objective: anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-ccp) antibodies are highly specific markers for rheumatoid arthritis (ra) and useful for predicting rheumatoid arthritis (ra) development and progression. we assessed the diagnostic value of anti-ccp antibodies in our patients with ra. materials and methods: anti-ccp antibodies and rheumatoid factor (rf) titers were determined in 247 serum sam...

The efficacy and safety of the combination of leflunomide (Arava) with biological agents in treatment of rheumatoid arthritisiare presented.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST none declared. AIM Rheumatoid arthritis is considered a clinical syndrome across several disease subsets characterized by systemic inflammation, persistent synovitis, and autoantibodies. Our aim was to assess the distribution of risk factors among people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in the adult population of Tirana, the capital city of Albania. METHODS All indiv...

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis patients are evaluated during treatment for various inflammatory factors such as C-reactive protein, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, and Disease Activity Score, and other immune system-related factors. In the follow-up of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, hematologic factors associated with the immune system especially Platelet to Lymphocyte Ratio and Neutroph...

In the majority of patients with rheumatoid arthritis the immune response is most readily detected as a production of rheumatoid factors, IgM antibodies, which agglutinate to high titre erythrocytes coated with IgG antibodies from man, rabbit, or sheep, etc. Generally, only low titres of rheumatoid factors are found in nonrheumatoid individuals. Bach, Delrieu, and Delbarre (1970a, b) described ...

OBJECTIVE The extent to which atherosclerosis is accelerated in chronic inflammatory diseases is not established. We compared preclinical atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis with diabetes mellitus, a known coronary heart disease equivalent. METHODS AND RESULTS Endothelial function, arterial stiffness, carotid intima-media thickness, and analysis of atheromatous plaques were examined in 84...

Platelet releasing activity was found in sera fractionated by 30% ammonium sulphate in seven of 11 patients with systemic rheumatoid vasculitis, two of 16 patients with cutaneous rheumatoid vasculitis, and three of 18 patients with clinically uncomplicated rheumatoid arthritis. Serial studies in three patients suggest a key role of platelet activation by serum factors in the pathogenesis of sys...