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Biomedical subjects

J Gijón-Baños

Publications and source records attributed to J Gijón-Baños.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Low vitamin D levels in outpatient postmenopausal women from a rheumatology clinic in Madrid, Spain: their relationship with bone mineral density.

To evaluate a possible relationship between vitamin D levels and bone mineral density (BMD) and the prevalence of hypovitaminosis in a population of postmenopausal women from a rheumatologic outpatient clinic in Madrid, Spain, 171 postmenopausal women (aged 47-66 years) divided into two groups (osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic, according to WHO criteria) were studied between November and June. Liver and kidney function were normal in all subjects. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcidiol levels were determined and bone densitometry carried out at the lumbar spine and hip level. PTH and calcidiol serum levels did not show any correlation. Serum PTH was inversely related to BMD at both hip and lumbar spine in the total group, and at the hip with calcidiol levels lower than 37 nmol/l. Calcidiol was directly related to hip BMD only when levels were lower than 37 nmol/l. Results of a stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the single factor which affected BMD at the hip was calcidiol in the subgroup with serum calcidiol levels below 37 nmol/l, while in the subgroup with serum calcidiol levels above 37 nmol/l, the main factor affecting hip BMD was serum PTH. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency at a cutoff of 37 nmol/l was 64%. In summary, calcidiol serum levels below 37 nmol/l seem to affect bone mass, regardless of the effect of PTH. Vitamin D deficiency is a frequent finding in the postmenopausal women who attend a rheumatology outpatient clinic in Madrid. Vitamin D supplementation should therefore be considered in this population during the winter season.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 1-alpha-Hydroxylase↗
PubMed2000

Activity indices in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine which activity indices better correlate with assessor's (AGA) and patient's (PGA) global assessment of disease activity and to compare the improvement with American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria and their association with PGA and AGA of overall improvement. METHODS: Seventy-five patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were studied. Swollen and tender joints, morning stiffness, grip strength, pain, AGA, PGA, Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CPR), and hemoglobin were determined before and 6 months after treatment. Several activity indices were calculated: Disease Activity Score (DAS), DAS 3, DAS 28, DAS '28,' ACR > or = 20%, Mallya, Riel, IDA, and a modification of the Stoke index. RESULTS: All indices correlated with PGA and AGA before and after treatment (r > 0.38, p < 0.01), but better results were obtained with AGA than PGA. DAS, DAS 3, DAS 28, and modified Stoke had the best correlation with AGA (r > or = 0.77, p < 0.01). The indices that better detected the differences after treatment for AGA were DAS, DAS 3, DAS 28, and modified Stoke (r > or = -0.42, p < 0.01). The level of agreement between EULAR and ACR improvement classifications with both reduced and extensive joint counts was comparable and its association with PGA and AGA overall improvement was significant (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: All activity indices correlated with PGA and AGA, although the best results were obtained with AGA. Although indices' correlations were similar, the DAS group and the modified Stoke seemed to be the most useful indices to measure disease activity in RA. The discriminating potential between ACR and EULAR improvement classification was comparable, as was the association with PGA and AGA overall improvement.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1999

Antiperinuclear factor as a prognostic marker in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Antiperinuclear factor (APF) is an autoantibody detected in >50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); it shows a specificity of roughly 90%. We investigated the possible role of APF as a prognostic marker in RA. METHODS: A series of 103 patients with RA who fulfilled the 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria (88 women and 15 men; mean age 55.5 yrs, mean disease duration 9 yrs) were prospectively followed. Sixteen variables were assessed in each patient at inclusion and over a 3 year period. APF was determined by indirect immunofluorescence assay using human buccal mucosal cells as substrate. APF assays were done at entry and at the end of followup without knowledge of the clinical status of the patients. Mann-Whitney U, chi-squared tests, variance analysis, and kappa index were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Eighty of 103 patients completed followup. APF was detected in 40 of 80. At inclusion, APF correlated with the visual analog scale (VAS) of pain (p = 0.02). However, patients who showed APF positivity at entry had a less favorable course than APF negative individuals, as shown by a worse VAS of well being (p = 0.01), Ritchie index (p = 0.01), number of painful joints (p = 0.03), grip strength (p = 0.01), C-reactive protein (p = 0.04), and Health Assessment Questionnaire score (p = 0.03) at the end of the study. In addition, APF positive patients showed a worse radiological course (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest APF is a possible marker of poor prognosis in RA.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Antiperinuclear factor: a useful test for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

