Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P G Bracke.
This case report describes a patient with Behçet's syndrome with sustained anticardiolipin antibodies presenting a vena cava inferior thrombosis in a period of anabolic steroid use. The vascular manifestations and occurrence of antiphospholipid antibodies in Behçet's syndrome are reviewed. The possible thrombogenicity of anabolic steroids is reemphasized.
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The authors report an unusual case of jejunal mesenchymal hamartoma which presented as a bleeding pedunculated polyp in a 67-year-old woman. The lesion was detected by enteroclysis and resected after localization by intraoperative endoscopy.
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OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to evaluate in a randomised double-blind prospective study the effect of pamidronate on intracellular monocytic cytokine profiles (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha) and bone density in rheumatoid arthritis patients. METHODS: Twenty rheumatoid arthritis patients were treated for one year with methotrexate and a low dose of prednisolone. Double blind randomisation was performed for either i.v. pamidronate (at 3-month intervals) or placebo. The effect of pamidronate was evaluated on intracellular cytokine profiles (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha), disease activity and bone mass measurements. The human monocytic cell line THP-1 was used to evaluate in vitro apoptosis by pamidronate. RESULTS: Spontaneous production of interleukin-1 beta by patient blood monocytes was lower in the pamidronate group and was associated with an increase in bone density of the spine after 12 months of therapy. In vitro a dose-related increase in pamidronate induced apoptosis was found in THP-1 cells. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective double-blind randomised study demonstrated that pamidronate therapy resulted in an increase of bone density despite treatment with steroids. This rise is associated with a suppression of interleukin-1 beta production in monocytes of patients treated with pamidronate. Our in vitro experiments suggest that this anti-inflammatory effect could be due to an increase in the apoptosis of monocytic cells.