Rheumatoid Arthritis is characterized by increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that cannot be fully explained by the presence of classical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors suggesting that novel ris...Rheumatoid Arthritis is characterized by increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that cannot be fully explained by the presence of classical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors suggesting that novel risk factors may play a role. Evidence accumulated over the past decade points that uric acid (UA) may be one such novel CVD risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis, and therefore one may hypothesize that UA may contribute to the increased CVD burden in RA. The current study attempted to correlate the levels of clinical disease activity index (CDAI), high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and uric acid in DMARD naive non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, euthyroid patients with normal lipid profile suffering from early and established Rheumatoid Arthritis before and after 3 months of DMARD therapy. It showed a positive and significant correlation among uric acid levels and CDAI and hs-CRP levels at diagnosis. There was significant reduction in the levels of CDAI, hs-CRP and UA after 3 months of DMARD therapy with significant correlation among the changes in the 3 parameters and the change in Uric Acid also correlated with the levels of CDAI and hs-CRP at diagnosis. We propose to measure uric acid both as acute phase reactant and marker for cardiovascular morbidity in patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.展开更多
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic multisystem disease of unknown cause. The characteristic feature of RA is persistent inflammatory synovitis. The natural history of disease is such that the early months of the diseas...Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic multisystem disease of unknown cause. The characteristic feature of RA is persistent inflammatory synovitis. The natural history of disease is such that the early months of the disease are critical period during which reversible joint damage occurs. So early diagnosis of RA and appropriate drug application is the only way to save a patient from this crippling disease. In India, the cost of investigations is a significant factor for most of the patients. Ultrasonography or Power Doppler Ultra Sound (PDUS) has the advantage of being economic in spite of its sensitivity in assessing both inflammatory and destructive changes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of PDUS in early rheumatoid arthritis. The study was performed with the patients attending Rheumatology Clinic. A total number of 106 patients of clinically suspected rheumatoid arthritis were studied as per selection criteria. Radiological examinations of hands were done by digital radiography and PDUS in a group of 53 patients, assessment of foot changes by PDUS and Digital Radiography were done in another similar group of 53 patients. Final diagnosis by ACR EULAR-2010 criteria is done for all the patients. The comparative study reveals that synovial vascularity as demonstrated by PDUS is much more effective in diagnosing early rheumatoid arthritis, both in hand and in feet than digital radiograph. PDUS of feet may yield earlier and better findings than hands, which is conventionally used in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis.展开更多
文摘Rheumatoid Arthritis is characterized by increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that cannot be fully explained by the presence of classical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors suggesting that novel risk factors may play a role. Evidence accumulated over the past decade points that uric acid (UA) may be one such novel CVD risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis, and therefore one may hypothesize that UA may contribute to the increased CVD burden in RA. The current study attempted to correlate the levels of clinical disease activity index (CDAI), high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and uric acid in DMARD naive non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, euthyroid patients with normal lipid profile suffering from early and established Rheumatoid Arthritis before and after 3 months of DMARD therapy. It showed a positive and significant correlation among uric acid levels and CDAI and hs-CRP levels at diagnosis. There was significant reduction in the levels of CDAI, hs-CRP and UA after 3 months of DMARD therapy with significant correlation among the changes in the 3 parameters and the change in Uric Acid also correlated with the levels of CDAI and hs-CRP at diagnosis. We propose to measure uric acid both as acute phase reactant and marker for cardiovascular morbidity in patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.
文摘Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic multisystem disease of unknown cause. The characteristic feature of RA is persistent inflammatory synovitis. The natural history of disease is such that the early months of the disease are critical period during which reversible joint damage occurs. So early diagnosis of RA and appropriate drug application is the only way to save a patient from this crippling disease. In India, the cost of investigations is a significant factor for most of the patients. Ultrasonography or Power Doppler Ultra Sound (PDUS) has the advantage of being economic in spite of its sensitivity in assessing both inflammatory and destructive changes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of PDUS in early rheumatoid arthritis. The study was performed with the patients attending Rheumatology Clinic. A total number of 106 patients of clinically suspected rheumatoid arthritis were studied as per selection criteria. Radiological examinations of hands were done by digital radiography and PDUS in a group of 53 patients, assessment of foot changes by PDUS and Digital Radiography were done in another similar group of 53 patients. Final diagnosis by ACR EULAR-2010 criteria is done for all the patients. The comparative study reveals that synovial vascularity as demonstrated by PDUS is much more effective in diagnosing early rheumatoid arthritis, both in hand and in feet than digital radiograph. PDUS of feet may yield earlier and better findings than hands, which is conventionally used in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis.