The objective of this study was to determine: (1) the diagnostic value of antiperinuclear factor (APF), (2) the types of immunoglobulins involved in the reaction and (3) the presence of the antibody in paired samples of serum and synovial fluid (SF). We studied 408 serum samples from the following: healthy controls (n = 68), patients with rheumatoid arthritis RA; n = 160, 106 RF-positive and 54 RF-negative and patients with other rheumatic diseases (n = 180). We examined paired serum and SF samples in 27 patients (8 with RA and 19 with other rheumatic conditions). APF was determined by an indirect immunofluorescence assay. A group of 30 APF-positive serum samples was incubated with fluorescent-labelled antisera against IgG, IgM and IgA independently. APF was positive in 55.7% of patients with RF-positive RA, in 35.2% of patients with RF-negative RA, in 11.1% of patients with other rheumatic diseases and in 5.9% of healthy controls. Statistical differences were found between RF-positive RA and the other three groups (P = 0.02, P = 0.0001, P = 0.0001, respectively) and between RF-negative RA and the groups of other rheumatic diseases (P = 0.0001) and healthy controls (P = 0.005). The specificity of the test for RA was 90.2%. APF was present in three SF samples from RA patients (37.5%). The reaction was mediated by immunoglobulins of the IgG class in 100% of those tested, and, in addition, 30% were of IgA and 6.7% of IgM classes. We concluded that APF is a good diagnostic test that could be included in the classification criteria of RA, it can be present in SF and it is predominantly an antibody of the IgG class.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Aceclofenac in comparison to ketoprofen in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The efficacy and tolerability of aceclofenac, a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) was compared to that of ketoprofen in a multicentre, double-blind, prospective, randomized study of 3-months duration in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. One hundred and sixty-nine patients, aged between 22 and 70 years, were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to two treatment groups; either aceclofenac 100 mg b.i.d. (87 patients) or ketoprofen 50 mg t.i.d. (82 patients). A placebo tablet was administered to aceclofenac-treated patients to maintain the double-blind conditions of the study. Patients were examined at 15 days and at 1, 2 and 3 months. Efficacy was assessed by the following clinical parameters: Ritchie index, pain on a visual analogue scale, grip strength, morning stiffness, spontaneous morning pain, pain on movement and nocturnal pain, together with functional capacity. Efficacy was demonstrated for both drugs, with progressive improvement in the main clinical evaluation parameters until the end of the treatment period. This was particularly pronounced at 15 days in the aceclofenac group, with a rapid improvement in the Ritchie index (baseline vs 15 days: P < 0.001). Laboratory analyses performed were all within the normal range for both drugs. Eleven patients in the ketoprofen group abandoned the study because of inefficacy, whilst only 4 patients discontinued the treatment for this reason in the aceclofenac group. Eleven patients in the ketoprofen group and 2 patients in the aceclofenac group withdrew from the study because of adverse events. In summary, this study demonstrated that aceclofenac, a new NSAID, is effective in the symptomatic treatment of RA with a minor number of patient withdrawals because of inefficacy and a better safety profile than ketoprofen.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The effect of gold salts on substance P levels in rheumatoid arthritis.

The effect of gold salt therapy on substance P immunoreactivity levels in plasma and synovial fluid was studied in 42 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Decreased levels of synovial fluid substance P, although not statistically significant, were found in rheumatoid patients who were currently receiving gold therapy when compared to either those patients previously treated or to those who never received this therapy. In addition, we found that patients who received more than 1000 mg of gold salts had significantly lower levels of substance P in synovial fluid than those treated with lower doses. Our results, therefore, seem to support the hypothesis that gold salts appear to be slow-acting neurotoxic drugs that significantly decrease the intrasynovial concentrations of substance P, a well-known inflammatory neuropeptide, in arthritis patients.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1994

Evidence of hepatitis C virus antibodies in the cryoprecipitate of patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical features of 8 patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. METHODS: A clinical study of the patients was performed. Anti-HCV antibodies were determined by ELISA and confirmed by immunoblot (RIBA) in the sera and in the cryoprecipitate. RESULTS: All patients had liver dysfunction, while most had arthralgias and/or arthritis, purpura, peripheral nervous system involvement and renal disorders. Cryocrits ranged from 1 to 6%. Six patients had type III mixed cryoglobulinemia and the remaining 2 had type II. History of blood transfusion was recorded in 2 patients. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers were negative in all sera samples. The cryoprecipitate of 7 patients was negative for HBV markers, but anti-HCV antibodies were positive by both ELISA and RIBA. CONCLUSION: After reviewing published reports and discussing the possible role that hepatitis C virus plays in the pathogenesis of mixed cryoglobulinemia, we conclude that HCV may stimulate immune complex formation and produce cryoglobulinemia. Therefore its investigation is recommended before the diagnosis of "essential" mixed cryoglobulinemia is established.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Histologic changes in rheumatoid synovitis induced by naproxen and methotrexate.

