The prevalence of uveitis varies with disease duration and according to the type of SpA. Reduction of visual acuity is not exceptional. Because of recent promising data about the effects of anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy on uveitis flares in SpA, it was important to determine this baseline prevalence.

Objective. Several lines of evidence have emphasized an improvement in aerobic capacity and muscle strength after physical exercise programs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of aerobic exercises in RA on quality of life, function, and clinical and radiologic outcomes by a systematic literature review and a meta-analysis. Methods. A systematic literature search was performed in the Medline, EMBase, and Cochrane databases up to July 2009 and in the abstracts presented at rheumatology scientific meetings during the last 5 years. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing aerobic exercises with non-aerobic interventions in RA patients were included. Outcomes studied were postintervention quality of life, function assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), a pain visual analog scale (VAS), joint count, the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28), and radiologic damage. Efficacy was assessed by standardized mean differences (SMDs; difference between groups of mean outcome variation from baseline/SD at baseline) of aerobic exercises versus non-aerobic rehabilitation. Heterogeneity was tested. SMDs were pooled by a meta-analysis using the inverse of variance model. Results. Fourteen RCTs, including 1,040 patients, met the inclusion criteria. Exercise improved the postintervention quality of life (SMD 0.39, P < 0.0001), HAQ score (SMD 0.24, P ‫؍‬ 0.0009), and pain VAS (SMD 0.31, P ‫؍‬ 0.02). Exercise in this RA population appeared safe, since global compliance, DAS28, and joint count were similar in both groups. Conclusion. Cardiorespiratory aerobic conditioning in stable RA appears to be safe and improves some of the most important outcome measures. However, the degree of the effect of aerobic exercise on the abovementioned parameters is small.

Observational studies have indicated a high but heterogeneous prevalence of low bone mineral density for adult patients with cystic fibrosis. Fracture complications were also described. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of osteoporosis, osteopenia, and fractures among adult patients with cystic fibrosis. A systematic literature review was conducted using electronic databases. The keywords used were "cystic fibrosis [MeSH] AND bone density." Original studies were eligible if they reported the prevalence of osteoporosis and/or osteopenia and/or fractures in adult patients with cystic fibrosis. A meta-analysis of pooled proportions was performed. Heterogeneity was tested with the Cochran Q statistic, and in the case of heterogeneity a random effect model was used. Of 117 studies, 12 were selected, i.e., that represented a total of 1055 patients. Mean age ranged from 18.5 to 32 years (median: 28.2 years). Mean body mass index ranged from 19.9 to 22.4 (median: 20.7); 53.8% were men. The pooled prevalence of osteoporosis in adults with cystic fibrosis was 23.5% (95% CI, 16.6-31.0). The pooled prevalence of osteopenia was 38% (95% CI, 28.2-48.3). The pooled prevalences of radiological vertebral fractures and nonvertebral fractures were 14% (95% CI, 7.8-21.7) and 19.7% (95% CI, 6.0-38.8), respectively. In conclusion, this systematic literature review with meta-analysis emphasized the high prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in young adults with cystic fibrosis. The prevalence of fracture was also high.

These data confirm that progression to radiographic disease occurs most often over time in axial SpA patients.

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