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Biomedical subjects

I Uthman

Publications and source records attributed to I Uthman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Endocrinologic manifestations of the antiphospholipid syndrome.

Our objective was to study the endocrinologic manifestations of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). We reviewed the medical literature from 1968 until 2005 using MEDLINE and the key words: APS, anticardiolipin antibodies, lupus anticoagulant, antiphospholipid antibodies, adrenal, thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, diabetes, ovaries and testes. Adrenal insufficiency is the most common endocrinologic manifestation and can be the presenting symptom of APS. In patients with autoimmune thyroid disease circulating aPL have been detected. However, no clinical manifestations of APS have been described. A few cases of hypopituitarism have been reported, including a case of Sheehan's syndrome. aPL has been detected in the sera of diabetic patients, probably associated with some macroangiopathic complications. Finally only very few cases of ovarian and testicular involvement have been reported. The adrenals are the most commonly involved glands in the APS. Clinicians should keep a high index of suspicion for adrenal insufficiency in patients with APS.

Adrenal Insufficiency↗

Ethnic and geographical variation in antiphospholipid (Hughes) syndrome.

Investigation of the clinical epidemiology of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is in its early stages. During the past 20 years, studies of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and APS have been made in many countries and ethno-geographical groups. aPL appear to occur in all populations studied, with some variations noted in their frequency and in the clinical complications. Environmental and genetic factors contribute to ethnic variation and susceptibility to APS and thus inter-ethnic differences in disease patterns may be due to environmental or genetic factors, or both.

Antibodies, Antiphospholipid↗

Familial antiphospholipid antibodies and acquired circulating anticoagulants.

Familial clustering of elevated antiphospholipid antibody levels has been described, but the reports are heterogeneous with regard to the characterization of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), coexisting autoimmune diseases and clinical implications. We report a familial occurrence of APS in two patients, in the presence of SLE in the mother and absence of autoimmune diseases in the daughter along with acquired circulating inhibitors in both cases: platelet inhibitor and factor IX inhibitor, respectively.

Adult↗

Intra-articular therapy in osteoarthritis.

The medical literature was reviewed from 1968-2002 using Medline and the key words "intra-articular" and "osteoarthritis" to determine the various intra-articular therapies used in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid are the most frequently used intra-articular therapies in osteoarthritis. Other intra-articular substances such as orgotein, radiation synovectomy, dextrose prolotherapy, silicone, saline lavage, saline injection without lavage, analgesic agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucosamine, somatostatin, sodium pentosan polysulfate, chloroquine, mucopolysaccharide polysulfuric acid ester, lactic acid solution, and thiotepa cytostatica have been investigated as potentially therapeutic in the treatment of arthritic joints. Despite the lack of strong, convincing, and reproducible evidence that any of the intra-articular therapies significantly alters the progression of osteoarthritis, corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid are widely used in patients who have failed other therapeutic modalities for lack of efficacy or toxicity. As a practical approach for a knee with effusion, steroid injections should be considered while the presence of symptomatic "dry" knees may favour the hyaluronic acid approach. The virtual absence of serious side effects, coupled with the perceived benefits, make these approaches attractive.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Coexistence of lupus anticoagulant and acquired haemophilia in a patient with monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance.

Acquired haemophilia or factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency, caused by FVIII inhibitor antibodies, is a very rare condition that commonly results in severe haemorrhagic complications. We report a case of acquired haemophilia presenting with a left calfnontraumatic haematoma. The patient was also found to have lupus anticoagulant (LAC). The simultaneous presence of LAC and FVIII inhibitor is exceedingly rare. The differentiation between these two conditions is crucial, because both result in a prolongation of the activated partial thromboplastin time test, which does not correct when mixed with the plasma of a normal control; however, the clinical manifestations range from thrombosis in the presence of LAC to massive haemorrhage with FVIII inhibitors.

Adult↗

Practice patterns of antiphospholipid syndrome at a tertiary teaching hospital in Lebanon.

The objective of the study was to describe the practice patterns of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) as compared with consensus guidelines for diagnosis and to determine whether practice patterns correlate with patient demographics and physician specialty. A retrospective medical chart review was conducted at the American University Hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon. All adult and pediatric patients admitted to the hospital between 1 January and 31 December 1998 who underwent either anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) or lupus anticoagulant (LA) testing were included in the study. Work-up of APS syndrome was compared with: (a) the consensus guidelines for clinical diagnosis; (b) physician specialty; and (c) patient demographics (age, gender, ethnicity, health insurance status). Eighty-seven patients fulfilled at least one clinical criterion for APS; 92% were for work-up of thrombosis and 8% for pregnancy morbidities. Fifty-one percent underwent both aCL and LA. Overall 38% (33) of patients had an abnormal test result, however only 18% (6) underwent retesting, of whom only two satisfied a minimum of 6 weeks between test and retest TheAPS diagnostic work-up was requested by 11 different specialties. Rheumatologists were the most consistent in asking for both tests. APS is seen and diagnosed by a variety of medical specialties. Practice patterns as compared with the latest consensus are sub-optimal, and need to be improved. Interventions to help improve this have been discussed and are being implemented.

Adolescent↗

Recurrent venous thrombosis in Behçet's disease: successful endovascular treatment with thrombolysis and stent.

We report the case of a patient with Behçet's disease (BD) and recurrent venous thrombosis in the right subclavian vein, successfully treated with balloon dilatation and the insertion of a Wallstent. Subsequent follow up at 6 months showed no evidence of reocclusion. Endovascular stents should be considered as a possible interventional modality in BD patients with aneurysms or recurrent venous or arterial thrombosis.