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes in rheumatoid synovitis induced by the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), naproxen, and methotrexate (MTX). METHODS: Twelve patients were treated with naproxen, and 11 with MTX and a clinical activity index was measured before and after treatment. A synovial biopsy was taken, on entry into the study and after 73 +/- 43 days in the NSAID group and 145 +/- 35 in the MTX group. Synovial cells bearing CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, LeuM5 (CD11c), HLA-DR, HLA-DP and CD25 antigens were measured by stereology. RESULTS: Patients treated with MTX showed a reduction in the number of CD3+ (p = 0.01), CD4+ (p = 0.007) and HLA-DR+ (p = 0.01) cells with an improvement in the activity index (p = 0.001). The patients treated with naproxen did not show changes in the activity index or in the synovial infiltrate. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the theory that clinical improvement in rheumatoid synovitis is associated with a significant decrease in the number of T cells infiltrating the synovial membrane.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Increased apotranscobalamin II levels in rheumatoid arthritis.

The distribution of endogenous cobalamin among serum cobalamin-binding proteins was studied in 30 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 27 in clinical remission. The mean total serum cobalamin concentration (holo-transcobalamin I and II) was similar in both groups of patients, whereas mean apotranscobalamin II was significantly increased in patients with active RA. The clinical significance of this finding is not yet established but it might be a useful parameter for the evaluation of disease activity in RA.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Familial articular chondrocalcinosis in Spain.

One hundred and one first degree relatives of 35 patients with chondrocalcinosis were examined for the presence of familial disease. Eleven subjects from nine families showed radiological chondrocalcinosis, a prevalence of familial disease of 26%. Two different patterns of disease were noted--the older generation was more commonly affected, and the younger generation and second degree relatives were exempt. Clinical and radiological differences were found between the early and late onset groups, but not between late onset and sporadic forms of chondrocalcinosis. These findings support the suggestion that the true prevalence of familial disease. is underestimated. A dominant, autosomal transmission with variable penetrance is consistent with our findings, which suggests that homozygous patients with familial chondrocalcinosis may present a more severe form of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Joint symptoms in relapsing polychondritis.

OBJECTIVE: To study articular symptoms in relapsing polychondritis (RP) and their relationship to other clinical manifestations and prognosis. METHODS: Fourteen patients who met the diagnostic criteria proposed by Damiani and Levine for RP were studied. Clinical symptoms were recorded and laboratory and radiologic examinations were carried out. In one patient a synovial histology was obtained. RESULTS: Twelve patients had joint symptoms affecting the peripheral joints (9), the chondrocostal junctions (5), or both sites together (2). Peripheral arthritis was the most frequent finding, affecting 6 patients, while peripheral arthralgia was the only articular manifestation in 3 patients. The development of joint symptoms (arthralgia, arthritis and costochondritis) was unrelated to the appearance of chondritis at other sites and no correlation was found between articular involvement and age at onset, duration of the disease, number of flares, or severity of the disease, either in terms of the number of organs involved or fatal outcome (p > 0.05). However, when articular symptoms were analysed separately arthritis was associated with a longer duration (50 months vs 30), more affected organs (4.5 vs 3.3) and a poorer prognosis compared with patients with arthralgias alone or chondrocostal symptoms. CONCLUSION: Articular symptoms are common in RP but the presence of peripheral arthritis is associated with widespread disease and a poorer prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Scleromyxedema associated with arthritis and myopathy: a case report.

Herein we report a patient with scleromyxedema associated with seronegative polyarthritis and proximal myopathy. The histopathologic and electron microscopic features are described and compared with previously reported patients with documented scleromyxedema and myopathy.

Arthritis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Benign familial hyperphosphatasemia: a report of two families and review of the literature.

Benign familial hyperphosphatasemia is a rare biochemical abnormality of hereditary nature, characterized by the presence of persistently elevated levels of serum alkaline phosphatase in several members of the same family, in the absence of disease or any known cause of hyperphosphatasemia. To date, there have been 29 pedigrees reported in the literature. Another two families affected with hyperphosphatasemia, originating in an increase in the bone isoenzyme, are described. The epidemiology, inheritance, isoenzymatic patterns, postulated mechanisms and clinical significance of this entity are discussed.

Adult↗