Autoimmune joint diseases in Late Medieval skeletal sample from Croatia.

Analysis of 25 skeletons from Late Medieval cemetery Uzdolje-Grablje near Knin, Croatia, revealed three cases of systematic pathological changes to joints. Observed pathological lesions were examined macroscopically and radiologically and compared to the available paleopathological standards in order to formulate a differential diagnosis. In all three cases observed changes were most consistent with autoimmune joint diseases including ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Based on published clinical studies, we suggest that the high prevalence of autoimmune diseases in our skeletal sample stems from the genetic basis of the autoimmunity, and that three individuals describe here are possibly closely related.

[Mayer S. Diamantberger (1864-1944). The first person to describe juvenile chronic arthritis]. / Mayer S. Diamantberger (1864-1944). Erstbeschreiber der juvenilen chronischen Arthritis.

UNLABELLED: No evidence can be found in the medical textbooks from the beginning of the twentieth century that rheumatoid arthritis can also occur in children. Isolated cases were first published in the second half of the nineteenth century. In the Hôpital Rothschild in Paris several children with this disease were observed and nursed within a short period of time. M.S. Diamantberger, an assistant in this hospital, was intensively involved with these patients and analyzed all previously published cases. This was the theme of his dissertation which was first made public in 1890 and was published in 1891. Diamantberger proved for the first time that there are three totally different types of course in children and particularly mentioned the form affecting the internal organs and the eyes. Therefore he had described the so-called systemic form 6 years before Still and anticipated the oligarthritis accompanying inflammation of the eye. Diamantberger's work found wide acceptance in the French specialist literature. In 1988 this was reprinted in book form, nearly 100 years after the first publication. Nevertheless, only few clinicians in Germany have taken note of this and in the Anglo-American literature Diamantberger has remained unknown. Even today his name is not to be found neither in standard reference works on rheumatology nor in textbooks on pediatrics and the history of medicine. Another Parisian clinician, A. Chauffard, did not fare any better. He reported in 1896 on a systemic form of chronic polyarthritis in adults, the discovery of which is world-wide accredited to E. Bywaters in 1971. CONCLUSION: Many French authors were victims of the language barrier.

The arthritis of Antoni Gaudí.

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet, Catalan architect and one of the most important visual artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, suffered from a recurrent and often persistent arthritis since he was 6 years old. His diagnosis is uncertain but juvenile idiopathic arthritis is most likely. He coped successfully with his rheumatic illness during his life. It is proposed that his arthritis may have influenced him to the development of 2 of his major skills: observation power and analysis of nature.

Prehistoria, historia y arte de la Reumatología Inicios de las palabras reuma, artritis reumatoide, artritis juvenil, gota y espondilitis anquilosante / Prehistoric, historic and art of rheumatology

En esta primera parte del artículo hacemos una revisión completa sobre la prehistoria, la historia y la importancia del arte como ayuda para entender los orígenes de la artritis Reumatoide y de la artritis juvenil

Classification of childhood arthritis.

The classification of the juvenile arthritides is an evolving process which has yet to achieve its ultimate goal of delineating biologically distinct disease groups with predictable outcomes and responses to treatment. There have been considerable advances, however, since the first attempts at classification over 100 years ago, as the clinical heterogeneity of juvenile arthritis has become understood. The aim of this chapter is to highlight the historical milestones in classification, the most recent proposals for developing a unified, international classification, and the published literature aimed at evaluating the classification process. In conclusion, it is recommended that all clinicians involved in paediatric rheumatology take part in the ongoing process of juvenile arthritis classification by the prospective collection of standardized clinical data.

[Classification of idiopathic juvenile arthritis]. / Klassifisering av idiopatiske juvenile artritter.

We present a review of the criteria for the classification of juvenile arthritides. Historical aspects, the present situation and proposals for new criteria are outlined. The most commonly used classification criteria today are the European juvenile chronic arthritis criteria (JCA), the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria, and the American juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), the American Rheumatoid Association (ARA) criteria. They differ in nomenclature and have different inclusion and exclusion demands. This has made it difficult to compare studies using different criteria. Neither of them can define homogeneous subgroups of disease. The most recent proposal for new classification criteria of juvenile arthritides is that of the International League Against Rheumatism, ILAR. They are primarily designed to define homogeneous subgroups of disease. The goal is also to obtain an international consensus. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed in this article. The criteria have not yet been validated, and should not be used by clinicians until they have been approved by the international scientific society. We also present guidelines recommended for the classification of juvenile arthritis in Norway today. We recommend using the term juvenile arthritis. Disease duration of arthritis must be at least six weeks. A diagnosis of arthritis should not be made on painful and restricted joint movement alone, as is the case in both the EULAR and ARA criteria today, but at least be based on definite swelling of joints verified by either clinical examination and/or by imaging techniques such as ultrasound, X-ray or EMR.

Prehistoric juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in a precontact Louisiana native population reconsidered.

Descriptions of skeletal pathological conditions evident in the prehistoric Tchefuncte adolescent 16ST1-14883b are clarified. The basis is reaffirmed for assigning to the described pathological conditions a diagnostic perspective of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or juvenile Lyme disease--a disease that mimics juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in its arthritic presentation--rather than of assigning them as representative of juvenile onset ankylosing spondylitis or other juvenile spondyloarthropathies. A hypothesis (Lewis [1994] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 93:455-475) is restated that 1) the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi was the infectious agent responsible for prevalence of adult rheumatoid arthritis in prehistoric southeastern Native American populations, 2) that B. burgdorferi is a possible cause of the arthritis evident in individual 16ST1-14883b, and 3) that antibodies to B. burgdorferi provided partial immunity to the related spirochete Treponema pallidum for the 16ST1 precontact Tchefuncte population from Louisiana, protecting them from severe treponemal response. Given the probable widespread existence of Ixodid tick vectors for B. burgdorferi in prehistoric North America, coupled with the existence of treponematosis, it follows that the transition of Native American hunting-gathering economies to more sedentary economies would predictably be linked to an increased incidence of treponematosis due to the loss of benefits of the above-stated partial immunity. In other words, as prehistoric Native American exposure to tick vectors for B. burgdorferi decreased, susceptibility to treponematosis increased. Inferences regarding biological controls interacting with and influencing prehistoric Native American migration patterns are suggested from the link of B. burgdorferi to an Ixodid tick common to northeast Asia.

A história da reumatologia pediátrica / The history of pediatric rheumatology

A primeira parte do texto refere-se ao nascimeto da Reumatologia Pediátrica no mundo desde as primeiras publicaçöes, definiçöes de objetivos, campo de açäo e evoluçäo. Posteriormente, aborda-se a especialidade no Brasil desde sua criaçäo até o momento atual, perseguindo objetivos comuns: assistência, ensino e pesquisa