Objective. To compare ultrasound-verified joint inflammation between elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis (EORA) and younger-onset rheumatoid arthritis (YORA) patients. Methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 145 consecutive rheumatoid arthritis patients routinely assessed by sonography of wrists, metacarpophalangeal joints, and proximal interphalangeal joints, including semiquantitative scoring of synovial hypertrophy/effusion (SH/E) and power Doppler (PD) signals. Global ultrasound (GU) scores were calculated adding SH/E and PD results. EORA was defined by disease onset at age >60 years. Number of tender joints and swollen joints, global assessment of disease activity by physician or patient, Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28), Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), and Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) scores were recorded. Respective values for disease activity were accounted for in group comparisons using SPSS statistical software (version 18.0).
Results. Seventy patients were diagnosed with EORA (mean
Giant cell arteritis is the most common systemic vasculitis and affects large and medium-sized vessels. Glucocorticoids are the current standard in the therapy of giant cell arteritis. To reduce the glucocorticoid dose the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) suggests the addition of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Of these, methotrexate represents the best investigated drug; possible alternatives include azathioprine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors and cyclophosphamide.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.