[The presence of the os peroneum and relative metatarsal length - X-ray study]. / Prevalence os peroneum a relativní délka metatarzu nohy - rtg studie.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The os peroneum is a sesamoid bone found within the peroneus longus tendon and is present in the form of ossification on radiographs in 8-26% of the population. It is most likely the result of stress in the lateral side of the foot in connection with genetic factors. The factors affecting os peroneum development include anatomical changes, among others the length of the metatarsals especially because of the main tendon insertion on the first metatarsal bone. MATERIAL AND METHODS In the study, 768 standardised radiographs of feet of the Caucasian population, taken between 2006 and 2012 in the Vamed Mediterra hospital (Mostiste, Czech Republic), were investigated. The median age of the patients was 42 years, the range 18-75 years. The presence of an os peroneum was assessed and metatarsal length was measured by a modified method of Maestro. RESULTS The os peroneum was identified in 106 subjects (13.8%). Among the groups established according to the presence of os peroneum and its relation to the length of a metatarsal bone, the relationship with the first metatarsal (1+) was most frequent; it was seven-fold higher compared to the other variants. On the contrary, the variant 3+ was least frequent in the presence of the os peroneum. CONCLUSIONS The study presents a statistically significant relationship between the presence of the os peroneum and the length of the first metatarsal bone. Potentially, this is one of the causes of forefoot pain in relation to the os peroneum development and anatomical connections in this area. Key words: os peroneum, relative metatarsal length.

Relation of IL-6, IL-13 and IL-15 gene polymorphisms to the rheumatoid factors, anti-CCP and other measures of rheumatoid arthritis activity.

The aim of the study was to examine the relation between polymorphisms and serum levels of selected cytokines (IL-6, IL-13 and IL-15), production of autoantibodies and factors describing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), such as DAS28 and Total Sharp Score. A total of 156 patients with RA according to the ACR criteria, and 200 control subjects were recruited into the study. The measurements of CRP, anti-CCP, the presence of rheumatoid factors (RFs), radiographs of both hands with calculation of Total Sharp Score (TSS) and DAS28 were obtained from all patients with RA. In total, five polymorphisms in genes coding cytokines (IL-6, IL-13 and IL-15) were detected. The levels of these selected cytokines were measured in serum using ELISA method. A significant difference in allele frequencies between patients with RA and controls was observed for IL-15 -267C/T polymorphism. A higher prevalence of heterozygote variants of IL-15 polymorphisms (14035A/T and -267C/T) in the RF IgG- and RF IgA-negative subgroups was observed. Furthermore, the association of polymorphisms in gene for IL-15 with circulating level of IL-15 (14035A/T and 367G/A) and with total RF and Ig-specific RFs (-267C/T) was found. The relation of IL-15 to RFs IgA, IgM, IgG and the measure of DAS28 was proved. The frequency of the T allele of the IL-13 polymorphism -1112C/T was higher in subgroup with faster progression of the disease (TSS/month ≥ 0.1). In conclusion, we present an association of IL-15 gene polymorphisms with the RFs including subtypes (RF, IgG, IgA) underlined by the relation of increased IL-15 levels in circulation to RFs.