Osteonecrosis of the mandible is also called avascular necrosis of the jaw, and it is a rare complication of bisphosphonates. It is characterized with pain, swelling, exposure of bone, local infection and pathologic fractures of the jaw. With the widespread usage of bisphosphonates in bone metastasis of malignant tumors and osteoporosis, this rare complication has received more attention in recent years. Here, we reported a case of bisphosphonates-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) caused by intravenous zoledronic acid for osteoporosis. A 62-year-old female patient with 7-year history of Sjögren's syndrome and 3-year history of osteoporosis developed BRONJ after 3-year treatment of zoledronic acid. Two months before she went to the Peking University International Hospital, she visited the dentist for periodontal purulent secretion and extracted one tooth from the right mandible. However, the condition was not improved and she felt persistent pain and swelling in the right mandible. Hence, she received repeated root curettage, but there was no improvement. Finally, she was diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the mandible based on the digital volume tomography scan, which showed right mandibular osteonecrosis bone destruction. She underwent surgical debridement of the necrotic bone and administered intravenous antibio-tics at the Peking University International Hospital. Histopathological analysis of the bone biopsy further confirmed the diagnosis of BRONJ. Her condition was improved successfully during a 3-year follow-up. Osteonecrosis of the mandible become more common with the increased use of bisphosphonates. Recent study has reported that osteonecrosis of the mandible is more likely to occur in patients with Sjögren's syndrome. In addition, age, long-term and irregular administration of glucocorticoids, irregular oral examination and treatment also might be the risk factors in the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis of the mandible. For the elder osteoporosis patients who would receive or had received bisphosphonate-related drugs, oral health status and the disease states associated with necrosis of the mandible such as Sjögren's syndrome should be comprehensively measured and fully evaluated during the whole process. Furthermore, to better understand and prevent or reduce the occurrence of this complication, we reviewed the patho-genesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of BRONJ.
Humans ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Bisphosphonate-Associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw/etiology* ; Diphosphonates/administration & dosage* ; Zoledronic Acid ; Imidazoles/administration & dosage* ; Bone Density Conservation Agents/adverse effects* ; Osteoporosis/drug therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the serum level of lumican (LUM) and its clinical correlation with disease and immune activities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The serum LUM levels in both RA patients and health controls (HCs) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The clinical and laboratory data of the patients were collected. The LUM levels in the patients with different clinical features were analyzed. The correlation between the clinical data, laboratory parameters, and serum LUM levels were also analyzed. Independent samples t test, Spearman correlation were used for statistical analysis. Analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis test, the least significant difference (LSD)-t test and Bonferroni correction were used for statistical analysis. The Pearson Chi-square test was used for comparison of the rates between the groups. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The levels of LUM were elevated in the RA patients than in the HCs (P < 0.000 1). Serum LUM levels were correlated with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), immunoglobulin A (IgA), titers of platelet (PLT) and 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28, all P < 0.05). Next, we compared the serum LUM levels in the RA patients with different characteristics, and no difference was found in serum LUM levels between early-RA and RA, the same to RA with different gender (P>0.05). The levels of serum LUM were elevated in the RF positive patients (P < 0.000 1), and in the RF and anti-CCP positive patients (P < 0.05) than in the RA patients with negative RF whether the anti-CCP was positive. In addition, no differences were found between the RA patients with negative RF whether the anti-CCP was positive (P>0.05). All the levels of serum LUM were elevated in the RA patients with different CRP or ESR than in the HCs (P < 0.05), and the serum LUM levels in the RA patients with elevated ESR and CRP were significantly elevated in those with normal ESR and CRP (P < 0.05). Additionally, the results demonstrated that serum LUM levels were positively associated with RA disease activity, and they were declined in RA sustained remission than those in middle or high disease activity (P < 0.05). Furthermore, no difference was found between the RA patients in remission and HCs (P>0.05). No differences were found in the RA patients with and without complications including interstitial pneumonia disease, Sjögren's syndrome, thyroid gland diseases and osteoporosis (P>0.05). The LUM positivity rates were significantly elevated in the RF positive patients than the RF negative patients in RA (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION LUM, a cyclocitrullinated protein, might be a promising biomarker which could reflect both disease activity and immune activity in RA.
