No abstract available.
Osteoporosis* ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing*

BACKGROUND: To determine the bone mineral density (BMD), serum soluble receptor activator of the nuclear factors kappa B ligand (sRANKL) and the osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and to determine their relationship with disease activity indexes. METHODS: The disease activity was evaluated by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Global Score (BAS-G). The BMD was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum levels of sRANKL and OPG were measured by the sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Osteoporosis and osteopenia of the femoral neck were found in 33% and 41%, respectively. BMD of femoral neck showed a negative correlation with disease activities. The serum levels of sRANKL were higher in patients with AS than in controls, and the ratio of sRANKL to OPG was also elevated in AS, but had no correlation with disease activity. The sRANKL/OPG ratio tended to be higher in patients with lower BMD. CONCLUSIONS: BMD was reduced in 79% of AS patients and reflected disease status. The sRANKL/OPG ratio was upregulated in patients with AS and it appears to be related to BMD and radiological changes. These results suggest that the imbalance between RANKL and OPG might be involved in the pathogenesis and clinical courses of AS.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Baths ; Bone Density ; Bone Diseases, Metabolic ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Osteoporosis* ; Osteoprotegerin ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing*

No abstract available.
Angiomyoma*

BACKGROUND: C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are known to reflect chronic inflammatory processes of the cardiovascular system. In particular, it has been reported that high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) may be a promising marker of development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. CRP may also have an active role in atherogenesis. METHODS: The relationship between hs-CRP and the classic cardiovascular risk factors was assessed in 186 subjects, aged 23-75 years, who entered the health-check program of Chung-Ang University Hospital. hs-CRP was measured by immunoturbidimetric assay. Quintiles of hs-CRP (quintile 1; < 0.7, quintile 2; 0.7-1.1, quintile 3; 1.2-1.9, quintile 4; 2.0-3.8, quintile 5; 3.9-15 mg/L), total cholesterol (TC)/high density lipoprotien-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio, and relative risk (RR) estimates derived from quintiles of hs-CRP and TC/ HDL-C ratio, were used for the data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 186 subjects, 48 were hypertensive and 138 were normotensive. The serum hs-CPR values for the hypertensive subjects were 0.27+/-0.83 mg/L, compared to 0.12+/-0.23 mg/L for the normotensive subjects; this difference was not significant (P=0.0536) when tested on the arithmetic means, but highly significant (P=0.0091) when the geometric means were compared. The quitiles of hs-CRP were also significantly higher (P=0.0094) in the hypertensive subjects than in the normotensive subjects, when evaluated using Wilcoxon rank sum test. Of the 138 normotensive subjects, only 35 (25.4%) were in quintile 3 or over 3 and 18 (13.0%) in quintile 4 or 5, whereas the respective figures for the 48 hypertensive subjects were 21 (43.8%) and 15 (31.3%). Similarly, of the normotensive subjects, only 47 (34.1%) had RR estimates over 2 and 19 (13.8%) over 3, whereas the respective figures for the hypertentive subjects were 28 (58.3%) and 16 (33.3%). CONCLUSIONS: High-sensivity CRP may be useful in for the screening of the subjects who need preventive measures against cardiovascular diseases. The quintiles of hs-CRP, together with TC/HDL-C ratio, may be useful for the estimation of RR in subjects with low levels of hs-CRP.
Atherosclerosis ; C-Reactive Protein* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cardiovascular System ; Cholesterol ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Mass Screening ; Risk Factors ; Statistics as Topic

Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune feature (IPAF) is a recently established disease entity that is comprised of interstitial lung diseases with evidence of autoimmune features but that does not fulfill the criteria for definite autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The classification criteria for IPAF were defined by the European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society in 2015. However, further studies to establish IPAF subgroups and treatment modalities for each subgroup are still needed. In this review, we discuss recent advances regarding IPAF and raise critical points for the diagnosis and management of patients with IPAF from the perspective of rheumatologists.

Adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) is an obscure disease that is usually diagnosed after the exclusion of other febrile diseases, including other autoimmune, infectious, and malignant diseases. Although definitive diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines for AOSD are thus far lacking, the typical manifestations of AOSD have been identified and effective medications for remission and maintenance have been proposed. The pathophysiology of the AOSD is unclear, but diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines for AOSD can be established by determining its core etiology and conducting clinical trials of previously tested immunosuppressants and biologics.

Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune feature (IPAF) is a recently established disease entity that is comprised of interstitial lung diseases with evidence of autoimmune features but that does not fulfill the criteria for definite autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The classification criteria for IPAF were defined by the European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society in 2015. However, further studies to establish IPAF subgroups and treatment modalities for each subgroup are still needed. In this review, we discuss recent advances regarding IPAF and raise critical points for the diagnosis and management of patients with IPAF from the perspective of rheumatologists.