Rheumatology in the current era: the challenge of success

David S Pisetsky

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0791 | Full Text | PDF (134K)

Access to clinical care via clinical trials: is it ethically possible?

Paul L Romain

This Viewpoint discusses the enrolment of patients into clinical trials as a means to provide access to medications that would not otherwise be available to them. Dr Romain argues that there are inherent problems associated with this mode of treatment.

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0739 | Full Text | PDF (165K)

Why do some biologic agents induce psoriasis or psoriasiform lesions?

Ieda MM Laurindo and Morton Scheinberg

Anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy is used to treat patients with psoriasis; however, use of this therapy for the treatment for other immune-mediated disorders has been associated with the onset of psoriasis or psoriasiform lesions in some patients. In this Viewpoint, Dr Laurindo and Dr Scheinberg discuss the clinical implications of, and potential explanations for, this paradoxical effect of tumor necrosis factor blockade.

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0738 | Full Text | PDF (172K)

CD4⁺CD25⁺ T_REG cells are involved in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren's syndrome

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0742 | Full Text | PDF (118K)

Intermittent cyclic etidronate therapy is safe and effective for patients with CIO

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0743 | Full Text | PDF (90K)

Retinol levels are decreased in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0744 | Full Text | PDF (122K)

Patients with recent-onset RA already show accelerated atherosclerosis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0745 | Full Text | PDF (118K)

Proteinase-activated receptor 2 implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0746 | Full Text | PDF (122K)

Why are glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate beneficial in osteoarthritis?

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0747 | Full Text | PDF (118K)

Etanercept reduces cytokine production by T_H17 cells in patients with psoriasis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0748 | Full Text | PDF (90K)

Concerns over cardiovascular safety of calcium supplementation

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0749 | Full Text | PDF (137K)

Patellar taping and bracing alleviate chronic knee pain

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0750 | Full Text | PDF (87K)

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for systemic sclerosis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0751 | Full Text | PDF (97K)

Imaging studies complement clinical assessments of RA activity

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0752 | Full Text | PDF (115K)

Subjective hearing loss is common in young people with RA

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0753 | Full Text | PDF (119K)

Spine OA and vertebral fracture are inversely related in elderly women with osteoporosis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0754 | Full Text | PDF (115K)

High-frequency ultrasound is useful to assess skin involvement in systemic sclerosis

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0755 | Full Text | PDF (87K)

In Briefs

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0772 | Full Text | PDF (148K)

Can quantified salivary gland scintigraphy results aid diagnosis of patients with sicca symptoms?

Nienke Roescher and Gabor G Illei

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0759 | Full Text | PDF (172K)

Should opioids be prescribed to treat patients with osteoarthritis?

M Soledad Cepeda

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0758 | Full Text | PDF (173K)

Are NSAIDs and selective cyclo-oxygenase 2 inhibitors associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction?

Steven B Abramson and Jeffrey D Greenberg

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0763 | Full Text | PDF (164K)

Technology Insight: hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for systemic rheumatic disease

Nikolay P Nikolov and Steven Z Pavletic

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can self-renew and potentially differentiate into all types of hematopoietic and immune-system cells. HSC transplantation for the treatment of autoimmune diseases aims to ablate and reset the dysregulated immune system. There are several critical issues, however, such as optimal patient selection and conditioning regimens, to consider before this technique can be more widely applied to the treatment of patients with immune-mediated disease.

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0756 | Full Text | PDF (337K)

Mechanisms of Disease: autoantigens as clues to the pathogenesis of myositis

Tomeka L Suber, Livia Casciola-Rosen and Antony Rosen

Autoimmune inflammatory myopathies are a heterogeneous group of chronic inflammatory muscle diseases that result in progressive inflammatory muscle damage and weakness. As discussed in this Review, damage-induced enhancement of autoantigen expression and adjuvant activity might contribute to pathogenic mechanisms in these diseases.

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0760 | Full Text | PDF (888K)

Primer: SNP-associated studies and what they can teach us

Ryo Yamada

A major source of genetic heterogeneity is derived from single base-pair alterations in the DNA sequence. The presence of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms can be measured and analyzed, and can potentially be used, therefore, to investigate genetic heterogeneity, to identify disease-associated variants and, in the future, to develop tailored clinical approaches for individual patients with rheumatic diseases.

doi:10.1038/ncprheum0757 | Full Text | PDF (450K)