Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) are both more common among people of North European decent than among Mediterranean people. Women are 2–3 times more commonly affected. Giant cell arteritis and PMR are extremely rare before age 50 years. Polymyalgia rheumatica may be “isolated” or associated with GCA. There is increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in temporal arteries of PMR patients, without overt histological evidence of arteritis. One-third of “isolated” PMR patients have vascular uptake in positron emission tomography (PET) scans, suggesting clinically unrecognized, “hidden” GCA. Typical manifestations of GCA are headache, tenderness over temporal arteries, jaw claudication, PMR, acute vision loss, and low-grade fever. Bilateral aching of the shoulders with morning stiffness is typical for PMR. In both conditions sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein are elevated, and anemia and thrombocytosis may occur. Color duplex ultrasonography of the temporal arteries may aid in GCA diagnosis. Temporal artery biopsy showing vasculitis, often with giant cells, confirms GCA diagnosis. In cases with negative biopsy one must rely on the clinical presentation and laboratory abnormalities. The diagnosis of PMR is made primarily on clinical grounds. Other conditions that may mimic GCA or PMR must be excluded. Glucocorticoids are the treatment of choice for both conditions. Prompt treatment is crucial in GCA, to prevent irreversible complications of acute vision loss and stroke. Addition of low-dose aspirin may further prevent these complications. The average duration of treatment is 2–3 years, but some patients require a prolonged course of treatment, and some may develop disease-related or treatment-related complications. No steroid-sparing agent has been proven to be widely effective thus far, but some promising therapeutic agents are currently being studied.
Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS)—hypermobility type (HT) is considered to be the most common subtype of EDS and the least severe one; EDS-HT is considered to be identical to the joint hypermobility syndrome and manifests with musculoskeletal complaints, joint instability, and soft tissue overuse injury. Musculoskeletal complaints manifest with joint pain of non-inflammatory origin and/or spinal pain. Joint instability leads to dislocation or subluxation and involves peripheral joints as well as central joints, including the temporomandibular joints, sacroiliac joints, and hip joints. Soft tissue overuse injury may lead to tendonitis and bursitis without joint inflammation in most cases. Ehlers–Danlos syndrome-HT carries a high potential for disability due to recurrent dislocations and subluxations and chronic pain. Throughout the years, extra-articular manifestations have been described, including cardiovascular, autonomic nervous system, gastrointestinal, hematologic, ocular, gynecologic, neurologic, and psychiatric manifestations, emphasizing the multisystemic nature of EDS-HT. Unfortunately, EDS-HT is under-recognized and inadequately managed, leading to neglect of these patients, which may lead to severe disability that almost certainly could have been avoided. In this review article we will describe the known manifestations of the extra-articular systems.
The advent of sophisticated diagnostics has enabled the discovery of previously unknown arthropod-borne viruses like Chikungunya. This infection has become increasingly prevalent in the last 10 years across the Indian Ocean and has been brought to media attention by a recent outbreak in the Caribbean. The outbreak has been aided by a drastic rise in air travel, allowing infected individuals to transport the virus to pre¬viously unaffected regions. In addition, a recently documented viral mutation has allowed its transmission by the Aedes albopictus mosquito, therefore facilitating outbreaks in Southern Europe and the USA. The duration and extent of the arthritis seen peri- and post infection has become a topic of academic interest. Although published data are largely observational, there has been a definite increase in original research focusing on this. Symptoms can persist for years, particularly in older patients with pre-existing medical conditions. The etiology is still not fully understood, but viral persistence and immune activation within synovial fluid have been shown in mouse models. There have been no prospective clinical trials of treatment in humans; however, animal trials are in process. The mainstay of treatment remains anti-inflammatories and steroids where necessary. The clinical presentation seems to mimic common rheumatological conditions like rheumatoid arthritis; therefore recent recommendations suggest the use disease-modifying agents as a common practice for the specific syndrome. This review uses recent published data and draws on our own clinical experience to provide an overview of joint complications of Chikungunya infection.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem disease characterized by functional and structural abnormalities of small blood vessels, fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, immune system activation, and autoimmunity. The gastrointestinal tract is involved in nearly all patients and is a source of significant morbidity and even mortality. The aim of this review is to summarize the pathogenesis and to provide a clinical approach to these patients.
Inflammation induced by toxins, micro-organisms, or autoimmunity may result in pathogenic fibrosis, leading to long-term tissue dysfunction, morbidity, and mortality. Immune cells play a role in both induction and resolution of fibrosis. γδ T cells are an important group of unconventional T cells characterized by their expression of non-major histocompatibility complex restricted clonotypic T cell receptors for non-peptide antigens. Accumulating evidence suggests that subsets of γδ T cells in experimentally induced fibrosis following bleomycin treatment, or infection with Bacillus subtilis, play pro-inflammatory roles that instigate fibrosis, whereas the same cells may also play a role in resolving fibrosis. These processes appear to be linked at least in part to the cytokines produced by the cells at various stages, with interleukin (IL)-17 playing a central role in the inflammatory phase driving fibrosis, but later secretion of IL-22, interferon γ, and CXCL10 preventing pathologic fibrosis. Moreover, γδ T cells appear to be involved, in an antigen-driven manner, in the prototypic human fibrotic disease, systemic sclerosis (SSc). In this paper we review in brief the scientific publications that have implicated γδ T cells in fibrotic diseases and their pro- and anti-fibrotic effects.
