ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Palindromic rheumatism refers to the intermittent, relatively brief episodes of arthritis and/or inflammation of the soft tissue around the joint. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical features, laboratory findings and prognosis of patients with palindromic rheumatism. METHODS: Study group was forty-nine consecutive patients that enrolled as palindromic rheumatism at Gwangmyung Sungae General Hospital between January 1996 and December 2000 by retrospective chart review. Follow up durations of all cases were more than 2 years and mean follow up duration was 59+/-21.8 months. RESULTS: There were 14 males and 35 females and sex ratio was 1:2.5. The mean age was 43.9+/-5.8 years. The attacks usually lasted less than 2 days and the most common attack pattern was monoarticular. In all cases, the most common affected site was proximal interphalangeal joints followed by wrist joint. But in males, the most common affected joint was knee. Rheumatoid factor was positive in 34.7%. Two patients were progressed to suspected rheumatoid arthritis and three patients were progressed to rheumatoid arthritis definitely. CONCLUSION: This study showed similar results with other previously reported studies, but showed more knee joint involvement in males and less progression to rheumatoid arthritis than other studies. But compared with previous Korean studies, patient's age was older in this study and progression to rheumatoid arthritis was similar in both studies. The number of patients in this study was limited, large-scale epidemiologic study will be necessary for further investigation.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Arthritis , Arthritis, Rheumatoid , Epidemiologic Studies , Follow-Up Studies , Hospitals, General , Inflammation , Joints , Knee , Knee Joint , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Rheumatic Diseases , Rheumatoid Factor , Sex Ratio , Wrist JointABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We assessed the contribution of genetic polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), T1 (GSTT1), and P1 (GSTP1, Ile105Val) to carotid atherosclerosis in 40 postmenopausal rheumatoid arthritis (RA) women without histories of smoking. METHODS: We measured mean intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque of the common carotid arteries by ultrasonography, and evaluated relations among the known risk factors for atherosclerosis, genetic polymorphisms, RA outcomes and markers of inflammation. RESULTS: Subjects with the GSTT1-null genotype had greater IMT (p<0.05). On univariate analysis, carotid IMT was positively associated with age, systolic BP, antihypertensive drug use and the GSTT1-null genotype (p<0.05). When compared to subjects with a double- positive GSTM1/T1 genotype, IMT in subjects with concurrent lack of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene was significantly increased (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the GSTT1-null genotype might have an interaction with carotid atherosclerosis related to RA in Korean postmenopausal RA women free of smoking history.