ABSTRACT
Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder, autoimmune in nature that predominatelyaffects synovial joints. Being a crippling disease is a leading cause of disability that often reduces the quality of life and impairspatients ability to work.Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the effect of different treatment regimens on patients with activeRA treated at a tertiary care hospital.Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, open labeled, parallel arm, randomized, and single-center study performed ina tertiary care teaching hospital (Chennai Medical College Hospital and Research Centre [SRM Groups], Irungalur, Tiruchirapalli)and was conducted at outpatient clinics. Total duration of the study period was 24 weeks. All the patients were having activeRA and were on oral methotrexate (first-line disease-modifying antirheumatic drug) at the time of recruitment.Statistical Analysis: All the data were initially entered into Microsoft Excel 2010 and later these spreadsheets were used foranalysis. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0.Conclusion: Combination therapy of pitavastatin and methotrexate is better than methotrexate monotherapy and combinationtherapy of rosuvastatin and methotrexate.
ABSTRACT
Objective: The objective of the study was to find out the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency among patients with type II diabetesmellitus (DM) and to assess the effect of Vitamin D in the control of blood sugar and lipid profile among patients with type 2 DM.Material and Methods: Study setting: This study was conducted at diabetic clinic, Chennai Medical College Hospital andResearch Centre, Irungalur, Tiruchirappalli. Study design: The present study was a hospital-based analytical cross-sectionaldesign. Sample size: The sample size was taken as 90 (using the formula 4pq/l2). Analysis: The data collected were entered andanalyzed using the SPSS software package (Version 21). Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and 95% confidenceinterval) and appropriate tests of significance (ANOVA) were applied to establish the relationship between the study variables.P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results: We found that there was a significant reduction in all the glycemic indicators over the progressive weeks among thegroup of participants receiving Vitamin D supplements. We have also reported a uniform reduction in all the lipid profile valuesand glycemic indicators across all the three groups in the progressive weeks, with a significant reduction in the group receivingVitamin D supplements.Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation improves glycemic control and can reduce or prevent the development of insulinresistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Considering the multitude of diseases associated with Vitamin D deficiency,increasing the population’s awareness of the beneficial effect of Vitamin D on health will be an important strategy overall.