Background-Autoinflammatory diseases manifest inflammation without evidence of infection, high-titer autoantibodies, or autoreactive T cells. We report a disorder caused by mutations of IL1RN, which encodes the interleukin-1-receptor antagonist, with prominent involvement of skin

Abstract-Obesity, the insulin resistance syndrome, and atherosclerosis are closely linked and may all be determinants of an increased acute-phase response. In this study, we examined the relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP) with measures of obesity, variables of the insulin resistance syndrome, and intima-media thickness of the common carotid arteries in 186 healthy, middle-aged women selected from the general population. Associations were assessed by regression analysis. CRP was strongly associated with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. CRP was also associated with other variables of the insulin resistance syndrome, including blood pressure, insulin, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein A1 (inversely), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen, and tissue-type plasminogen activator antigen. Associations between CRP and the variables of the insulin resistance syndrome disappeared after controlling for BMI but remained significant for plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen only. The association of CRP with common carotid artery intima-media thickness was weak and limited to ever-smokers. BMI explained 29.7% of the variance of CRP, whereas common carotid artery intima-media thickness explained only 3.7%. The results of this population-based study indicate that adiposity is strongly associated with CRP in healthy, middle-aged women. In this population, BMI accounted for the relationship between CRP and other variables of the insulin resistance syndrome. Further studies should determine whether losing weight ameliorates the inflammatory state.

Introduction Despite the substantial prevalence of gout in the ageing female population, female hormonal influence has not been comprehensively examined. We evaluated and quantified the potential independent association between menopause, postmenopausal hormone use and serum uric acid levels in a nationally representative sample of women.

Abstract-Atherosclerosis and osteoporosis are major causes of morbidity and mortality in postmenopausal women and have been suggested to be associated. No study has examined whether progression of atherosclerotic calcification is associated with bone loss. In the present study, we examined progression of aortic calcification, diagnosed by radiographic detection of calcified deposits in the abdominal aorta, in relation to metacarpal bone loss, as assessed by metacarpal radiogrammetry, during menopause. Initially premenopausal women (nϭ236), aged 45 to 57 years at baseline, were followed for 9 years. We additionally assessed the cross-sectional association between the extent of aortic calcification and metacarpal bone mass and density in 720 postmenopausal women. Twenty-five percent of women going through menopause showed progression of aortic calcification. The average loss of metacarpal bone mass among women with progression of aortic calcification was 3.2 mm 2 , and their loss of metacarpal bone density was 7.2 mm 2 %, whereas in women without progression of aortic calcification, these losses were 2.0 mm 2 and 5.6 mm 2 %, respectively, adjusted for age and years of follow-up (PϽ0.05). Additional adjustment for age at menopause, body mass index, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes mellitus, and use of hormone replacement therapy, thiazide, and loop diuretics did not influence these results. In postmenopausal women, a graded inverse cross-sectional association between the extent of aortic calcification and metacarpal bone mass and density was found. In conclusion, our results indicate that progression of atherosclerotic calcification is associated with increased bone loss in women during menopause. Key Words: atherosclerosis Ⅲ vascular calcification Ⅲ osteoporosis Ⅲ menopause C ardiovascular disease and osteoporosis are major causes of morbidity and mortality in postmenopausal women 1,2 and are generally considered unrelated. Several studies, however, indicate that atherosclerosis and osteoporosis are associated. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Calcification is a common feature of atherosclerotic plaques and is regulated in a way similar to bone mineralization. [11][12][13][14][15][16] The relation of vascular calcification to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and plaque rupture is not clear yet, but data indicate that moderate calcification of plaques contributes to vascular morbidity and mortality. [17][18][19][20] Several cross-sectional studies have been conducted on the association between atherosclerotic calcification and osteoporosis among elderly women. [3][4][5][6][7][8][21][22][23] Most of these studies found an association, 3-8 although some did not. [21][22][23] Potential confounding factors other than age have not been taken into account in most of these studies. [3][4][5]8,21,22 No study examined whether progression of atherosclerotic calcification is associated with bone loss. Because the prevalence of atherosclerosis and osteoporosis increases from menopause onward, 24,25 the change from the premenopaus...