Adult↗

Hughes syndrome associated with varicella infection.

We report a case of Hughes syndrome 1 week after the occurrence of chickenpox. The patient presented with the clinical picture of acute right iliofemoropopliteal deep vein thrombosis. IgM and IgG anticardiolipin (aCL) were both positive upon admission. The IgM aCL antibodies were still positive 6 weeks later, which suggests their role as a predisposing factor of deep vein thrombosis.

Adolescent↗

Arthritis in familial Mediterranean fever.

We studied the rheumatic and various clinical manifestations of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in Lebanon. A retrospective review was performed of the medical records of 74 FMF patients seen at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre (AUB-MC) from 1979 to 1996. We also reviewed the medical literature from 1968 to 2000 using MEDLINE and the key words "familial Mediterranean fever" and "arthritis". Arthritis was the presenting symptom in 12 cases (16.2%). Twenty-three patients (31%) had definite arthritis during the course of the disease that was monoarticular in 16 (70%), oligoarticular in six (26%), and polyarticular (rheumatoid-like) in one (4%). Arthritis of the large joints of the knees and ankles was the most frequent articular involvement. The arthritis was transient, monoarticular, nonerosive, and nondeforming in the majority of cases. Four patients (5.4%) had chronic arthritis, with one requiring total hip replacement. As in previous reports on arthritis of FMF, the majority of FMF patients studied in Lebanon had a transient monoarticular nonerosive and nondeforming type of arthritis affecting predominantly the large joints of the lower extremities.

Adolescent↗

Panniculitis and arthritis as the presenting manifestation of chronic pancreatitis.

Although rare, panniculitis and polyarthritis can be the presenting manifestations of pancreatitis. Early recognition of this triad is critical because of the high mortality rate from pancreatic disease when the diagnosis is delayed. We report a patient with chronic alcohol intake whose sole presentation was severe polyarthritis and skin lesions secondary to chronic pancreatitis associated with extra pancreatic pseudocyst. Both arthritis and skin lesions disappeared after partial pancreatectomy and pancreatic stent insertion for a pancreatic duct stricture.

Arthritis↗

Strong association of autoantibodies to human nuclear lamin B1 with lupus anticoagulant antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and clinical significance of high titers of IgG autoantibodies to nuclear lamin B1 in a large number of unselected and well-characterized systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, disease controls, and normal healthy controls. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of anti-lamin B1 autoantibodies, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using human recombinant lamin B1 autoantigen, was performed on serum samples obtained at first evaluation of 238 consecutive French Canadian adults: 61 healthy control subjects, 20 patients with osteoarthritis, 22 with ankylosing spondylitis, 11 with autoimmune hepatitis, 30 with rheumatoid arthritis, and 94 with SLE. SLE patients were studied for 57 disease manifestations. A case-control study was performed to analyze the relationship between anti-lamin B1 status and thrombotic manifestations between SLE onset and last followup. RESULTS: High titers of anti-lamin B1 were strikingly restricted to a subset of 8 SLE patients (8.5%). The mean anti-lamin B1 titer was higher in this subset than in the other SLE patients or any control group (P<0.001). By univariate analysis and stepwise multiple logistic regression, the most striking association of anti-lamin B1 was with lupus anticoagulant (LAC) antibodies (P = 0.00001). Although LAC were significantly associated with thrombosis in our SLE patients, anti-lamin B1 was not. The frequency of thrombosis in SLE patients expressing both LAC and anti-lamin B1 was similar to that in patients without LAC (P = 1.0). However, patients expressing LAC without anti-lamin B1 had a greater frequency of thrombosis (P = 0.018). CONCLUSION: High titers of IgG anti-lamin B1 autoantibodies are highly specific for a subset of SLE patients whose clinical characteristics include the presence of LAC and other laboratory manifestations of the antiphospholipid syndrome. The presence of LAC without anti-lamin B1 may define a subset of SLE patients at greater risk for thrombosis.

Adult↗

Systemic lupus erythematosus in Lebanon.

The present study describes the clinical characteristics of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), one of the largest teaching hospitals in Lebanon. This is a retrospective chart review of 100 SLE patients seen over a 20 y period. There were 86 females and 14 males, with a median age of 26 y. 85 patients were Lebanese and 15 patients were Palestinians. The main clinical features were arthritis and/or arthralgias seen in 95% of our patients, followed by malar rash (52%), and renal involvement (50%). Of the hematological manifestations, thrombocytopenia was most commonly seen in 33% of patients, followed by leucopenia in 17% and hemolytic anemia in 10% Oral ulcers and serositis were both seen in 40% of patients. Less frequent manifestations included discoid lupus (19%), neuropsychiatric manifestations (19%), and photosensitivity (16%). Antinuclear antibodies were detected in 87% of patients, whereas anti-DNA antibodies were seen in 50% of cases. 25 patients (25%) had a false-positive VDRL. A comparison between our findings and 3 other Arab SLE groups revealed a higher incidence of oral ulcers, discoid lupus, articular manifestations, thrombocytopenia and false-positive VDRL, and a lower incidence of photosensitivity, leucopenia, neuropsychiatric manifestations, and anti-DNA antibodies.

Adult↗

Hughes syndrome associated with cytomegalovirus infection.

We report the case of a patient with an acute cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection who developed Hughes syndrome, manifested by a common iliac vein thrombosis. IgM anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) appeared with the onset of the infection, followed later by IgG aCL. Five months later, both IgM and IgG aCL levels disappeared from the serum. This is the second case of Hughes syndrome associated with CMV infection to be reported in the literature.

Adult↗