Prospective correlational time-series analysis of the influence of weather and air pollution on joint pain in chronic rheumatic diseases

Clinical Rheumatology - The primary objective was to evaluate the association between weather variables and joint pain in patients with chronic rheumatic diseases (CRD: rheumatoid arthritis (RA),...     

Comparison of the BASDAI and the miniBASDAI in assessing disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

The BASDAI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index) is the most widely used instrument for the assessment of disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Objective. The aims to investigate whether the alternative BASDAI, here termed as the miniBASDAI [(Question (Q) 1 fatigue + Q2 spinal pain) + mean of (Q5 strength morning stiffness + Q6 duration morning stiffness)] / 3], measures disease activity more accurately in the subgroup of AS patients without peripheral manifestations. One hundred and ten patients were included in this cross-sectional study according to the modified New York criteria for AS. Clinical and biological parameters were evaluated. The disease activity was evaluated by the BASDAI. We calculated the miniBASDAI by omitting both the peripheral joints and the enthesitis questions: questions 3 and 4. Patients were dichotomized into a “P+” group if peripheral manifestations were present (at least arthritis or enthesitis) and a “P−” group, the subgroup without peripheral involvement (with either arthritis or enthesitis). Correlation of the BASDAI and miniBASDAI with other disease parameters were examined with the Spearman's rank correlation analysis. One hundred and ten patients were recruited. The percentage of patients with pure axial disease manifestation without peripheral involvement “P − group” was 42.7%. We found a similarly good correlation of the miniBASDAI with patient global, physician on disease activity, BASFI, ESR and CRP if compared to the correlation of the original BASDAI with these disease parameters, also in the group without peripheral involvement. Our study suggests that the BASDAI remains valid in assessing disease activity in AS patients with and without peripheral manifestations.     

Albuminuria in type 2 diabetes mellitus: from remission to progression

Objective Albuminuria is an early marker of renal impairment and a powerful factor of progression of renal disease in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Approximately, one-third of patients with T2D have micro- or macroalbuminuria and these patients have a high risk of progression toward End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) as well as increased cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of remission, regression, persistence, and progression of albuminuria, and to evaluate the impact of change in albuminuria on kidney disease and cardiovascular disease in a prospective cohort of patients with T2D. Methods This is a prospective study. The Ethics Committee of Morocco’s Mohammed V University in Rabat approved the study protocol. Inclusion criteria targeted patients who were type 2 diabetics with albuminuria?>30?mg/day, and who had been regularly followed-up in nephrology consultation for at least 36 months. Results Five-hundred twenty-four patients were included. 75.8 and 24.6% of all patients had micro- and macroalbuminuria at enrollment in the study. At the end of the study, 91, 141, 199, and 93 patients had remission, regression, persistence, and progression of albuminuria, respectively. Remission of microalbuminuria to normoalbuminuria was observed in 23.6% of cases. Regression of macroalbuminuria to micro- was observed in 29.9% of cases. Conclusion In our study, the incidence of remission and/or regression of micro- and macroalbuminuria was higher. The incidence of ESRD and the occurrence of cardiac events were greater in the regression, persistence, and progression groups than in the remission of albuminuria group.     

Influence of parity on bone mineral density and peripheral fracture risk in Moroccan postmenopausal women

The aims of the study were to determine: (1) the relationship between parity and bone mineral density (BMD); (2) the relationship between parity and osteoporotic peripheral fractures.

Material and methods

The group studied included 730 postmenopausal women. Patients were separated into four groups according to the number of fullterm pregnancies, group 1: nulliparae, group 2: one to three pregnancies, group 3: four to five pregnancies, and group 4: six and more pregnancies. Additionally, patients were separated into three groups according to their ages, as <50 years, 50–59 years and ≥60 years.

Results

The median parity was 4 [0–20]. All the patients with parity greater than six had spine and hip BMD values significantly lower than values in the other groups (p < 0.001). After adjustment for age and body mass index (BMI), decreased lumbar and total hip BMD were still associated to increased parity (analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), p = 0.04 and 0.023, respectively). The relation between parity and lumbar BMD was highly significant among women aged <50 years (age-adjusted p = 0.022), while there was no parity-spine BMD association in the other age groups. The relation between parity and hip BMD was seen only in the group 50–59 years (age-adjusted p = 0.042). A positive history for peripheral fractures was present in 170 (23%) patients. There was relationship between parity and peripheral fractures neither in the whole population nor in the sub-groups according to age.

Discussion

The present study suggests that the BMD of the spine and hip decreases with an increasing number of pregnancies, and this situation shows variations in different age groups. However, there was no correlation between parity level and peripheral fractures.     

Scattering properties of multicomponent polymer solutions: polyelectrolytes,homopolymer mixtures and diblock copolymer

This article reviews the understanding of static and dynamic scattering properties of multicomponent polymer systems in solution achieved during the past decade. We shall describe particularly ternary polymer systems which include polyelectrolyte solutions (polyion/counter-ions/water), mixture of homopolymers (A and B)/solvent and the case of diblock copolymer (A-B, linear or cyclic) solutions. The purpose of this paper is not an extensive survey of theoretical and experimental results obtained on the scattering behavior of these systems but rather an updating of recent results. For polyelectrolyte systems we shall focus, by means of scattering techniques, on the conformation of the polyelectrolyte chain and on the structure of the system induced by the dominant electrostatic interactions in solution involving polyions, counter-ions and solvent. As for the mixture of homopolymers in solution and diblock copolymer/solvent systems, we shall mainly discuss their dynamic behavior and show that using linear response theory and the Random Phase Approximation (RPA), two relaxation modes describe the autocorrelation functions as revealed using dynamic light scattering (DLS) or/and Neutron Spin Echo (NSE) techniques: the first mode characterizes the concentration fluctuations and the second one the composition fluctuations. We shall discuss the scattering properties of these systems on the basis of recent developments with emphasis on possible coiling of the polyelectrolyte chain at low charge density and also how important parameters such as the mobility of the chain (diffusion process) and the interaction parameter (compatibility), which control the dynamics and the thermodynamics in homopolymer mixtures and diblock copolymer systems, could be deduced from scattering experiments.     

Does Primary Surgical Management of Liver Hydatid Cyst Influence Recurrence?

Background and aims  

Hydatid disease is still a major health problem in sheep-raising areas. Surgery remains the basic treatment for liver hydatid cyst (LHC). However, recurrences can occur after all therapies. Surgery for recurrence of LHC becomes technically more difficult with higher rate of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine perfective factors associated to hepatic recurrence after LHC surgery and to propose and discuss postoperative follow-up schedules.