The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Argentina: a capture-recapture study in a city of Buenos Aires province.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the population of a city of 70,000 inhabitants located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. METHODS: Based on the hypothesis that RA is an underdiagnosed disease in Argentina, a capture-recapture method was applied. A local registry of RA patients of Luján City was taken as the primary source; a telephone survey was specifically carried out as a secondary source of information. Patients suspected of having RA were referred to a local hospital to be examined by a team of 12 rheumatologists. Anamnesis and physical examination were followed by hand and foot radiography and erythrocyte sedimentation rate and rheumatoid factor measurements. RESULTS: According to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, a prevalence rate of 0.94% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86%-1.02%) was found in the surveyed population; in agreement with other studies, this prevalence was higher in women when compared with men (for female, 1.54% [95% CI, 1.40%-1.69%]; for male, 0.40% [95% CI, 0.32%-0.49%]). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of RA in a representative sample of the population of a city from the central region of Argentina seems to be close to 1%.

4G/5G plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and -308 A/G tumor necrosis factor-α promoter gene polymorphisms in Argentinean lupus patients: focus on lupus nephritis.

We investigated the relationship between the 4G/5G plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and -308 A/G tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) polymorphisms and the clinical and biochemical features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in an Argentinean patient cohort. A total of 402 patients were studied, including 179 SLE patients and 223 healthy individuals. PCR-RLFP was used to determine the genotypes of the 4G/5G PAI-1 and -308 A/G TNF-α polymorphisms. SLE patients with lupus nephritis (LN) (n = 86) were compared with patients without LN (n = 93). Additionally, LN patients were divided into proliferative LN and non-proliferative LN groups according to the results of the renal biopsies. No significant differences were noted in the genotype distributions or allele frequencies of these TNF-α and PAI-1 polymorphisms between SLE patients and controls. There were higher numbers of criteria for SLE, more lupus flares and higher damage scores in LN patients, but there were similar frequencies of anti-phospholipid antibody (APA) positivity and anti-phospholipid syndrome. No significant difference was noted for any studied variable between the proliferative LN and non-proliferative LN groups except for the presence of APA. We found no significant differences in the TNF-α and PAI-1 genotype distributions or allele frequencies between groups. We found that the -308 A/G TNF-α and 4G/5G PAI-1 polymorphisms are not associated with susceptibility to SLE in an Argentinean population. We also did not find any association between the presence of any specific allele or genotype and the development of LN in SLE patients. Finally, no association was noted between either of the two polymorphisms and the severity of renal disease.

The -2518 A/G polymorphism in the monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 gene is associated with the risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus in Argentinean patients: a multicenter study.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic, autoimmune disorder. Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), a chemokine involved in the recruitment and migration of monocytes/macrophages, has been shown to be increased in the plasma of SLE patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the possible association of the polymorphism -2518 of the MCP-1 gene with the risk of developing SLE, manifesting lupus nephritis (LN) and with other clinical features of SLE in an Argentinean population. A group of 171 SLE patients and 120 control subjects were examined. Genotypic and allelic frequencies of the MCP-1 -2518 A/G polymorphism showed significant differences between the SLE and the control groups (p=0.001 and p=0.01, respectively). However, the polymorphism showed no association with LN or with the other clinical variables studied. Our results suggest that the presence of the MCP-1 -2518 A/G polymorphism might be a risk factor for developing SLE in genetically predisposed individuals, but it does not seem to have a role in the evolution of the disease in the Argentinean population.

Estudio transversal bioquímico clínico en pacientes con artritis reumatoidea y su relación con el tabaquismo / Clinical laboratory transversal study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with smoking habits / Estudo transversal bioquímico clínico em pacientes com artrite reumatóide e sua relação com o tabagismo

En una población de pacientes con artritis reumatoidea (AR) se estudió la relación de esta patología con el tabaquismo, su perfil hormonal, la concentración de interleuquina 6 (IL 6) y la coexistencia de fibromialgia. Casi en el 50% de los pacientes, los valores de IL 6 fueron seis veces superiores al valor considerado normal. El hábito del tabaco, la edad y el tipo de tratamiento no influyeron en los valores de IL 6. En el subgrupo de pacientes con fibromialgia se observaron tanto altos niveles de IL 6 como bajos niveles de dehidroepiandrosterona (DHEA).

