Is it Possible to Estimate the Effect of Risedronat Treatment on Bone Mineral Density in Postmenapausal Osteoporosis by Biochemical Marker? - Original Investigation

In this study we aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of risedronate on bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical markers in postmenopausal osteoporosis. One hundred three patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups as group 1 and group 2. The patients in group I were treated with 5 mg risedronate and 500 mg calcium daily, while group 2 were treated only with 500 mg of calcium. Densitometric measurements of lumbar spine and femur were performed before treatment and at the end of 12 months after treatment. Additionally, BMD measurements of 33 patients in group 1 were repeated at the end of 2nd year. Serum levels of osteocalcin and urine C telopeptyde (CTX) levels were measured before therapy and at the 1st and 3rd months of the therapy period. Significant decreases were observed in urine CTX and serum osteocalcin levels beginning from the 1st month in group 1 (p<0.05). In group 1, BMD of femur neck and lumbar spine regions increased significantly at the 12th month of the study. Femur trochanter BMD was also found to increase when compared with pretreatment values at the end of the second year evaluation (p<0.05). No significant correlation of urine CTX and serum osteocalcin levels which were measured at the 1st and 3rd months of the therapy was found with the densitometric changes at the end of one year in group I (p>0.05). However increase of mean BMD values of femur trochanter at second year according to pre-treatment values correlated with decrease of urine CTX values at the first month (p<0.05). As a result, urine CTX levels measured at the end of the first month of the treatment can help estimate the femur BMD increase in the following years of long term risedronate treatment. (Osteoporoz Dünyasından 2006;12: 74-80

Correlation Between Digital X-Ray Radiogrammetry Findings and Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women

The relation between bone mineral density (BMD) determined by dual energy X ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and radiogrammetric measurements on digital radiographies was investigated in this study. Fifty-seven postmenopausal women who had applied for DEXA measurement were included in the study. External diameter (ED) and internal diameter (ID) measurements were performed on the mid-points of the longitudinal axis of the non-dominant second metacarpal bone on digital radiographic images. By using these two measurement values, the combined cortical thickness (CCT), cortical area (CA), medullary area (MA), metacarpal index (MI) and cortical ratio (CR) values were determined by simple geometrical calculations. The osteoporosis group had 28 women and the control group 29 women after DEXA evaluations. ID and MA were found to be significantly higher (p<0.001); and CCT, CR and MI significantly lower (p<0.001) in women with osteoporosis. BMD of lumbar spine (vertebrae L2-L4) positively correlated with CCT (p<0.05). Positive correlations were found between BMD of femur neck and CCT (p<0.001), MI, CR (p<0.05). BMD of femur Ward’s triangle correlated with CCT, MI and CR positively while it correlated negatively with ID and MA (p<0.001). Similarly BMD of femur trochanter showed positive correlations with CCR, CA, MI, CR (p<0.001), and negative correlations with ID and MA (p<0.05). No significant threshold value could be provided in the ROC curves in order to discriminate patients with osteoporosis from normal. The concordant relations found between bone geometry measurements and DEXA seemed to be encouraging to prove probably the value of digital radiogrammetry for the discrimination of osteoporotic patients from normal, in studies with larger patient population

Description of the registry of patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Turkey: TRASD-IP

GUNDUZ, Osman H/0000-0002-3214-803X; Ayhan, Fikriye Figen/0000-0001-6906-991X; Duruoz, Mehmet Tuncay/0000-0003-3584-2788; Ataman, Sebnem/0000-0003-3570-3825; NAS, Kemal/0000-0002-5845-0851WOS: 000299007300027PubMed: 20711591A web-based application patient follow-up program was developed to create a registry of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) by the Turkiye Romatizma Arastirma Savas Dernegi (TRASD) AS Study Group. This study describes the methodological background and patient characteristics. The patient follow-up program is a web-based questionnaire, which contains sections on socio-demographic data, anamnesis, personal and family history, systemic and musculoskeletal examination, laboratory and imaging data and treatment. Between October 1, 2007 and February 28, 2009, 1,381 patients from 41 centers were included in the registry (1,038 males [75.2%]; mean age 39.5 +/- A 10.7 years). Mean disease duration was 12.1 +/- A 8.5 years, and mean time from initial symptom to diagnosis was 5 +/- A 6.8 years (median 2 years). HLA-B27 positivity was detected in 73.7% of 262 patients tested. Manifestations of extraarticular involvement were anterior uveitis (13.2%), psoriasis and other skin and mucous membrane lesions (6%) and inflammatory bowel disease (3.8%). The prevalence of peripheral arthritis was 11.2%. In 51.7% of patients, the Bath AS Disease Activity Index was a parts per thousand yen4. But since our patients consisted of the ones with more severe disease who referred to the tertiary centers and needed a regular follow-up, they may not represent the general AS population. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs were being used by 41.9% of patients, with 16.4% using anti-TNF agents. TRASD-IP (Izlem Programi: Follow-up program) is the first AS registry in Turkey. Such databases are very useful and provide a basis for data collection from large numbers of subjects. TRASD-IP gives information on the clinical and demographic profiles of patients, and the efficacy and safety of anti-TNF drugs, examines the impact on quality of life, and provides real-life data that may be used in cost-effectiveness analyses.Wyeth/Pfizer CompanyWyethThe authors express their gratitude to all members of TRASD AS Study group for their cooperation and to Wyeth/Pfizer Company for the sponsorship. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