Humans ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/immunology* ; Lumican/blood* ; C-Reactive Protein/metabolism* ; Female ; Male ; Rheumatoid Factor/blood* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans/blood* ; Blood Sedimentation ; Keratan Sulfate/blood* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Aged

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance combined with renal damage is named monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance. There are few reports about IgA vasculitis in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. Here, we report a case of monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance, who had manifestations of IgA vasculitis, including purpura, gastrointestinal bleeding and joint pain. The patient had elevated serum creatinine levels, prompting further investigation through immunofixation electrophoresis and bone marrow aspiration biopsy. Immunofixation electrophoresis showed IgA-λ-type monoclonal immunoglobulin, while the bone marrow aspiration biopsy suggested plasmacytosis. Kidney biopsy indicated membranous hyperplastic glomerulonephritis, light and heavy chain deposition, IgA-λ. The patient was diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance. In light of the elevated serum creatinine, the patient was treated with chemotherapy regimen (bortezomib +cyclophosphamide +dexamethasone). After chemotherapy, there was no significant improvement in the patient's renal function. Subsequently, the patient experienced abdominal pain, skin purpura, joint pain and severe gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastroenteroscopy did not find the exact bleeding position. Angiography revealed hyperplasia of left jejunal artery. Surgical operation found that the bleeding site was located between the jejunum and ileum, where scattered hemorrhagic spots and multiple ulcers were present on the surface of the small intestine, with the deepest ulcers reaching the serosal layer. And the damaged intestine was removed during the operation. Intestinal pathology showed multiple intestinal submucosal arteritis, rusulting in intestinal wall necrosis and multiple ulcers. Considering intestinal lesions as gastrointestinal involvement of IgA vasculitis, methylprednisolone was used continually after the operation, and the patient's condition was improved. However, after half a year, the patient suffered a severe respiratory infection and experienced a recurrence of serious gastrointestinal bleeding. It was considered that the infection triggered the activity of IgA vasculitis, accompanied by gastrointestinal involvement. Finally, the patient died from gastrointestinal bleeding. The present case represented a patient with monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance and IgA vasculitis, prominently presenting with renal insufficiency and severe gastrointestinal bleeding, making the diagnosis and treatment process complex. Patients with IgA monoclonal gammopathy who presented with abdominal pain, purpura, and arthralgia should be vigilant for the possibility of concomitant IgA vasculitis. The treatment of cases with IgA vasculitis combined with monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance was rather challenging. Plasma cell targeting therapy might be an effective regimen for IgA vasculitis with monoclonal gammopathy. However, patients with poor renal response to the treatment indicated poor prognosis.
