Nineteen patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), ten with systemic (s)-JCA, and nine with polyarticular-onset (p)-JCA were examined for interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, IL-2R, and IL-10 levels. Power Doppler sonography (PDS) for the more affected knee was used in all of them to evaluate soft tissue vascularity. Serum levels of IL-6 were significantly higher in JCA patients than in controls (P<0.007). Patients with p-JCA showed higher levels of IL-6 than patients with s-JCA, and the difference was statistically nonsignificant. Serum IL-6 levels in all patients correlated significantly with the degree of vascularity detected by PDS (P<0.01). This correlation was more pronounced in p-JCA patients (P<0.01 in p-JCA vs P<0.05 in s-JCA). Serum levels of TNF-alpha were higher in patients with JCA than in controls (P<0.0001). Serum levels of TNF-alpha were significantly greater in patients with s-JCA than in p-JCA (P=0.008). Soluble IL-2R levels were higher in patients with JCA than controls (P<0.0002). Serum levels of IL-2R correlated significantly with pannus thickness in p-JCA (P<0.01) and inversely with methoxetrate (MTX) duration in s-JCA (P<0.05). Serum levels of IL-10 were significantly higher in JCA patients than in controls ( P<0.0008). Serum IL-10 levels in all patients correlated significantly inversely with hemoglobin levels (r=-0.50, P<0.05), total leukocytic count (TLC) (r=-0.58, P<0.01), and intra-articular steroid injection (r=+0.56, P<0.01). In s-JCA, IL-10 levels correlated significantly with MTX weekly dose ( P<0.05). In conclusion, a significant correlation of serum IL-6 levels with the degree of knee joint vascularity was found, and this correlation was more pronounced in p-JCA, which may stress the role of IL-6 as an inducer of neoangiogenesis in JCA.
Restrictive lung disease was more pronounced in patients with dSSc. Alpha1-antitrypsin levels correlated significantly with ground glass opacities, an early finding of pulmonary involvement in SSc. Extent and severity of skin involvement and degree of dyspnea were not related to pulmonary involvement.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of morphologic and functional cardiac abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to correlate the findings with levels of anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-La/SS-B, and anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL). Sixty-two patients with SLE were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent complete history taking, clinical assessment, and standard two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-La/SS-B, and aCL levels were measured using a standardized ELISA test. The patients were subdivided into two subgroups based on the presence or absence of valvular involvement. The two subgroups were then compared. Valvular involvement was present in 19 patients (30.6%), pericardial effusion in 12 patients (19.4%), impaired left ventricular relaxation abnormalities in 2 patients (3.2%), and pulmonary hypertension in 3 patients (4.8%). More patients in the valvular involvement group had positive anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies than in the valvular noninvolvement group (7/19 vs. 4/43). The difference was significant, with P < 0.01. Serum levels of anti-Ro/SS-A levels were significantly higher in the valvular involvement group (33.7 +/- 36.0 vs. 13.7 +/- 25.1; P < 0.01), as were the serum anti-La/SS-B levels (21.9 +/- 23.5 vs. 10.7 +/- 17.8; P < 0.05). The results suggest a causative correlation between anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B antibodies and the pathogenesis of the valvular lesions in SLE patients.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of morphologic and functional cardiac abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to correlate the findings with levels of anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-La/SS-B, and anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL). Sixty-two patients with SLE were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent complete history taking, clinical assessment, and standard two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Anti-Ro/SS-A, anti-La/SS-B, and aCL levels were measured using a standardized ELISA test. The patients were subdivided into two subgroups based on the presence or absence of valvular involvement. The two subgroups were then compared. Valvular involvement was present in 19 patients (30.6%), pericardial effusion in 12 patients (19.4%), impaired left ventricular relaxation abnormalities in 2 patients (3.2%), and pulmonary hypertension in 3 patients (4.8%). More patients in the valvular involvement group had positive anti-Ro/SS-A antibodies than in the valvular noninvolvement group (7/19 vs. 4/43). The difference was significant, with P < 0.01. Serum levels of anti-Ro/SS-A levels were significantly higher in the valvular involvement group (33.7 +/- 36.0 vs. 13.7 +/- 25.1; P < 0.01), as were the serum anti-La/SS-B levels (21.9 +/- 23.5 vs. 10.7 +/- 17.8; P < 0.05). The results suggest a causative correlation between anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B antibodies and the pathogenesis of the valvular lesions in SLE patients.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations鈥揷itations 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.