Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5726/1510088
CTGF Signaling in Skeletogenesis, Articular Cartilage, and Osteoarthritis Development
Eduardo Branco de Sousa and Diego Pinheiro Aguiar
Article Type: Review Article | First Published: December 21, 2020
CTGF/CCN2 is involved in many cellular events related to proliferation and migration. Its main physiological role is related to the promotion of endochondral ossification, besides regeneration, protection of bone and articular cartilage, and angiogenesis. Skeletogenesis, the process by which bone and articular elements are formed, comprises endochondral and intramembranous ossification. However, the signaling pathways that mediate CTGF/CCN2 expression in chondrocytes have not been fully understo...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5726/1510087
Hughes Syndrome Preceding Systemic Lupus Erythematosus for 8 Years in a 30-Year-Old Filipino Female Patient: A Case Report
Adrian Ronald A Espino, MD, Maria Carmen D Ang, MD, FPCP, FPSAAI and Judy Theresa P Fortinez, MD, FPCP, FPCC, FSVM, DABVM
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: November 30, 2020
Anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) or Hughes syndrome is considered as one of the most common autoimmune disorders that present as a hypercoagulable state accompanied by laboratory findings of anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPLs). The development of a previously diagnosed primary APS with no clinical and diagnostic evidence of other autoimmune diseases followed by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare occurrence. SLE may develop years after the onset of the primary APS. A 30-year-old Filipin...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5726/1510086
Monoarticular Sero Negative Rheumatoid Arthritis
Joe Thomas,MBBS, MD, MRCP, DNB, Vijaya Mohan, MBBS, D (Ortho), DNB and Shyam Gopal V, MBBS, D (Ortho), DNB
Article Type: Case Report | First Published: October 16, 2020
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a very common entity, yet monoarticular presentation is very infrequent. We are reporting a case of sero negative rheumatoid arthritis affecting the knee joint. 32-year-old male presented to our department with pain and swelling of his right knee. There was no other joint pain, extra-articular manifestation or co morbid illness. His blood tests showed elevated inflammatory markers and negative autoantibodies. MRI showed effusion and extensive synovial hypertrophy. Arthros...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5726/1510085
Antiphospholipid Antibody-Related Problems, the Orphan Child of Medicine
Bruce Rothschild
Article Type: Commentary | First Published: August 29, 2020
Failure to routinely recognize and/or treat immunologic sources of thromboembolic disease has undermined our ability to improve the quality of life of the patients we serve and even compromised their survival. It’s time to bring it into the mainstream. Explanation for persistence of related oversights and potential resolution is presented. Failure to routinely recognize and/or treat immunologic sources of thromboembolic disease has undermined our ability to improve the quality of life of the p...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5726/1510084
Comparison between Different Disease Activity Scores in Black African Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Multicenter Study
Marie Traoré, Alhassane Diallo, Aly Badra Kamissoko, Paul Eloundou, MD, Mamadou Lamine Diallo and Thierno Amadou Wann
Article Type: Original Article | First Published: August 12, 2020
Although the discordance in the disease activity scores based on 28 joints (DAS28) has been widely investigated, few data exist among black African (BA) populations. We aimed first to evaluate the correlation and second to assess the concordance between various DAS28 scores in the BA patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study in adult patients who had RA from Guinea and Cameroon. These patients were diagnosed according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria...
Open Access DOI:10.23937/2469-5726/1510081
Study on Accuracy of Blind and Ultrasound-Guided Arthrocentesis of Hip Joint
Lyubomir Sapundzhiev, Tanya Sapundzhieva, Anastas Batalov, Marya Staikova, and Sevdalina Lambova
Article Type: Research Article | First Published: May 09, 2020
Ninety-six patients with uni- or bilateral radiologically proven hip osteoarthritis (OA) were included in the study. A total number of 187 hip joints were injected. One blind arthrocentesis by lateral approach was performed on each patient. The accurate position of the needle was verified by a following injection of 0.5-1.0 ml contrast and radiological assessment. After seven days, the same patients (187) underwent a second arthrocentesis under US guidance....