Humans ; Cyclophosphamide/administration & dosage* ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/etiology* ; IgA Vasculitis/complications* ; Immunoglobulin A ; Intestine, Small/pathology* ; Kidney/pathology* ; Kidney Diseases/pathology* ; Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance/complications* ; Necrosis ; Paraproteinemias/complications* ; Vasculitis/etiology*

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and myasthenia gravis (MG) are two distinct autoimmune diseases. Compared with the general population, the incidence of RA is notably higher among patients with MG. Similarly, the rate of MG in patients diagnosed with RA is also significantly increased. In this report, we presented an elderly female patient with a history usage of long-term glucocorticoid and conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), whose RA symptoms remained inadequately controlled. She later exhibited drooping of the right eyelid and double vision, leading to a diagnosis of ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG). Then, we made a literature review and found that the RA patients with co-existing MG were relatively more common in middle-aged and elderly women, and most of them did not have thymoma. Thymoma wasn ' t found in our patient, which was consistent with the cli-nical characteristics of RA complicated with MG reported in previous reports. In addition, there was li-mited treatment experience in patients with both RA and MG. The treatment stratergies for RA or MG included glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants. Among the 18 patients we analyzed, 8 patients expe-rienced relief after csDMARDs, while other 8 patients received biologics or targeted DMARDs, including tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in 5 cases, JAK inhibitors in 2 cases, and B-cell depletion therapy (rituximab) in 2 cases. What called for special attention was that one RA patient was diagnosed with MG after using 23 months of methotrexate and 6 weeks of etanercept (TNFi), with rituximab 1 000 mg for the first time, followed by 500 mg every 6 months, and finally both RA and MG were well controlled. For the patient in this study, MG symptoms improved with increased dosage of prednisone. In order to tapper the dose of glucocorticoid, it was necessary for more potent immunosuppressant for both RA and MG. Given her history of cardiac conditions, JAK inhibitors were not considered, and due to the uncertain efficacy of TNFi, we chose to administer low-dose rituximab (100 mg). Subsequent follow-up revealed stable conditions for both RA and MG, allowing for discontinuance of glucocorticoid after 5 months. It reflected the potential efficacy and cost-effectiveness of low-dose, long-interval rituximab in treating RA patients combined with MG, while it also minimized infection risks. However, the duration for subsequent infusions remained uncertain and required further observation. In conclusion, RA combined with MG is rare. For patients exhibiting poor responses to csDMARDs, low-dose, long-interval rituximab might be a promising treatment option.
Humans ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Rituximab/administration & dosage* ; Myasthenia Gravis/drug therapy* ; Female ; Antirheumatic Agents/administration & dosage* ; Aged ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use*

BACKGROUND: Human neutrophil lipocalin (HNL) has been used extensively to differentiate acute bacterial infection from febrile diseases as a biomarker to reflect the activation of the neutrophil. The serum HNL levels in the adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) patients with and without infection, as well as the healthy controls (HCs), were analyzed statistically in this study to evaluate the value of HNL for the diagnosis of AOSD. METHODS: A total of 129 AOSD patients were enrolled, from whom blood samples were drawn and the AOSD diagnosis was confirmed through the review of the medical records, where the systemic score, demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, and laboratory parameters were also collected for the patients; in addition, a total of 40 HCs were recruited among the blood donors from the healthcare center with the relevant information collected. The HNL test was done for the blood samples with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the analyses were done for the correlations of HNL with clinical manifestations and diagnostic effectiveness. RESULTS: The serum HNL increased significantly in the patients with only AOSD as compared with that in the HCs (139.76 ± 8.99 ng/mL vs . 55.92 ± 6.12 ng/mL; P  < 0.001). The serum HNL level was correlated with the white blood cell (WBC) count ( r  = 0.335, P  < 0.001), neutrophil count ( r  = 0.334, P  < 0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( r  = 0.241, P  = 0.022), C-reactive protein ( r  = 0.442, P  < 0.0001), and systemic score ( r  = 0.343, P  < 0.0001) in the AOSD patients significantly. Patients with fever, leukocytosis ≥15,000/mm 3 , and myalgia in the HNL-positive group were observed relatively more than those in the HNL-negative group ( P  = 0.009, P  = 0.023, and P  = 0.007, respectively). HNL was a more sensitive indicator than ferritin and C-reactive protein (CRP) to differentiate the AOSD patients with bacterial infection from AOSD-only patients, and the Youden index was 0.6 for HNL and 0.29 for CRP. CONCLUSION Serum HNL can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of the AOSD, and HNL is also observed to be associated with the disease activity.
