D Aletaha

..It is hitherto unknown if this may also be true for therapies targeting B-cells. We thus evaluated if rituximab (RTX) therapy inhibits joint damage irrespective of its effects on disease activity...

..To investigate changes of rheumatoid factor (RF) and antibodies against citrullinated peptides (ACPA) during therapy with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs...

..The American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism remission criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been published recently...

..A study by Prince and colleagues gives insights into this question, and raises some other questions for the future...

..To date, no validated response definitions for the SDAI and CDAI are available...

..We therefore wanted to compare the performance of the DAS28, SDAI and CDAI activity indices, their activity states, their response criteria, and also compare with the ACR response criteria in an observational clinical setting...

..However, reduced joint counts are appropriate and valid tools for formal disease activity assessment, such as done in composite indices...

..Finally, with the advent of novel therapies, remission has become a reality and the treatment algorithms encompassing all of the above-mentioned aspects will allow us to achieve the rigorous aspirations of today and tomorrow...

..In general, both contribute to the progression of joint damage, but the relevance of residual inflammation in patients near remission is unclear...

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..To analyze the minimum clinically important improvement (MCII) of disease activity measures in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using patient-derived anchors, and to assess whether criteria for improvement differ with baseline disease activity...

..To investigate the perception of values of individual core set measures by rheumatologists, and how it differs across measures and across physicians...

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..Standardised intensive therapeutic strategies and algorithms should form the basis for the administration of anti-rheumatic medication...

..We aimed to dissect these two components of functional limitation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by using the disability index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) as the measure of function...

..All composite indices seem to perform similarly well as tests for remission using expert judgments as the gold standard...

..To make recommendations on how to report disease activity in clinical trials of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) endorsed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)...

..To make recommendations on how to report disease activity in clinical trials of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) endorsed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)...

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..This will further improve our ability to care for patients with RA consequently...

..The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there is a latency in the effect of disease activity on radiographic progression in patients with RA...

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..This study was undertaken to investigate the significance of residual inflammation in remission in relation to radiographic progression...

..In conclusion, the decision to treat a patient with a history of cancer immunosuppressively should be shared by the rheumatologist and the oncologist. Once the decision is established, such patients need intensive and close monitoring...

..g., American College of Rheumatology [ACR] responder status) with the value of evaluating absolute disease activity states (e.g., remission)...

..It is currently unclear to which extent these components affect irreversible functional disability. The aim of the present work was to determine these contributions...

..We aimed to reevaluate or to define such criteria for the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) and the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI)...

..To determine if rheumatologists have changed their views on diagnosis and treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..Moreover, remission criteria of CDAI and SDAI are currently the most stringent...

..To examine the association of radiographic progression and disease activity states in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with methotrexate with or without infliximab...

..In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) frequently needs to be changed because of insufficient effectiveness...

..To determine the survival and clinical effectiveness of leflunomide (LEF) compared with methotrexate (MTX) and sulfasalazine (SSZ) for RA in an observational study...

..This study was performed to determine the frequency of erosive arthritis and the pace of radiological progression in an inception cohort of patients with very early RA (<or=3 months after onset of symptoms)...

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..By contrast to changes in DMARD usage, survey data show neither a shortening of referral time nor a change in the approach to diagnose early RA. These data indicate a need for more dissemination of the early arthritis concept...

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..Functional limitation incorporates both activity and damage. Because irreversible damage increases over time, the HAQ may be less likely to show improvement in late than in early rheumatoid arthritis...

..We aimed at evaluating sustained remission in a large cohort of patients followed prospectively in clinical practice and to evaluate available instruments to define remission for their stringency in defining this state...

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..This review presents evidence for the benefits of the application disease activity scores in clinical routine...

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..First DMARDs in new patients were retained longer than subsequent DMARDs, apparently because they are more effective...

..The progression of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be retarded or halted by disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Next to inefficacy, toxicity limits their use...

..Therapeutic outcome can be predicted by clinical means...

..Since low dose GC has been suggested to confer resistance to higher doses, we aimed to assess if resistance was detectable on the clinical level in patients with active RA...

