Edmund K Li

..To review the current understanding of the causes and the management of gout...

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..To assess if combination rituximab and cyclophosphamide is more effective than rituximab monotherapy as an induction therapy for proliferative lupus nephritis...

..To investigate the prevalence of vertebral fractures and to identify risk factors associated with vertebral fractures in Chinese women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

..To examine the short-term efficacy and safety of MTX in combination with infliximab compared with infliximab and placebo in the treatment of AS using MRI to monitor its effect...

..Drugs are needed that are able to suppress inflammation and modify the underlying immune response with improved tolerability. Leflunomide is an agent that affects the inflammatory process, particularly in RA...

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..Assessment of enhancing synovial volume and perfusion indices on serial MRI examination was helpful in documenting the effect of treatment over this short period...

..We evaluated the effects of longterm antioxidant vitamins on markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense and endothelial function in 39 patients with SLE...

..To estimate the direct costs and indirect costs of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in Hong Kong...

..A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the self-reported loss of labour and non-labour market productivity, as well as to characterize the risk factors of loss of productivity in patients with SLE...

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..We undertook a prospective cohort study to ascertain the risk factors for the development of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

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..This study evaluated whether abnormal host innate immune response in lupus patients may enhance HPV persistence...

..To estimate the direct and indirect costs among a cohort of Chinese patients with RA in Hong Kong...

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..Abnormal activation of intracellular signaling molecules in lymphocytes by inflammatory cytokines can instigate the inflammation in SLE...

..To determine the direct and indirect costs of SLE in Hong Kong, and to ascertain the relationship between neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) and disease costs...

..Oral danazol 200 mg twice per day was started together with low-dose prednisolone therapy. There was no further recurrence of anemia 1 month after this combined therapy...

..To determine the risk factors associated with and to describe the clinical course of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

..Future longitudinal studies will be needed to investigate whether assessment by HR-pQCT can be used as a marker of disease activity and a predictor of disease progression in RA...

..Our results therefore provide a new insight into the uric acid crystal-activated immunopathological mechanisms mediated by distinct intracellular signal transduction pathways leading to joint inflammation in RA...

..619, 0.626, and 0.618). Spinal mobility measurements and BASMI were useful in differentiating axial and peripheral PsA. Lumber side flexion and modified schober test best differentiate axial and peripheral PsA...

..To investigate the role of neuropsychiatric (NP), clinical, and laboratory variables in influencing the health related quality of life (HRQOL) of Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)...

..CXCL13 can induce the trafficking of CXCR5+ T lymphocyte subset designated as follicular helper T lymphocytes (T(FH)) which are specifically involved in autoantibody production...

..Nonetheless, the atherogenic index, LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio, and the LDL/apoB ratio remained unchanged. Infliximab improves insulin sensitivity and alters lipid profile in patients with active RA...

..To assess the effect of illness and the functional outcome of Chinese patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and to identify variables associated with a poor functional outcome...

..Several methodological considerations and unsolved issues will also be emphasized...

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..Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as Toll-like receptors are aberrantly expressed of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, for playing immunopathological roles...

..Elevated expression of IL-27 has been detected in the synovial membranes and fluid of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..To examine the prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) compared with healthy controls, and to identify clinical and biologic markers for atherosclerotic disease in this patient population...

..Carotid intima-media thickness can identify PsA patients with subclinical atherosclerosis who may benefit from early intervention...

..To summarize the state of knowledge regarding the economic burden of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to evaluate the quality of cost-of-illness (COI) studies conducted to date...

..The association of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the use of immunosuppressive agents with abnormal Pap smears in SLE was also assessed...

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..To determine the efficacy of methotrexate (MTX) with infliximab (IFX) compared with MTX alone in the prevention of atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA)...

..To evaluate bone quality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were undergoing longterm glucocorticoid (GC) therapy, and to focus on the correlation between bone quality and organ damage...

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..Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an inflammatory disease with a high atherothrombotic tendency. We examined whether acute hyperhomocysteinemia exacerbates endothelial and platelet dysfunction in patients with SLE...

..As compared with subjects with the c.421CC genotype, those with the c.421AA genotype showed a 6.9% greater reduction in LDL-C level, which would be equivalent to the effect obtained by doubling the dose of rosuvastatin...

..To assess the annual direct, indirect and total societal costs, quality of life (QoL) of AS in a Chinese population in Hong Kong and determine the cost determinants...

..This study identified some genetic determinants of LDL-C response to rosuvastatin in Chinese patients, which need to be replicated in other populations...

..This paper reviews the currently available measures used in the assessment of the disease activity in PsA. The composite measures for PsA that are under development are also discussed...

..In this paper, we discuss the current literature indicating that patients with PsA are at risk of cardiovascular diseases...

..7 (55.9-28.4), respectively]. Combination therapy with leflunomide and MTX exhibits anti-inflammatory activity in the suppression of chemokine expression and subsequent recruitment of inflammatory cells into the inflammatory sites in RA...

..Our data highlight that renal biopsy should be repeated early in Chinese patients with mesangial nephritis who failed to respond to treatment in order to identify those who may require intense immunosuppressive therapy...

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..Our study suggests that the reduction in synovial inflammation may be due to the decreased production of TNF-alpha and IL-8, and hence the number of neutrophils and other pro-inflammatory leukocytes infiltrating into the inflamed sites...

..To examine the distribution of traditional and novel risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with PsA compared with healthy controls...

..To investigate the effects of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who were either on a low dose of prednisone or not on prednisone...

..Plasma sCTLA concentration could potentially serve as a surrogate marker of SLE disease activity...

..These results suggest that the innate immune response for extracellular pathogens and self-originated DNA plays immunopathological roles via TLR activation in SLE...

..404, P = 0.037). CONCLUSION: The above results suggest that the production of OPN is associated with the inflammatory process and SLE development, and may serve as a potential disease marker of SLE...

..v.) 'pulse' cyclophosphamide. Three weeks after i.v. cyclophosphamide treatment, there was significant improvement of her heart failure symptoms with improvement in the ejection fraction from 19% to 63%...

..In summary, leflunomide was more effective than placebo in treating SLE patients with mild to moderate disease activity and was safe and well-tolerated...