Effect of high-voltage electrical stimulation on the albumin and histamine serum concentrations, edema, and pain in acute joint inflammation of rats

BACKGROUND: The mechanism by which high-voltage electrical stimulation (HVPC) acts on edema reduction is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of HVPC with negative polarity (-) applied to the ankle of rats with acute joint inflammation. METHOD: Sixty-four rats were divided into four groups (n=16): inflamed+HVPC(-), 0.03 mL application of ι-carrageenan (3%) to the tibiotarsal joint plus HVPC(-); inflamed+HVPC placebo, carrageenan application and HVPC placebo; normal+HVPC(-), HVPC application(-); and normal control, no intervention. The HVPC(-) 100 Hz at a submotor level was applied daily for 45 min on three consecutive days. The variables were pain, hind-foot volume, and serum histamine and albumin assessed before and during the 48 hours following inflammation. The variables were compared using the t test, one-way ANOVA, nested ANOVA for repeated measures, and the post hoc Bonferroni test. Analysis of covariance was applied to adjust the effects of HVPC(-) by measurements of pain, inflammation, albumin, and histamine at 24 h, and the final weight was compared to the other groups. The significance level was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: There were no differences between the inflamed+HVPC(-) and inflamed+HVPC placebo groups in terms of pain or edema (p>0.05). Albumin was reduced in the groups that received the intervention, but there was no differences between them. There was only a 24 hour increase in histamine with the normal+HVPC(-) (p=0.0001) and inflamed+HVPC placebo groups (p=0.01) compared to the normal control group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that HVPC(-) with the parameters employed did not reduce pain or edema and did not change serum albumin or histamine levels,, which indicates the inability of this resource to have a positive effect when treating treat acute joint inflammation. .

Jaccoud arthropathy in systemic lupus erythematosus: clinical and serological findings

OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of Jaccoud arthropathy (JA) in a sample of local systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and its clinical and serological associations. METHODS: 308 SLE patients from a single university center for the last two years were interviewed and examined. The presence of JA was searched for according to the JA index. After this, charts were reviewed for clinical and serological profile. RESULTS: The studied sample was composed by 94.5% females and 5.5% males with mean age of 38.08 ± 12.04 years and mean disease duration of 29.68 ± 11.63 years. A JA prevalence of 6.1% was found in this sample. There was a positive association of JA presence with arthritis complaints (p = 0.001) and a negative association with renal involvement (p = 0.028). Patients with JA had higher positivity for anti-dsDNA (p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Despite the positive association of JA with arthritis and anti-dsDNA, there was a negative association with nephritis. This could suggest that JA patients belong with a SLE subset with a better prognosis.

Artritis seronegativas: reexamen del diagnóstico inicial y pronóstico al cabo de 10 años / Seronegative arthritis: diagnosis and prognostic reassessment after 10 years

Seronegative arthritides are a heterogeneous group of diseases that includes rheumatoid arthritis with negative rheumatoid factor. Between 1980 and 1984 we studied 38 patients with seronegative arthritis. Thirty of these patients were reassessed in 1994 after 9 or 20 years of evolution. Seventeen patients had a diagnosis of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis; this diagnosis was maintained in 12, changed to seropositive rheumatoid arthritis in 3, to psoriatic arthritis in 1 and connective tissue disease in 1. Thirteen patients had a diagnosis of undifferentiated arthritis; in 1994 the diagnosis was maintained in 3, 7 patients were diagnosed as having a sppondyloarthropathy, 2 as having a reactive arthritis and 1 as having a connective tissue disease. In 1994, nine patients fulfilled the 1991 criteria for spondyloarthritis and 6 of these did so on admission. Six of 12 patients with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis had an active disease or used antiinflammatory drugs and 64 percent had erosions on hand X ray examination. These figures are in contrast with the enigm evolution classically attributed to this disease and agree with recent reports. The usefulness of classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis in the initial assessment of patients with seronegative arthritis is emphasized

Valoracion inicial del paciente artritico / Initial evaluation of the arthritic patient

El sistema de valoracion del paciente artritico, tal como lo hemos descrito en el presente articulo, permitira al medico formular un diagnostico preliminar del cual se desprendera el tratamiento apropiado para esa etapa. La valoracion inicial incluye un interrogatorio minucioso, examen general y reumatologico, pruebas de laboratorio seleccionadas (incluyendo analisis del liquido sinovial cuando este indicado) y estudios radiologicos. Es necesario individualizar el procedimiento para cada paciente, pues las afecciones reumaticas afectan a los enfermos de diferentes maneras