Coexistence of Takayasu's arteritis with familial Mediterranean fever.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent self-limited attacks of fever, accompanied with peritonitis, pleuritis or arthritis. It is well known that FMF may coexist with vasculitic pathologies, especially with those involving small and medium vessels. Among the vasculitic pathologies reported to be associated with FMF, Henoch-Schönlein purpura and polyarteritis nodosa come the first, possibly followed up by protracted febrile myalgia. However, coexistence of FMF with any large vessel vasculitis has not been reported to date. Here, we present a case with FMF who later developed Takayasu arteritis, with a severe disease course, being resistant to corticosteroids and conventional immunosuppressive agents, and requiring infliximab treatment.

Assessment of latent tuberculosis infection in Takayasu arteritis with tuberculin skin test and Quantiferon-TB Gold test.

A possible relationship between Takayasu arteritis (TA) and tuberculosis (TB) has been suggested. An increased frequency of tuberculin skin test (TST) was observed in TA patients. Quantiferon-TB Gold test (QFT) is a new in vitro assay measuring interferon-gamma response to M. tuberculosis antigens and helpful in diagnosing latent TB infection. The aim of this study was to investigate latent TB infection among TA patients by the use of both TST and QFT Gold test. Ninety-four (male/female: 7/87) TA patients fulfilling ACR 1990 TA criteria from three different university hospitals in Turkey and 107 control subjects without inflammatory diseases were included in the study. Data about medical history (TA and TB) were collected for both groups. TST and QFT were performed. TST values > or =5 mm for TA patients and > or =15 mm for controls was accepted as TST positivity. Even though TA group was older (40 +/- 12 vs. 32 +/- 8, P < 0.001), there was no significant difference between TA patients and controls regarding demographic characteristics. Six TA patients and one control had a history of previous TB infection (P = 0.054). Although TST positivity was higher in TA group [55 patients (62.5%) vs. 24 controls (41.4%), P = 0.008], QFT positivity was similar between two groups [21 patients (22.3%) vs. 24 controls (22.4%), P > 0.05]. QFT was negative in two of six TA patients with previous TB history. Rate of latent TB infection in TA patients measured with QFT is no more than controls. QFT seems to be a good and favorable test compared with TST in detecting LTBI in TA.

Impact of Buccotherm® on xerostomia: a single blind study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this single blind study was to investigate effects of Buccotherm® spray on subjective symptoms of xerostomia patients. METHODS: Twenty patients with dry mouth complaint were instructed to use placebo six times a day for 2 weeks. After a wash period, mineral water spray was provided. Patients were asked to reply questions regarding dry mouth using visual analog scale (VAS). Baseline and subsequent subjective findings on 1 hour after the application of the materials at the end of 1st, 7th, and 14th days were recorded. RESULTS: At the end of 14-day treatment, no statistically significant differences were observed between the efficacy of placebo and commercial mineral water dental spray (p > 0.05). The VAS scores revealed that difficulty in mastication (p = 0.006), difficulty in swallowing (p = 0.00), need to sip liquids while eating (p = 0.000), difficulty in speech (p = 0.003), and waking up at night to sip water (p = 0.005) were statistically lower for placebo than commercial mineral water spray. CONCLUSION: The commercial mineral water dental spray was not more efficient than placebo in the management of dry mouth-related symptoms. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study emphasizes the fundamental role of saliva in oral health and evaluates the clinical utility of a commercial dental spray.