The relation between rheumatoid arthritis and smoking habits, hormonal status, interleuquin-6 levels and fibromyalgia in a population of patients was analyzed. Almost 50% showed IL6 values six times higher than the normal level. Smoking habits, age and the type of treatment did not influence IL-6 concentrations. Patients with fibromyalgia had high levels of IL6 as well as low dehydroepiandrosterone values.

Estuda-se numa população de pacientes com artrite reumatóide a relação desta patologia com o tabagismo, seu perfil hormonal, a concentração de interleucina 6 e a coexistência de fibromialgia. Quase no 50% dos pacientes os valores de IL 6 foram seis vezes superiores ao valor considerado normal. O hábito de fumar, a idade e o tipo de tratamento não influíram nos valores de IL 6. No subgrupo de pacientes com fibromialgia observa-se tanto altos níveis de IL 6 como baixos níveis de DHEA.

Miopatía inflamatoria idiopática asociada a polineuropatía desmielinizante inflamatoria crónica. Reporte de un caso / Idiopatic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) associated with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP): a case report

Introducción: las Miopatías Inflamatorias Idiopáticas (MII) y la Polineuropatía Desmielinizante Inflamatoria Crónica (PDIC) son desórdenes autoinmunes. Sólo se ha comunicado un caso infantil con estas dos entidades asociadas. Presentamos un adulto que desarrolló una PDIC asociando aumento de creatinfosfoquinasa (CK) y cambios inflamatorios en la biopsia muscular. Caso clínico: Paciente masculino, 52 años, que presenta debilidad proximal y distal de cuatro miembros, arreflexia y trastornos sensitivos distales. Estudios lectrofisiológicos: latencias distales prolongadas con velocidades de conducción disminuidas, sin denervación. CK: 1516 UI/l. Biopsia muscular: infiltrado inflamatorio perimisial, y perivascular focal. Conclusión: Según la revisión bibliográfica realizada a la fecha sería la primera comunicación de PDIC y MII asociadas en adultos.

Introduction: idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (IIM) and ChronicInflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) are autoimmunedisorders. Only one child case with the association of these two entitieshas been reported. We report an adult patient with CIDP whopresented creatine kinase (CK) elevation and inflammatory changeson muscle biopsy. Case report: 52 year old man who presentedproximal and distal weakness with areflexia and mild distal sensorydisturbances. Electrophysiological studies showed prolonged distallatencies and decreased conduction velocities without significantdenervation. CK was 1516 IU/l. A Muscle biopsy showed focal perivascularand perimysial inflammatory infiltrates. Conclusion: Accordingto the literature review to date this would be the first communicationof CIDP and IIM associated in an adult.

Estudio psico-inmunológico y hormonal en pacientes con enfermedades reumáticas (autoinmunes?) / Psycho-immunological and hormonal study in patients with rheumatic diseases (autoimmune?)

Se realizó un estudio clínico y psicológico a pacientes con enfermedades autoinmunes. Se seleccionaron a portadores de lupus, artritis reumatoidea, fibromialgia y esclerodermia con distintos estadios de enfermedad. Se efectuaron mediciones bioquímicas para evaluar el eje endocrino (tiroideo, adrenal y gonadal) y el sistema inmune en su expresión humoral mediada por anticuerpos en el sector celular y en las secreciones, representadas por las citoquinas. Se correlacionaron los hallazgos en cada enfermedad con la situación psicológica evaluada a través de cuestionarios

We developed a clinical and psychological study of patients with autoimmune diseases, selecting those patients who had different stages of systemic lupus erythematous, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and scleroderma. We made biochemical tests to examine the endocrine axis (thyroid, adrenal and reproductive), humoral and cellular expressions of the immunesystem through the concentrations of antibodies and cytokines. We correlated observed values with the psychological situation of patients as measured by means of specific questionnaires

Patología sinovial: diagnóstico y tratamiento artroscópico

Se presenta la experiencia con sinovectomía artroscópica en 126 casos efectuados desde 1978 a 1992. Las indicaciones para la intervención fueron: artritis reumatoidea (29 casos), condrocalcinosis (37 casos), osteocondromatosis (35 casos), gota (14 casos), sinovitis vellosa nodular (5 casos), hemofilia (2 casos) y en un caso cada uno de ocronosis, hemangioma, lipomatosis sinovial y granuloma histiocitario xantomatoso