No abstract

We present 22 cases with inter-sterno-costoclavicular ossification. Clinical and pathological findings show that abnormal ossification observed in this situation is due to non-suppurative chronic inflammation of the soft tissues around the sterno-costo-clavicular region such as the costo-clavicular ligament. We have classified X-ray findings into three stages according to the extent of the ossification; localized, generalized, and hyperostotic, and show that the disease progressed in this sequence. A considerable number of the patients showed abnormal X-ray findings in the spine or the sacro-iliac joint. Frequent association of pustulosis palmaris et plantaris was noted in this disease. Most of the cases were treated effectively with anti-inflammatory drugs, but a few cases required surgical resection of the ossified mass with the clavicle or the first rib in order to relieve the severe pain.

With good perioperative medical management of RA, surgical repositioning of the metatarsophalangeal joints by proximal metatarsal shortening and consequent relaxing of the surrounding soft tissue shows successful long-term results.

SUMMARY Eighty-eight Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 104 normal Japanese persons were typed for HLA A, B, C, and DR antigens. The frequency of HLA DR4 was 70 * 5 % in patients compared with 461 % in normal controls (P<0 00 1). However, a sex difference in the frequency of HLA DR4 in patients was noted. HLA DR4 was found in 80 6% of male patients, which was highly significant compared with controls (P<0 '0005), while only a borderline increase to 60 5% was found in female patients (P<0 05). In addition, the frequency of HLA DR2 was remarkably low in male patients. These suggest the possible heterogeneity of rheumatoid arthritis in Japanese. In the study reported here Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis were typed for HLA DR antigens to see whether the same association was present as was the case in the Caucasian patients. Materials and methodsEighty-eight patients who were diagnosed as classical or definite rheumatoid arthritis according to the

We here report different protein profiles of BMACs between RA and OA for the first time. BMACs possessing differently expressed proteins may be involved in the pathophysiology of the two diseases.