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..Therefore, the reliability and validity of DAREA (for 'Disease Activity index for REactive Arthritis'), which was originally developed for reactive arthritis and employs a 66/68 joint count, was tested in patients with PsA...

..To assess whether disease activity levels at treatment initiation or during the first 3 months of therapy predict disease activity at 1 year after treatment initiation...

..Joint damage is an important outcome in trials of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), usually assessed by Total Sharp Score (TSS). It is currently unknown how it translates numerically into disability by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)...

..However, the clinical evidence for this relationship is still to be provided as proof of the concept...

..Some instruments lack reliability because standardized protocols for measurement have not yet been developed...

..Specific composite indices assessing disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have not yet been sufficiently validated. The objective of this study was to identify instruments best reflecting disease activity in PsA...

..To compare the efficacy of MTX and MTX+TNF inhibitors (TNFis) in elderly patients with RA with that in patients of younger age...

..Physical disability is a main outcome in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) which tends to increase with comorbidities. However, the extent to which comorbidities contribute to the multifactorial process of disability has not been investigated...

..The latest developments in the field are discussed and will help to identify patients who can benefit most from today's opportunities of pharmacotherapy, allowing optimization of patient care...

..In this study, we investigated the impact of comorbidities on individual activities of daily living, and other aspects of quality of live in patients with RA...

..Because the quantity of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the peripheral blood is correlated inversely with cardiovascular risk, we studied whether such abnormalities could also be observed in patients with RA...

..To obtain data on the care received by individuals counselled during a public health awareness campaign on painful musculoskeletal conditions (MSC)...

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..To explore whether the concepts important to patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are covered by self-report instruments assessing functioning...

..To determine which self-report instruments best explain hand functioning measured by a generic comprehensive hand function test...

..The analysis suggests the search for better markers to predict outcomes and therapeutic responsiveness in rheumatoid arthritis needs to be intensified...

..NSAIDs have the potential to cause adverse events in the GI tract. Therapy with histamine antagonists or sucralfate did not reduce the patients' rate of gastrointestinal adverse events...

..Whether a 'window of opportunity' exists during which effective therapy might lead to cure is still an open issue and will be the focus of clinical trials in the near future...

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..Aiming at therapeutic targets has reduced the risk of organ failure in many diseases such as diabetes or hypertension. Such targets have not been defined for rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..This work was undertaken to develop new classification criteria for RA...

..The importance of tight control and early treatment, rapidly altered if goals are not achieved, is supported by evidence. However, it is unknown to what extent these insights are accepted by practitioners in clinical practice...

..Our data describe quantitative and qualitative defects of Treg in SLE patients. These deficiencies might contribute to the breakdown of self-tolerance and the development of the autoimmune response in SLE patients...

..Re-employment of MTX despite prior inefficacy, but not re-employment of other DMARDs, is an effective therapeutic option, especially in those patients in whom the methotrexate dose of the original course was low...

..Nevertheless, much remains to be studied to better address the issue of early rheumatoid arthritis...

..the importance of assessing disease activity in general, aiming for significant improvement particularly low disease activity and remission, and the value of employing simplified instruments toward this end in rheumatoid arthritis..

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..Novel therapeutic strategies in conjunction with optimised disease assessment for better treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and an outlook into potential future targets are also presented...

..0004). Our data suggest that the growth potential of the leukaemic clone seems to be critically influenced by the molecular changes emerging from chromosomal abnormalities...

..e. the sum of tender and swollen joint counts [28 joints] and patient and physician global assessments [in cm]) - would have comparable validity in clinical cohorts...

..CONCLUSION: Laboratory tests can be reduced substantially in patients receiving DMARD therapy. In consequence, costs can decrease significantly without oversight of adverse events...

..Their use is more often limited by toxicity than by inefficacy. If tolerated, they can be retained for long periods of time...

..To summarise existing evidence on a target oriented approach for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment...

..The choice of index in clinical practice should ideally be based on practical considerations related to the needs of the rheumatologist in the respective health care setting...

..We reviewed published evidence on the diagnostic and prognostic performance of autoantibodies and soluble biomarkers in UPIA...

..This set of 2 definitions gained approval of 73% of the attendees. These (and other) definitions will now be subject to further validation in other databases...