No abstract

We discuss the presence of anti-keratin antibodies (AKA) of the IgG class in patients with defined juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). An indirect immunofluorescence test and rat oesophagus substrate was used for the detection and quantification of AKA antibodies in patients´ sera. Overall 33/60 patients with JIA had sera positive for AKA (55 %, P = 0,0001) ranging from 1:10 to 1:160 dilutions. Following idiopathic arthritis of childhood classification criteria AKA occurred in 2/7 patients with systemic disease (28,6 %), in 13/30 patients with RF negative polyarthritis (43,3 %, P = 0,008) and in 15/18 RF positive polyarthritis (83,3 %, P = 0,000002). AKA were also found in a small cohort of patients with oligoarthritis (1/3) and psoriatic arthritis (2/2). AKA positivity occurred in 3/26 healthy controls at a 1:20 dilution. The presence of AKA was correlated as well as with the severity of the disease. Our study revealed that AKA was present overall in 18/29 patients (62%) with severe JIA and in 12/26 patients (46,2 %) with non-severe disease, however this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0,18). We also observed that AKA remained positive regardless of disease activity. AKA were detectable in 55,6 % patients with active JIA and in 48,6 % patients in the complete or near remission. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by a European Commission (Acronym: EUROBANK, contract no: QOL-2000-14.1), web site http://www.ncl.ac.uk and by grant of 2nd Medical Faculty, Charles University in Prague, VZ no. 111300003. P2The significance of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide, antikeratin antibodies, antiperinuclear factor, rheumatoid factor isotypes and HLA shared epitope in prediction of erosive disease in early rheumatoid arthritis patients J Vencovsky, L Sedova, S Machacek, J Gatterova, V Pesakova, J Kafkova and O Krystufkova Institute of Rheumatology, Prague, Czech RepublicObjectives: To evaluate a predictive value of autoantibody examinations in development of erosive disease in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and methods: One hundred and fourteen patients with disease duration less than 2 years after the onset of symptoms were investigated. Only patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for RA either at the beginning of the disease or during the follow-up period were included. The antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) (Immunoscan RA, Euro-diagnostica, The Netherlands), IgM, IgA and IgG rheumatoid factors (RF) were measured by ELISA, antikeratin antibodies (AKA) and antiperinuclear factor (APF) were detected by indirect immunofluorescence, and the presence of HLA shared epitope (HLA SE) was detected by PCR with sequence specific primers. Patients were divided into two groups, either with erosive or non-erosive changes present on the hand or/and feet radiographs at the end of 24 months follow-up. Results: Seventy-six (66.7%) patients developed bony erosion, whereas 38 (33.3%) remained without destructive changes. The initial anti-CCP, AKA, APF, IgM RF, IgA RF, IgG RF ...

Background Bilayer collagen membranes are routinely used in guided bone/tissue regeneration to serve as osteoconductive scaffolds and prevent the invasion of soft tissues. It is recommended to place the membranes with their dense layer towards the soft tissue and their porous layer towards the bony defect area. However, evidence supporting this recommendation is lacking. This study aimed to determine whether the alignment of bilayer collagen membranes has an effect on bone regeneration. Methods In two groups of ten male Sprague-Dawley rats each, a 5-mm calvarial defect was created. Thereafter, the defect was randomly covered with a bilayer, resorbable, pure type I and III collagen membrane placed either regularly or upside-down (i.e., dense layer towards bone defect). After 4 weeks of healing, micro-computed tomography (μCT), histology, and histomorphometry of the inner cylindrical region of interest (4.5 mm in diameter) were performed to assess new bone formation and the consolidation of the collagen membrane in the defect area. Results Quantitative μCT showed similar bone volume (median 8.0 mm3, interquartile range 7.0–10.0 vs. 6.2 mm3, 4.3–9.4, p = 0.06) and trabecular thickness (0.21 mm, 0.19–0.23 vs. 0.18 mm, 0.17–0.20, p = 0.03) between upside-down and regular placement, both leading to an almost complete bony coverage. Histomorphometry showed comparable new bone areas between the upside-down and regularly placed membranes, 3.9 mm2 (2.7–5.4) vs. 3.8 mm2 (2.2–4.0, p = 0.31), respectively. Both treatment groups revealed the same regeneration patterns and spatial distribution of bone with and without collagen fibers, as well as residual collagen fibers. Conclusions Our data support the osteoconductive properties of collagen membranes and suggest that bone regeneration is facilitated regardless of membrane layer alignment.