Adult ; Humans ; Still's Disease, Adult-Onset/diagnosis* ; C-Reactive Protein/metabolism* ; Neutrophils/metabolism* ; Clinical Relevance ; Biomarkers ; Bacterial Infections

Objective To explore the feasibility and clinical effect of laparoscopic radical cystectomy with intracorporeal Xing's orthotopic neobladder.Methods Forty-one patients who underwent laparoscopic radical cystectomy with intracorporeal Xing's orthotopic neobladder from July 2013 to August 2019.There were 31 cases performed in Beijing Chaoyang hospital and 10 cases in National Cancer Center.Mean age was 59 (range 44-78) years,mean BMI was 25.3 (range 20.1-34.7) kg/m2,and mean CCI was 3 (range 2-6).No urethral stricture or urinary incontinence was found by preoperative examination.No distant metastasis was identified by bone scans,chest X-ray and sonography.Cystoscopy or TURBT was performed on all patients and biopsy was taken to confirm the diagnosis.Preoperative pathology showed 30 cases (73.2％) of MIBC,9 cases of NMIBC (22.0％) and 2 cases (4.9％) of in-situ cancer.Laparoscopic radical cystectomy and lymphadenectomy were performed under general anesthesia.Urinary diversion was completed in the peritoneal cavity,by intercepting the terminal ileum about 60 cm,and taking the proximal ileum 10 cm as input loop on the right side with proximal to distal way,and the middle 40 cm ileum was detubated.After u-shaped suture,the ileum was folded back and stitched into a sphere building a novd orthotopic neobladder with bilateral isoperistaltic afferent limbs.The prognosis of perioperative data and postoperative satisfaction regarding continence were analyzed,continence was defined as 0-1 pad/day.The 41 patients were divided into two groups to compare the difference in term of operation time and blood loss between the first 21 patients and the last 20 patients.Results Mean total operative time was 324.9 mins (range 210-480) mins,and mean estimated blood loss was 177.6(range 50-700) ml.There were significant statistical differences in term of total operation time,construction time and blood loss between the first 21 patients and the next 20 patients (P ＜ 0.05).Postoperative pathological results were urothelial carcinoma in 40 cases (2 in situ carcinoma) and small cell carcinoma in 1 case.Mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 19 (range 11-58),with 7 cases(17.1％)of positive lymph nodes,and 3 cases(7.3％) had positive surgical margin.At a mean follow up of 17.6 (range 2-64) months,36 patients (87.8％) survived,including 2 patients (4.9％) with metastasis and 1 patient (2.4％) with recurrence,and 5 cases (12.2％)died.All patients were able to urinate without catheterization.Thirty-seven patients (90.2％) were satisfied with voiding control during the daytime (0-1 urinal pad),and 29 patients (70.7％) were satisfied with voiding control at nighttime (0-1 urinal pad) by the follow-up 12 months after the operation.Conclusions Total laparoscopic radical cystectomy combined with Xing's orthotopic ileum neobladder is a simple method with fewer postoperative complications and a satisfactory continence rate.

Objective To investigate the common initial clinical presentations of primary Sj(o)gren's syndrome (pSS) with pulmonary complications,and to explore the differences between patients with extraglandular manifestations at disease onset (EGM) and those with glandular manifestations at disease onset (GM).Methods A total of 1 341 hospitalized SS patients from 2003 to 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.Of them,102 hospitalized patients with pSS'associated lung disease were analyzed and included.Case control study was performed to explore the differences between the EGM group and the GM group.Results Fifty-one percent of patients were presented with EGM at onset,with significantly shorter disease duration [36 (12,156) m vs 102 (48,159) m,x2=-2.41,P=0.016].Although the mean diagnose time was similiar,only 4％ of the EGM group could be confirmed the pSS diagnose at onset,which was significantly less frequently than that of the GM group (34％,22=15.29,P＜0.01).Case control study revealed that hyperglobulinemia,elevated RF titers and anti-SSA and/or anti-SSB test positive were less predominant in the EGM group [IgG 16(12,21) g/L vs 21 (15,28) g/L,x2=-2.15,P=0.032;22 (20,171) U/ml vs 104 (20,238) U/ml,x2=-l.98,P=0.048;33％ vs 72％,x2=15.78,P＜0.01].The predicted value of TLC and FVC were lower [(87±23)％ vs (97±20)％,x2=-1.96,P=0.050;(8±28)％ vs (100±27)％,x2=-1.70,P=0.089] and HRCT score was higher in EMG group [12(88,15) vs 8(5,13),x2=-1.82,P=0.070].Conclusion EMG at onset is the common initial manifestation of pSS'associated lung involvement.Pulmonary complication is more progressively and severe than those with MG at onset.Anti'SSA positive,elevated RF titer and hyperglobulinemia are not predominant for patients with EMG at onset.

