Sustained response to infliximab treatment in two cases of early rheumatoid arthritis that has been maintained after drug withdrawal

The authors report two cases of active seropositive rheumatoid arthritis who were treated in an early phase of the disease with infliximab plus methotrexate obtaining a clinical remission. The benefit was maintained after the discontinuation of the anti-TNF alpha inhibitor for adverse events, indicating that the early administration of the drug may be followed by a sustained remission

Clinical images: Recurrence of sarcoidosis heralded by bullous reaction within tribal scarification

The patient was a 44-year-old Ghanaian woman with a 5-year history of histologically proven sarcoidosis with pulmonary, mediastinum lymph node, liver, and joint involvement. She had been treated with prednisone at an initial dosage of 25 mg/day, which resulted in clinical remissio

Liver impairment after concomitant administration of bosentan and clarithromycin in systemic sclerosis

Bosentan, an orally administered dual endothelin (A) and endothelin (B) receptor antagonist is indicated in the rheumatologic field for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension related to connective tissue diseases [1] and for the prevention of the development of ischemic digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis [2]. As known, the drug may cause liver dysfunction; a recent report of a postmarketing surveillance quantified the increase of aminotransferase levels in 7.6% of the bosentan-treated patients [3]. Here we describe two cases of liver dysfunction after concomitant administration of bosentan and clarithromycin in systemic sclerosis