the wrist erosion di...

OBJECTIVES To establish the usefulness of ultrasonography (US) for diagnosing gout and to determine whether there are sonographic features that are characteristic for gout but not for other arthropathies. METHODS We retrospectively compared joint images of gout patients with matching images from patients with other rheumatic conditions. Images of 37 joints of 23 patients with monosodium urate...

In this study, US revealed synovitis more frequently in MCP and PIP joints and bone erosions less frequently in PIP joints in the RA group than in the PsA group, whereas Fournié and colleagues [13] reported minimal differences in the amount of erosion and synovitis in MCP and PIP joints of PsA and RA patients. Fournié and colleagues [13], as in our study, reported more tenosynovitis and a few o...

BACKGROUND The aim was to determine the accuracy of high-resolution ultrasonography (US) for detecting erosion in the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and wrist joints of patients with different subtypes of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) arthritis, using computed tomography (CT) as the gold-standard reference method. METHOD The ulnar head, radiocarpal and second to fifth MCP joints in 26 patient...

PURPOSE To further evaluate the efficacy and safety of an injectable mixed subtype collagenase for the treatment of Dupuytren's contracture (DC). METHODS Patients with flexion deformities of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and/or the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of 20 degrees or greater were randomized in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients completing this phase could en...

OBJECTIVES To analyse the association between chondrocalcinosis and osteoarthritis (OA) of the hands and knees in an unselected elderly rural population. METHODS A community based cross sectional study was performed in individuals randomly selected from a previous epidemiological survey on the prevalence of chondrocalcinosis in people older than 60 years from Osona county, Catalonia, northeas...