Serum ferritin as an activity marker for granulamotosis with polyangiitis.

Serum ferritin correlates well with the activities of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and dermatomyositis, but it has not been previously studied in patients with vasculitis

An Unusual Case of Madelung's Disease with Multiple Atypical Fractures

Madelung's disease is a rare acquired disorder of fat metabolism characterized by multiple symmetric lipomas with typical distribution mainly around the upper trunk, neck, and shoulders. The condition is strongly associated with chronic alcohol use and has various systemic manifestations like polyneuropathy, muscle weakness, and small bone fractures. Herein, we report a 56-year-old male patient with Madelung's disease and multiple fractures and discuss possible underlying factors leading to multiple fractures

The Association Between Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio and Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Elevated neutrophil count is associated with poor prognosis and increased mortality in many conditions. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has emerged as a marker of inflammation in neoplastic and cardiovascular disorders. Herein, we investigated utility of this simple tool in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS)

Serum Vitamin B12, Homocysteine and Methylmalonic Acid Levels in Patients With Parenchymal Neuro-Behçet's Syndrome.

This study aims to investigate the role of serum levels of vitamin B12 (VitB12), homocysteine (Hcy), and methylmalonic acid (MMA) in the development of parenchymal neuro-Behçet's syndrome (NBS) and to compare them with healthy controls and Behçet's syndrome (BS) patients without NBS

Comparison of clinical courses and mortality of connective tissue disease-associated interstitial pneumonias and chronic fibrosing idiopathic interstitial pneumonias

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common pulmonary manifestation of connective tissue diseases (CTD). Prognostic effect of radiological usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern in CTD-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the disease progression and mortality of patients with CTD-ILD and idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP) including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia and the prognostic impact of the radiological UIP pattern on both disease groups. The medical records of 91 patients (55 with CTD-ILD and 36 with IIP) diagnosed with ILD at pulmonary medicine department, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University from 2004 to 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients included whose baseline high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans showed either a UIP or non-UIP pattern. While 67.3\% (n = 37) of CTD-ILD patients possessed UIP pattern, 38.9\% (n = 14) of IIP patients had UIP pattern in HRCT. Respiratory functions including the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), functional vital capacity (FVC), and transfer coefficient for carbon monoxide (diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide {[}DLCO]) of IIP group at the time of diagnosis were significantly lower than CTD-ILD group (P = .007, P = .002, and P = .019, respectively). There was no significant survival difference between CTD-ILD and HP by using the log-rank test (P = .76). Multivariate analysis revealed that UIP pattern in HRCT (Hazard ratio: 1.85; 95\% Confidence interval = 1.14-3; P = .013), annual FVC (Hazard ratio: 0.521; 95\% Confidence interval = 0.32-0.84; P = .007), and annual DLCO declines (Hazard ratio: 0.943; 95\% Confidence interval = 0.897-0.991; P = .02) were independent risk factors for mortality in both CTD-ILD and IIP groups. We found that UIP pattern in HRCT and annual losses in respiratory functions were the main determinants of prognosis of ILDs either idiopathic or CTD-associated

Differential diagnosis of elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels: a rheumatology perspective.

In the case of high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, the diagnosis of the underlying disease can be challenging especially in serologically unrevealing patients who have nonspecific clinical findings. We aimed to investigate the final distribution of definitive diagnoses in patients who initially presented with nonspecific clinical findings and sustained elevations in serum ESR/CRP levels

S-allylcysteine inhibits chondrocyte inflammation to reduce human osteoarthritis via targeting RAGE, TLR4, JNK, and Nrf2 signaling: comparison with colchicine

The discovery of new pharmacological agents is needed to control the progression of osteoarthritis (OA), characterized by joint cartilage damage. Human OA chondrocyte (OAC) cultures were either applied to S-allylcysteine (SAC), a sulfur-containing amino acid derivative, or colchicine, an ancient anti-inflammatory therapeutic, for 24 h. SAC or colchicine did not change viability at 1 nM-10 mu M but inhibited p-JNK/pan-JNK. While SAC seems to be more effective, both agents inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS), 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), lipid hydroperoxides (LPO), advanced lipoxidation end-products (ALEs as 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, HNE), advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), and increased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and type-II-collagen (COL2). IL-1 beta, IL-6, and osteopontin (OPN) were more strongly inhibited by SAC than by colchicine. In contrast, TNF-alpha was inhibited only by SAC, and COX2 was only inhibited by colchicine. Casp-1/ICE, GM-CSF, receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), and toll-like receptors (TLR4) were inhibited by both agents, but bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) was partially inhibited by SAC and induced by colchicine. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) was induced by SAC; in contrast, it was inhibited by colchicine. Although they exert opposite effects on TNF-alpha, COX2, BMP7, andNrf2, SAC and colchicine exhibit anti-osteoarthritic properties in OAC by modulating redox-sensitive inflammatory signaling

Serum ferritin as an activity marker for granulamotosis with polyangiitis

Background: Serum ferritin correlates well with the activities of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and dermatomyositis, but it has not been previously studied in patients with vasculitis. Methods: Medical records of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, Wegener's granulomatosis) patients with at least six months of regular follow-up were evaluated. The activity of GPA was assessed with Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegener's Granulomatosis (BVAS/WG). Serum ferritin and other acute phase markers were measured at initial presentation. Results: Serum ferritin levels were found to be the highest in GPA patients with alveolar hemorrhage, median (IQR) 1041 (1281) mu g/L. Patients with renal disease also had high levels of ferritin and it was correlated with concurrent glomerular filtration rate (r = 0.65, p<. 001). Serum ferritin is also correlated well with the BVAS/WG scores (r = 0.79, p <. 001). Conclusions: Measurement of serum ferritin might help in assessing disease activity of GPA