Description of the registry of patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Turkey: TRASD-IP

WOS: 000299007300027PubMed ID: 20711591A web-based application patient follow-up program was developed to create a registry of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) by the Turkiye Romatizma Arastirma Savas Dernegi (TRASD) AS Study Group. This study describes the methodological background and patient characteristics. The patient follow-up program is a web-based questionnaire, which contains sections on socio-demographic data, anamnesis, personal and family history, systemic and musculoskeletal examination, laboratory and imaging data and treatment. Between October 1, 2007 and February 28, 2009, 1,381 patients from 41 centers were included in the registry (1,038 males [75.2%]; mean age 39.5 +/- A 10.7 years). Mean disease duration was 12.1 +/- A 8.5 years, and mean time from initial symptom to diagnosis was 5 +/- A 6.8 years (median 2 years). HLA-B27 positivity was detected in 73.7% of 262 patients tested. Manifestations of extraarticular involvement were anterior uveitis (13.2%), psoriasis and other skin and mucous membrane lesions (6%) and inflammatory bowel disease (3.8%). The prevalence of peripheral arthritis was 11.2%. In 51.7% of patients, the Bath AS Disease Activity Index was a parts per thousand yen4. But since our patients consisted of the ones with more severe disease who referred to the tertiary centers and needed a regular follow-up, they may not represent the general AS population. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs were being used by 41.9% of patients, with 16.4% using anti-TNF agents. TRASD-IP (Izlem Programi: Follow-up program) is the first AS registry in Turkey. Such databases are very useful and provide a basis for data collection from large numbers of subjects. TRASD-IP gives information on the clinical and demographic profiles of patients, and the efficacy and safety of anti-TNF drugs, examines the impact on quality of life, and provides real-life data that may be used in cost-effectiveness analyses.Wyeth/Pfizer CompanyWyethThe authors express their gratitude to all members of TRASD AS Study group for their cooperation and to Wyeth/Pfizer Company for the sponsorship. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis in Turkey: A Nationwide Study

Objectives: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA) in Turkey using the same telephone questionnaire developed for screening RA and SpA in France and used in Serbia and Lithuania. Material and methods: The study was performed in two steps. In step I, the French questionnaire was translated into Turkish and validated through a group of 200 patients (80 males, 120 females; mean age 44.0±13.1 years; range, 19 to 75 years) followed up at the rheumatology departments of University Hospitals in Antalya and Ankara. In step II, the validated Turkish questionnaire was administered face-to-face to randomly selected 4,012 subjects (1,670 males, 2,342 females; mean age 41.5±16.8 years; range, 16 to 97 years) by trained general practitioners across the country, in 25 provinces for case detection. The subjects who were suspected of having RA or SpA in accordance with the questionnaire were invited to the nearest university hospital for rheumatologic examination in order to confirm the diagnosis. Results: In step II, a total of 25 subjects (2 males, 23 females) were diagnosed as RA. The standardized RA prevalence for the general population of Turkey was calculated as 0.56% (95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.33-0.79), 0.10% (95% CI; -0.05-0.25) for males and 0.89% (95% CI; 0.51-1.27) for females. A total of 18 subjects (3 males, 15 females) were diagnosed as SpA. The standardized SpA prevalence for the general population of Turkey was 0.46% (95% CI; 0.25-0.67), 0.17% (95% CI; -0.03-0.37) for males and 0.65% (95% CI; 0.32-0.98) for females. The prevalence of RA was highest in the Northern region (2.00%) and the prevalence of SpA was highest in the Central region (1.49%). Conclusion: The prevalences of RA and SpA in Turkey are close to each other and there are significant inter-regional variations in prevalences of both RA and SpA

Prevalence of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis in Turkey: A Nationwide Study

Objectives: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA) in Turkey using the same telephone questionnaire developed for screening RA and SpA in France and used in Serbia and Lithuania. Material and methods: The study was performed in two steps. In step I, the French questionnaire was translated into Turkish and validated through a group of 200 patients (80 males, 120 females; mean age 44.0±13.1 years; range, 19 to 75 years) followed up at the rheumatology departments of University Hospitals in Antalya and Ankara. In step II, the validated Turkish questionnaire was administered face-to-face to randomly selected 4,012 subjects (1,670 males, 2,342 females; mean age 41.5±16.8 years; range, 16 to 97 years) by trained general practitioners across the country, in 25 provinces for case detection. The subjects who were suspected of having RA or SpA in accordance with the questionnaire were invited to the nearest university hospital for rheumatologic examination in order to confirm the diagnosis. Results: In step II, a total of 25 subjects (2 males, 23 females) were diagnosed as RA. The standardized RA prevalence for the general population of Turkey was calculated as 0.56% (95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.33-0.79), 0.10% (95% CI; -0.05-0.25) for males and 0.89% (95% CI; 0.51-1.27) for females. A total of 18 subjects (3 males, 15 females) were diagnosed as SpA. The standardized SpA prevalence for the general population of Turkey was 0.46% (95% CI; 0.25-0.67), 0.17% (95% CI; -0.03-0.37) for males and 0.65% (95% CI; 0.32-0.98) for females. The prevalence of RA was highest in the Northern region (2.00%) and the prevalence of SpA was highest in the Central region (1.49%). Conclusion: The prevalences of RA and SpA in Turkey are close to each other and there are significant inter-regional variations in prevalences of both RA and SpA