Abstract: Purpose: The pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is not well understood. Looking for three mediators [Soluble Interleukine 2 Receptor (SIL2R), ß2 Microglobulin (ß2M) and Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF α)] in RA patients sera and synovial fluid (SF) may clear some aspects of it. Methods: The above named mediators were estimated in 72 RA patient sera and SF, 13 patient with osteoarthritis (as patient control) and 130 blood donor (as normal ...
Abstract: The etiology and pathogenesis of Behcet's disease (BD) are still unknown. As for other autoimmune disorders, in a special genetic background an exogenous or endogenous antigen acts as trigger in up-regulating and presenting the pathogenic epitope. The immune system reacts in an abnormal way, in the presence of a probable neuro-endocrine dysfunction(hyperprolactinemia?), by an exaggerated inflammatory response leading to the lesions of the disease. Genetic background: On the basis of chromosomal ...
Abstract: To study the effect of acetazolamide on Cystoid Macular Edema (CME) in patients with Behcet's disease, twenty three patients (46 eyes) who had chronic, but controlled uveitis associated cystoid macular edema were randomized into a double masked, cross - over trial comparing acetazolamide (250mg bid) versus placebo. Eighteen patients (36 eyes) completed the trial (11 males, 7 females). Although acetazolamide trial led to slightly better results in decreaing CME angiographically, over ...
Abstract: Purpose: Polymyositis (PM) is an inflammatory muscle disease, which has more overlap with scleroderma than other connective tissue diseases. The aim of this study is to compare the clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic response of polymyositis with polymyositis-scleroderma overlap syndrome. Methods: During the past 10 years we had 16 overlap syndromes and 40 primary polymyositis. All patients were classified by the American college of Rheumatology classification criteria. Ninety-seven items were checked in ...
Abstract: Introduction: The association of Behcet’s disease (BD) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is still a controversial subject. As the presence of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) involvement is an essential criterion in the diagnosis of AS, we decided to determine the prevalence of SIJ involvement in BD and compare it with control group. Materials & Methods: We selected randomly 199 BD patients and 168 non-BD cases (CG), in a 12 month period (between April ...
Abstract: The sensitivity of diagnostic criteria for BD in patients from the United States (US) is unknown. We compared the sensitivity of the 6 major diagnostic criteria in 164 consecutive US Behcet patients diagnosed clinically over a 12 year period. Patients were not prospectively evaluated and pathergy testing was carried out in only 27 of these patients. The sensitivity of these criteria was evaluated in the entire group, in the 27 ...
Abstract: Purpose: Ocular lesions are the major cause of morbidity in Behcet's Disease. Cytotoxic drugs are the main therapeutic agents. We present here a comparative study of 8 methods in 1056 treated cases. Materials & Methods: In an open, nonrandomized control study, Pulse Cyclophosphamide (PCP), low dose PCP (LDP), oral Cyclophosphamide (OCP), weakly methotrexate (MTX), chlorambucil (CHL), cyclosporine A (CYA), azathioprine (AZA), and combination therapy with LDP and MTX (COM) were used ...
Abstract: Objective: Systemic sclerosis is a generalized disorder of connective tissue disease. This study surveyed the clinical manifestations of systemic sclerosis in early (6 years) phases of limited and diffuse variants. Methods: Nineteen patients with diffuse and thirty-four cases with limited form of disease were selected consecutively from 1992 to 1998. Sixty-five clinical data were evaluated and then analyzed by MC-Nemar chi square test between two forms in both phases. Results: (1) There were ...
Abstract: The neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus are frequent. One of the most serious presentations is convulsion. This study was carried out to evaluate the relation between convulsion and anti-DNA antibody levels. An analytic, retrospective case-controlled study was carried out, with reference to 1001 recorded cases of systemic SLE lupus erythematosus in Lupus Unit, Rheumatology Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The frequency Of convulsion was 13.3%. There ...
Abstract: Introduction: Ocular lesions of Behcet’s Disease (BD) need aggressive treatment to prevent from severe loss of vision or blindness. Although cytotoxic drugs are thought to be the main therapeutic arsenal, no control study has yet been done to demonstrate their efficacy. This study was designed t evaluate the short-term efficacy of pulse cyclophosphamide in a randomized double blind control study. Materials & Methods: PCP was used as Ig per square meter ...