Recipients of hip replacement are less likely to be Hispanic than are other hospitalized persons with a similar level of access to care. The reasons for this under-representation probably involve factors in addition to lack of access to health care and low socioeconomic status. Further research is needed to understand the nature of such factors.

In this study the effect of collagen-polyvinylpyrrolidone (collagen-PVP) vs. triamcinolone acetonide (Triam) in scleroderma (SSc) skin lesions was evaluated. Ten SSc patients were treated weekly with subcutaneous injections of 0.2 mL Triam (8 mg/mL) or 0.2 mL collagen-PVP (1.66 mg collagen). Skin biopsies were obtained from lesions before and after treatment. Tissue sections were evaluated by histology and immunohistochemistry (ELAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta1 and PDGF). The corticoid-treated group showed abnormal tissue architecture while the biodrug-treatment restored cutaneous appendages and type I/III collagen proportion. Cytokine and adhesion molecule expression was almost inhibited with Triam, while collagen-PVP down-regulated it. Collagen-PVP improved the tissue architecture of SSc lesions and down-regulated some proinflammatory parameters, without the side effects induced by corticoids.

Strategic areas identified as priorities for our region included: early diagnosis and access to care by multidisciplinary teams, creation of databases to identify infections with the use of biologic agents in RA which are relevant to Latin America, and overall efforts to improve the care of RA patients in accordance with international standards. Implementation of educational programs aimed to improve self-management for patients with RA was also considered crucial.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients frequently have changes in their body composition, with a decrease in muscle mass and an increase in fat mass, a syndrome that is termed rheumatoid cachexia (RC). The prevalence of this nutritional alteration is not well known; there is as yet no consensus, seeing as it depends on the methods, techniques, and cutoff points that are used for its diagnosis. The main aim of this study was to identify RC through assessment by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) and its association with metabolic causes, physical function, and the main disease status, among others. The prevalence of RC was identified in those subjects who fell outside the right lower quadrant of the reference curve of RXc graph of BIVA. Clinical, anthropometric, biochemical and physical activity, emotional status, and diet markers were also evaluated. Ninety-four patients were included (92.55% women). The prevalence of RC assessed by BIVA was 21.28%. BIVA-cachexia patients had a lesser value of handgrip strength vs. patients without BIVA-cachexia 10.2 kg (7.2-13.4) vs. 14.7 kg (9.6-19), p = 0.0062. Disability and folic acid with methotrexate consumption are related to BIVA-cachexia ((OR 4.69, 95% CI 1.33, 16.54, p = 0.016) and (OR 0.19, 95%CI 0.058, 0.651, p = 0.008), respectively). BIVA could represent a valuable tool to assess presence of RC. It is important that RA patients have physical therapy to improve their nutritional status.

No abstract

BackgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial degenerative condition of the whole joint with a complex pathogenesis whose development and progression is significantly mediated by interactions between the joint cartilage and articular tissues, particularly, proinflammatory mediators and oxidative stress, which results in cartilage deterioration and subchondral bone destruction. HIF-1 alpha regulates oxygen homeostasis in hypoxic tissues such as joint cartilage; efficiency of transcriptional activity of the HIF1A gene is strongly influenced by the presence of polymorphic variants. Given the loss of articular cartilage and with intention to restore damaged tissue, WISP-1 participates in the development of subchondral bone; further, its expression is highly increased in chondrocytes of OA patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate gene frequencies of HIF1A and WISP1 polymorphisms in Mexican patients suffering from knee OA.MethodsWe determined HIF1A rs11549465 (P582S), rs11549467 (A588T), and rs2057482 (C191T), and WISP1 rs2929970 (A2364G) polymorphisms in 70 Mexican patients with knee OA and compare them to those present in 66 ethnically matched healthy controls. Genotyping for these polymorphisms was performed by Real-Time PCR using TaqMan probes.ResultsGene frequencies exhibited a significant increase of the CC genotype of rs11549465 polymorphism in knee OA patients as compared with those present in controls (P = 0.003 OR = 5.7, 95 % CI = 1.7–21.6); CT genotype and T allele showed decreased frequency in the knee OA group vs. the controls (P = 0.003 OR = 0.2, CI = 0.05–0.6; and P = 0.004 OR = 0.2, CI = 0.05–0.65, respectively). Allele frequencies of the other polymorphic variants were similar in both patients and controls.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the presence of the rs11549465 SNP (HIF1A) plays a role protective in the loss of articular cartilage in our population, and offers the possibility to further study the molecular mechanisms within cartilage and subchondral bone.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12891-015-0678-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Decreased of muscle mass were associated with higher pain scores without influencing the disability in patients with lumbar osteoarthritis..

No abstract