BACKGROUND:Hemiarthroplasty is a proven method for reconstruction of the hip joint function, especialy for the elderly patients who cannot tolerate the total hip arthroplasty. However, for the patients with osteoporosis, there are stil more controversial in clinical practice about using cemented or cementless femoral prosthesis for hemiarthroplasty. OBJECTIVE: To observe the repair effect of cemented or cementless femoral prosthesis when were used for hemiarthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis. METHODS:The clinical data from 105 patients treated with hemiarthroplasty were retrospectively analyzed. Osteoporosis was diagnosed in these patients using the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry before surgery.Patients were divided into bone cement group (n=56) and cementless group (n=49) depending on different types of femoral stem prosthesis. The difference of efficacy between cemented or cementless femoral prosthesis when were used for hemiarthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis was analyzed by comparing the operative time, volume of drainage, post-operative Harris scores of hip joint function and radiographic assessment (prosthesis subsidence, osteolysis, severe stress shielding, heterotopic ossification) during the folow-up after the replacement. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the process of hemiarthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis, the operative time in the cement group was significantly longer than that in the cementless group (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the postoperative volume of drainage between these two groups (P > 0.05). At the 1, 3, 6 and 12 of folow-up after replacement, there were no significant differences in the Harris score of hip joint function, total effective rate and radiographic assessment between these two groups (P> 0.05). These results suggest that in the process of hemiarthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis, the clinical efficacy of cementless femoral prosthesis is similar to the cement femoral prosthesis, therefore two prostheses can al be selected; however, the operative time of the cement femoral prosthesis is longer than the cementless femoral prosthesis, so we can give priority to the cementless femoral prosthesis for patients with osteoporosis who can’t tolerate a long operative time because of the poor basic condition.

Objective:To investigate the serum level of C-C chemokine ligand 19 (CCL19)and its clinical significance in rheumatoid arthritis.Methods:The serum CCL19 levels in both rheumatoid ar-thritis (RA)patients and health controls were detected by ELISA.The proportion of peripheral blood B cells and memory B cell subsets were also detected in some patients.Then the clinical and laboratory data of the patients were collected.The CCL19 levels in patients with different clinical features were analyzed. And the correlation between the clinical data,laboratory parameters,B cell subsets proportion and serum CCL19 levels were also analyzed.Independent samples t test,paired t test,Pearson and Spearman corre-lation were used for statistical analysis.Results:The levels of CCL19 was higher in the RA patients than the health controls (P <0.05).The serum CCL19 levels were decreased in the RA patients who accep-ted disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)treatment for 6 months (P <0.001 ).Serum CCL19 levels were correlated with the titers of both rheumatoid factor (RF)and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP)antibody (r =0.42,P =0.002;r =0.33,P =0.013),but not with erythrocyte sedi-mentation rate (ESR),C-reactive protein (CRP)and disease activity score in 28 joints (DAS28)(P >0.05).The levels of CCL19 were higher in the serum positive (RF and anti-CCP antibody)patients,but there were no differences between low and high disease activity RA,as well as early and non-early RA. There was no correlation between the serum CCL19 levels and the proportion of B cells as well as memory B subsets.All the proportion of peripheral blood CD27 + memory B cell subsets in RA was lower than the healthy controls,including CD27 +IgD +,CD27 +IgD - and CD27 + B cells.Conclusion:The increased serum CCL19 levels in RA patients are associated with the activity of B cells,so CCL19 might predict whether the RA type is a B cell mediated RA,and specify the treatment directions for the rheumatologist.