Incidence rate of falls and its risk factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to controls: Four years of the TOMORROW study

Objective: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been recognized to experience falls frequently due to functional disabilities. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate factors influencing falls in patients with RA compared to controls.

Methods: We compared the frequency of falls in 208 RA patients and 205 age- and sex-matched volunteers for four years and analyzed risk factors for falls in RA patients using multivariate regression analysis.

Results: No significant difference in the incidence rate of falls (/person-year) between patients with RA (median [interquartile range]: 0 [0, 0.5]) and controls (0 [0, 0.5]) was evident during four years. Logistic regression analysis identified age, sex, body mass index, history of falls, and lower limb implant at baseline as significant risk factors for falls. The highest quartile of anti-CCP antibody level (>300.6?U/ml) was the strongest predictor for multiple falls (odds ratio, 2.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–7.91, p?=?0.029) among RA patients.

Conclusion: During four years we could not observe the higher incidence rate of falls in RA patients compared to controls in our cohort. Subjects with a higher titer of anti-CCP antibody might be at higher risk of frequent falls among RA patients.     

The interferon family stimulates the secretions of prolactin and interleukin-6 by the pituitary gland in vitro.

The effects of interferon-alpha, interferon-beta 1 and interferon-gamma on the secretions of prolactin (PRL) and interleukin-6 by primary cultured rat anterior pituitary cells were examined. These three interferons caused dose-dependent increases in PRL secretion within 30 min, and dose-dependent stimulation of interleukin-6 were weaker than the effects of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. These results suggest that interferons regulate PRL secretion from the pituitary gland, and that there may be a pathway in which interferons stimulate PRL secretion through interleukin-6 release.     

A case of postpartum fever caused by Mycoplasma hominis infection

A 26-year-old housewife was admitted to our hospital with a history of high fever after previous cesarean delivery. She had premature rupture of the membrane on the 41st week of pregnancy and the amniotic fluid was found to be cloudy on the fourth day after rupture. Therefore, cesarean delivery was performed. On the first day of operation, her body temperature increased up to 38 degrees C in spite of the treatment with Latamoxef (LMOX), 3 g/day. A sample of intrauterine material yielded M. hominis in pure culture. After administration of Minocycline (MINO) with antimycoplasmal activity, the clinical symptoms improved by the 11th day of operation. Sera obtained after the infection showed antibodies to M. hominis in ELISA study. These results suggested that the cause of this postpartum fever was M. hominis infection.     

Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms in a large unselected general population in Japan

AIM：To examine the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease （GERD） symptoms in a large unselected general population in Japan.
METHODS： In Japan, mature adults are offered regular check-ups for the prevention of gastric cancer. A notice was sent by mail to all inhabitants aged 〉 40 years. A total of 160 983 Japanese （60 774 male, 100 209 female; mean age 61.9 years） who underwent a stomach check up were enrolled in this study. In addition, from these 160 983 subjects, we randomly selected a total of 82 894 （34 275 male, 48 619 female; mean age 62.4 years） to evaluate the prevalence of abdominal pain. The respective subjects were prospectively asked to complete questionnaires concerning the symptoms of heartburn, dysphagia, and abdominal pain for a 1 mo period.
RESULTS： The respective prevalences of the symptoms in males and females were： heartburn, 15.8% vs 20.7%; dysphagia, 5.4% vs 7.8%; and abdominal pain, 6.6% vs 9.6%. Among these symptoms, heartburn was significantly high compared with the other symptoms, and the prevalence of heartburn was significantly more frequent in females than in males in the 60-89-year agegroup. Dysphagia was also significantly more frequent in female patients.
CONCLUSION： The prevalence of typical GERD symptoms （heartburn） was high, at about 20% of the Japan population, and the frequency was especially high in females in the 60-89 year age group.