INTRODUCTION: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common public health problem. The condition is characterized by a scarcity of biological markers; thus, diagnostic definitions and classifications have relied to a large extent on symptoms, gastrointestinal manifestations of patients. While thyroid disorder should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with IBS symptoms, it is not clear if thyroid disturbances amongst patients with IBS are high enough to warrant routine screening. This study was done to see the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in IBS patients and hence its significance

Vertebral osteoporosis is a well-recognized feature of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and also the vertebral compression fractures due to osteoporosis are a common but frequently unrecognized complication of AS. Both may contribute to the pathogenesis of spinal deformity and back pain. The aim of this study was to measure vertebral and femoral neck bone mass in patients with AS by dual photon absorptiometry, to determine the prevalence of compression fractures and to examine the relationship between bone density and disease severity. We found that the bone mass was diminished in the lumbar spine in moderate AS versus mild forms but the patients with advanced disease had the highest BMD values. Examination of spinal radiographs revealed compression and biconcave fractures in 9 (40.9%) cases. Neither the duration of the disease and the degree of sacroiliitis, nor the disease activity assessed by laboratory and clinical parameters was found to significantly affect the results.

In Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), one clinical hallmark of the vasculitis is the appearance of neurological findings. However, it is often difficult to diagnose these slight or early neuropathies and the study of the peripheral neuromuscular system is often made difficult by symptoms resulting from pain in the joints, and limitations of movement. It is nevertheless often possible, by means of electroneuromyography to show objectively the existence and distribution of even subclinical neuropathies. In order to evaluate the neurophysiological functions of RA patients by means of the peripheral nerve conduction and somatosensory evoked potential studies, 33 RA patients and 20 healthy controls were included in this study. Two (6%) patients were found to have carpal tunnel syndrome, while 6 (18%) patients had mononeuritis multiplex. Delayed N12, N13, N1 and P1 latencies were detected in 6 (18%) of 33 RA patients suggesting central nervous system involvement with intact peripheral nervous system. Our results confirm earlier observations that symptoms of neuropathy are fairly common in cases of RA without there being any clear correlation with any clinical variable. Therefore, the inclusion of an electroneurophysiologic examination of the RA patients is recommended in routine diagnostic procedure.

These results indicate that long-term use of inhaled corticosteroids is associated with significant bone loss in asthmatic women and is especially related to the duration of therapy. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately screen and give prophylactic treatment to those who are likely to develop osteoporosis from inhaled corticosteroid treatment.

The aim of this study was to establish whether quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parameters could identify patients classified as osteoporotic and osteopenic on the basis of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). One hundred and twenty-three patients (39 male, 84 female) with osteoporosis and suspected of having osteoporosis were included in this study. Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and speed of sound (SOS) were measured and bone mineral densities (BMD) of the lumbar spine and left hip was measured by DEXA. Subjects were classified into three groups (normal, osteopenic and osteoporotic) on the basis of BMD T-scores measured by DEXA. QUS parameters of the osteoporotic group were significantly lower than those of osteopenic and normal groups; there was no difference in QUS parameters between the normal and osteopenic groups. Correlations of both right and left SOS and BUA with the spine and femoral neck BMD were moderate (r = 0.343-0.539, P < 0.001). There was also reasonable correlation between DEXA and QUS T-scores (r = 0.364-0.510, P < 0.001). QUS had a sensitivity of 21% and a specificity of 95% for diagnosing osteoporosis. We concluded that, although DEXA and QUS parameters were significantly correlated, QUS parameters can not predict osteopenia as defined by DEXA, and sensitivities and specificities of QUS parameters were not sufficiently high for QUS to be used as an alternative to DEXA.