Methylprednisolone pulse therapy in conjunction with azathioprine in rheumatoid arthritis

In the management of rheumatoid arthritis two potentially useful roles for methylprednisolone (MP) pulse therapy are presently recognised: in patients in whom second line drugs have not led to a satisfactory remission or have caused side effects, and in bridging the gap between the start and the delayed onset of effect of a slow-acting antirheumatic drug. Recently it was shown that MP-pulse therapy was effective in accelerating the response to sulphasalazine and D-penicillamine. Nineteen patients with a persistently active rheumatoid arthritis, who had failed to respond to at least two slow-acting antirheumatic drugs, were treated with MP-pulse therapy in conjunction with azathioprine. Twelve patients continued this treatment for 6 months and 8 for 12 months. MP-pulse therapy resulted in an immediate improvement in Ritchie articular index, grip strength, ESR and CRP. However, this improvement lasted less than six weeks. After 6 months some improvement due to the effect of azathioprine became apparent. Some rather serious side effects were noted. It is concluded that MP-pulse therapy has a (short lasting) beneficial effect in persistently active rheumatoid arthritis. However MP-pulse therapy is not suitable to bridge the gap between the introduction of azathioprine-treatment and the delayed response to this dru

Acquired sideroblastic anaemia after aplastic anaemia caused by D-penicillamine therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

A 68 year old man with rheumatoid arthritis developed marrow aplasia during D-penicillamine treatment. Recovery of granulopoiesis and erythropoiesis was ineffective with features of a secondary sideroblastic anaemia. Absence of megakaryopoiesis persisted. Therapeutic measures failed, and the patient finally died. These events illustrate a haematopoietic stem cell injury induced by D-penicillamine

Isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from biopsy specimens taken from healthy-looking skin of patients with Lyme borreliosis.

Erythematous skin lesions due to infection with Borrelia burgdorferi will often disappear without antibiotic treatment. The aim of the study was to assess whether after disappearance of the erythematous skin lesion B. burgdorferi is still present in the healthy-looking skin of untreated patients. In six patients, a skin biopsy specimen was taken at the site of a previous erythematous skin lesion 1 to 6 months after disappearance of the lesion. Four of them presented with early disseminated Lyme borreliosis. In one additional patient with early disseminated Lyme borreliosis, the site of a previous tick bite was biopsied. None of these patients had been treated with antibiotics before presentation. The cultures of the skin biopsy specimens of the seven patients showed growth of Borrelia species. By rRNA gene restriction analysis and genospecies-specific PCR, six isolates were classified as Borrelia garinii and one as Borrelia group VS461. These results show that B. burgdorferi can still be cultured from the skin after disappearance of the erythematous skin lesion or at the site of a previous tick bite

Different genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi are associated with distinct clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato has been subdivided into three genospecies: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii, and B. burgdorferi group VS461. Sixty-eight isolates cultured from patients and 26 strains from ticks were characterized with use of SDS-PAGE, western blotting, and rRNA gene restriction analysis. Fifty-seven of 58 strains obtained from the skin of 70 patients who had erythema migrams or acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans were of group VS461, whereas the genotype of the remaining strain was unidentifiable. Of 10 strains cultured from CSF (n = 3) and skin (n = 7) of 20 patients with extracutaneous symptoms of Lyme borreliosis, nine were B. garinii and one was B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. Of these 20 patients, 17 had neuroborreliosis, one had arthritis and carditis, one had myalgia, and one had erythema and arthralgia. All 26 isolates from ticks were of group VS461. In conclusion, infections due to group VS461 and B. garinii are associated with cutaneous and extracutaneous symptoms, respectively. Our findings suggest that B. burgdorferi genotypes have different pathogenic potential