OBJECTIVE The present study was conducted to investigate whether the serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) and sIL-6R are associated with the morphological appearance of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Using the ELISA technique we measured the IL-6, sIL-2R and sIL-6R concentrations in the serum of 34 patients with RA and 28 patients with osteoarthritis (OA). ...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND MRI has become the mainstay of diagnostic imaging in paediatric rheumatology for lesion detection, differential diagnosis and therapy surveillance. MR imaging of synovitis, in particular, is indispensable for early diagnosis and follow-up in arthritis patients. We used diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) as a new imaging modality in comparison to standard MRI sequences to stud...

BACKGROUND Clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) improve in the course of the day, as can synovitis activity, reported via doppler ultrasound (US). The aim of the study was to establish whether the Color Doppler (CD) scores of synovitis in RA changes throughout the day. METHODS In total, 27 patients with active RA, including 14 patients receiving corticosteroids were studied. US eval...

We studied the extent to which intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) administered to horses with experimentally induced synovitis in the third middle carpal joint altered cartilage proteoglycans (PGs) and the biomechanical properties of the third carpal bone. Intra-articular HA (Hylartin-V) was administered to the middle carpal joints of healthy horses before and after the induction of synovitis...

BACKGROUND Cell adhesion molecules and endothelial growth factors have an important role in the infiltrating of rheumatoid synovium with mononuclear cells, leading to the initiation and progression of the disease. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether the serum profile of soluble adhesion molecules and of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is associated with the histological appearance of r...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the efficacy of IA CS (IAC) therapy in single and multiple joints in children with JIA and to seek for predictors of synovitis flare. METHODS The clinical charts of patients who received their first IAC injection between January 2002 and December 2008 were reviewed. The CS used was triamcinolone hexacetonide for large joints and methylprednisolone acetate for small o...

OBJECTIVES Current methods of monitoring chronic synovitis in a single joint rely on clinical examination derived indices, such as the detection of synovial thickening. This study aimed to develop a reproducible method for quantifying the volume of synovial lining in chronic synovitis using contrast enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. METHODS The knees of 18 patients with chronic synovi...

Objective: To examine the relation between the serum levels of tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα), soluble tumour necrosis factor receptors (sTNF-R), and the histological pattern of rheumatoid synovitis. Methods: An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure TNFα, p55 sTNF-R, and p75 sTNF-R concentrations in the serum of 43 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 34 patients...

The joints of 56 patients with polymyalgia rheumatica were examined for evidence of inflammatory synovitis. x Rays, isotope scans, and thermography supplemented clinical examination. Control sternoclavicular joints were examined at necropsy. Peripheral and axial synovitis were uncommon and the results contrast with the findings of several recent studies.

OBJECTIVE Arthritis activity assessments in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have traditionally relied on tender and swollen joint counts, but in rheumatoid arthritis, multiple studies have demonstrated subclinical inflammation using modern imaging. The aim of this study was to compare clinical examination and ultrasound (US) findings in an early PsA cohort. METHODS Forty-nine disease-modifying anti...