Neuropsychiatric involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is a complex condition that remains poorly understood, and includes heterogeneous manifestations involving both the central and peripheral nervous system, with disabling effects. There are several models to improve NPSLE diagnosis when a neurological syndrome is present. In the last couple of years, the growing knowledge of the role of cytokines and antibodies in NPSLE, as well as the development of new functional imaging techniques, has brought some insights into the physiopathology of the disease, but their validation for clinical use remains undetermined. Furthermore, besides the classic clinical approach, a new tool for screening the 19 NPSLE syndromes has also been developed. Regarding NPSLE therapeutics, there is still no evidence-based treatment approach, but some data support the safety of biological medication when classic treatment fails. Despite the tendency to reclassify SLE patients in clinical and immunological subsets, we hope that these data will inspire medical professionals to approach NPSLE in a manner more tailored to the individual patient.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Improved understanding of its pathogenesis has led to international cooperation in clinical studies. Multicenter, international collaborations and research facilitate rapid enrollment of enough patients to enable a variety of studies, including those of epidemiology, diagnostic and classification criteria, genetic disease predisposition, pathogenesis, outcomes, and treatment protocols. In the last 20 years, the vision of the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trial Organization (PRINTO) has become a reality of worldwide collaboration in pediatric rheumatology research, including North American and European research groups. Major advances have been made in treating systemic JIA and its main complication, macrophage-activating syndrome (MAS). Single Hub and Access Point to Pediatric Rheumatology in Europe (SHARE) is a project of the European Society of Pediatric Rheumatology with the goal of improving clinical care. Based on evidence in the scientific literature, position papers regarding optimal clinical approaches and care have been published. Formal, validated assessment tools to evaluate response to treatment have been developed. Recommendations have been established to encourage international research collaborations, especially in light of major advances achieved in the genetics of pediatric rheumatologic diseases and the need to share biological samples among different countries and continents. Every participating country has disease information available for patients and families. Additionally, educational programs and updated syllabi for pediatric rheumatology have been written to promote similar, high-level academic training in different countries. These efforts have resulted in significant improvements in treatment and in patient prognosis. However, improved cooperation is needed to enhance research with biological and genetic samples. The Israeli Research Group for Pediatric Rheumatology is very active and has made significant contributions to the field.
Robotic technology has been used in cardiovascular medicine for over a decade, and over that period its use has been expanded to interventional cardiology and percutaneous coronary and peripheral vascular interventions. The safety and feasibility of robotically assisted interventions has been demonstrated in multiple studies ranging from simple to complex coronary lesions, and in the treatment of ileofemoral and infrapopliteal disease. These studies have shown a reduction in operator exposure to harmful ionizing radiation, and the use of robotics has the intuitive benefit of alleviating the occupational hazard of operator orthopedic injuries. In addition to the interventional operator benefits, robotically assisted intervention has the potential also to be beneficial for patients by allowing more accurate lesion length measurement, stent placement, and patient radiation exposure; however, more investigation is required to elucidate these benefits fully.
The authors present a systematic review of randomized and observational, retrospective and prospective studies to compare between robotic surgery as opposed to laparoscopic, abdominal, and vaginal surgery for the treatment of both benign and malignant gynecologic indications. The comparison focuses on operative times, surgical outcomes, and surgical complications associated with the various surgical techniques. PubMed was the main search engine utilized in search of study data. The review included studies of various designs that included at least 25 women who had undergone robotic gynecologic surgery. Fifty-five studies (42 comparative and 13 non-comparative) met eligibility criteria. After careful analysis, we found that robotic surgery was consistently connected to shorter post-surgical hospitalization when compared to open surgery, a difference less significant when compared to laparoscopic surgery. Also, it seems that robotic surgery is highly feasible in gynecology. There are quite a few inconsistencies regarding operative times and estimated blood loss between the different approaches, though in the majority of studies estimated blood loss was lower in the robotic surgery group. The high variance in operative times resulted from the difference in surgeon’s experience. The decision whether robotic surgery should become mainstream in gynecological surgery or remain another surgical technique in the gynecological surgeon’s toolbox requires quite a few more randomized controlled clinical trials. In any case, in order to bring robotic surgery down to the front row of surgery, training surgeons is by far the most important goal for the next few years.
Introduction: The primary non-pharmacological management recommended for patients with osteoporosis (OP) is exercise, but whether it should be high-force, resistive, or other means can be obscure.
Objective: To describe the role of exercises in osteoporotic fracture prevention, identify effects and potential risks of high-force exercises, detect the optimal exercises to combat OP, and explore the challenges that might arise from interventions.
Methods: A search on MEDLINE and Cochrane databases was conducted on the role of exercises in preventing osteoporotic fractures from 1989 onwards, leading to 40 results, including op-ed pieces, qualitative studies, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) (n=5), and RCT follow-up studies (n=1). Articles deemed relevant to the objectives were analyzed and summarized. Data on effects of vitamin D and calcium supplementation were later gathered from different sources as well.
Results: High-intensity, resistive strength training provided the maximum benefit in increasing bone mineral density (BMD) levels, muscle mass, and reduction in fractures, while posture and balance exercises only improved mobility. High-force exercises did not increase fractures and were associated with increases in BMD. Interventions including exercises, vitamin D, and calcium intake had limited effect when used as single interventions, while vitamin D and calcium may potentially cause increases of cardiovascular events.
Conclusion: A long-term regular exercise program designed to improve postural stability, mobility, and mechanical efficiency, alongside an increased vitamin D and dietary calcium intake, is most effective in preventing OP and reducing osteoporotic fractures.
