The MHC2TA -168A>G gene polymorphism is not associated with rheumatoid arthritis in Austrian patients

An association between susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a common -168A>G polymorphism in the MHC2TA gene with differential major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II molecule expression was recently reported in a Swedish population. The objective of the present study was to replicate this finding by examining the -168A>G polymorphism in an Austrian case–control study. Three hundred and sixty-two unrelated RA cases and 351 sex-matched and age-matched controls as well as 1,709 Austrian healthy individuals were genotyped. All participants were from the same ethnic background. Genotyping was performed using 5' allelic discrimination assays. The association between susceptibility to RA and the -168A>G single nucleotide polymorphism was examined by chi-square test. Comparison was made assuming a dominant effect (AG + GG genotypes versus AA genotype). In contrast to the primary report, the frequency of MHC2TA -168G allele carriers was not significantly different between patients and controls in the Austrian cohort. The homozygous MHC2TA -168 GG genotype was more frequent in matched controls than in Austrian RA patients. There was no association between the presence of RA-specific autoantibodies and the MHC2TA -168 GG genotype. In this cohort of Austrian patients, no association between the MHC2TA polymorphism and RA was found

Additional file 1: Table S1. of A combination of cellular biomarkers predicts failure to respond to rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis: a 24-week observational study

One-way ANOVA for leucocyte subsets and treatment. (DOCX 17 kb

The Stop Arthritis Very Early (SAVE) trial, an international multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on glucocorticoids in very early arthritis

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are often used as early arthritis treatment and it has been suggested that they induce remission or at least delay the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the need to start disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). To test the effect of GCs on patients with very early arthritis (symptom duration of <16 weeks) in a randomised controlled trial. Patients received a single intramuscular injection of 120 mg methylprednisolone or placebo (PL) and were followed up for 52 weeks. Primary end point was drug-free clinical remission, both at weeks 12 and 52. Among secondary outcomes were fulfillment of remission criteria at weeks 2, 12 or 52, time course of 'core set variables' and proportion of patients starting DMARDs. 17.0% of all analysed subjects (65/383) achieved persistent remission: 17.8% (33/185) of the PL group, 16.2% (32/198) of the patients receiving methylprednisolone (OR=1.13, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.92, p=0.6847). Analyses of secondary end points showed significant clinical benefits of the GC only at week 2. These differences subsequently disappeared. DMARDs were started in 162 patients: 50.3% methylprednisolone and 56.7% PL patients had to start DMARD treatment (OR=0.78, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.22, p=0.30). Significantly more patients with polyarthritis than with oligoarthritis received DMARDs (OR=2.84, 95% CI 1.75 to 4.60, p <0.0001). Neither remission nor development of RA is delayed by GC treatment. Remission is rare in the first year of very early arthritis, occurring in <20% of the patients. Also, the need to start DMARDs was not influenced by GC treatmen

The Value of Median Nerve Sonography as a Predictor for Short- and Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Prospective Long-Term Follow-Up Study

<div><p>Objectives</p><p>To investigate the prognostic value of B-mode and Power Doppler (PD) ultrasound of the median nerve for the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).</p><p>Methods</p><p>Prospective study of 135 patients with suspected CTS seen 3 times: at baseline, then at short-term (3 months) and long-term (15–36 months) follow-up. At baseline, the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve was measured with ultrasound at 4 levels on the forearm and wrist. PD signals were graded semi-quantitatively (0–3). Clinical outcomes were evaluated at each visit with the Boston Questionnaire (BQ) and the DASH Questionnaire, as well as visual analogue scales for the patient’s assessment of pain (painVAS) and physician’s global assessment (physVAS). The predictive values of baseline CSA and PD for clinical outcomes were determined with multivariate logistic regression models.</p><p>Results</p><p>Short-term and long-term follow-up data were available for 111 (82.2%) and 105 (77.8%) patients, respectively. There was a final diagnosis of CTS in 84 patients (125 wrists). Regression analysis revealed that the CSA, measured at the carpal tunnel inlet, predicted short-term clinical improvement according to BQ in CTS patients undergoing carpal tunnel surgery (OR 1.8, p = 0.05), but not in patients treated conservatively. Neither CSA nor PD assessments predicted short-term improvement of painVAS, physVAS or DASH, nor was any of the ultrasound parameters useful for the prediction of long-term clinical outcomes.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Ultrasound assessment of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet may predict short-term clinical improvement in CTS patients undergoing carpal tunnel release, but long-term outcomes are unrelated to ultrasound findings.</p></div

Prediction of short-term clinical outcomes of CTS patients by baseline ultrasound results.

<p>Prediction of short-term clinical outcomes of CTS patients by baseline ultrasound results.</p

Cross sectional area (CSA), CSA ratios and PD results at baseline.

<p>Cross sectional area (CSA), CSA ratios and PD results at baseline.</p

Clinical characteristics and nerve conduction studies.

<p>Clinical characteristics and nerve conduction studies.</p

Study flow chart.

<p>n, number of wrists; parenthesis: the number of patients in each group (the sum of the numbers in parenthesis might exceed the number of patients under study because patients contributing a wrist to more than 1 group were counted separately); *111 Patients completed short-term follow-up, with 65 of 80 CTS cases included in the regression models; 15 (18.8%) patients had missing or invalid data. **105 Patients completed long-term follow-up, with 74 of 84 CTS cases included in the regression models; 10 (11.9%) patients had missing or invalid data.</p