J Brandt

..BACKGROUND Treatment options for patients with ankylosing spondylitis are few. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of infliximab, an antibody to tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, in treatment of such patients...

..This article gives detailed information about current experience with the new treatment options in active and severe AS with anti-TNFalpha therapy...

..The ASAS 40% improvement criterion has the advantage of setting a high threshold, but only in patient reported outcomes. The choice between these improvement criteria needs to be based on further validation from upcoming trials...

..The purpose of this study was the validation of a German translation of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Index (BASDAI)...

..In open trials these drugs also work in patients with uSpA. There is some hope now that the TNFalpha blocking agents could stop the development of AS in patients starting with uSpA...

..In the present report, a new approach for the development of IBP classification criteria is discussed...

..The focus of this handbook is on practicality, with many examples of MRI and x ray images, which will help to standardise not only patient care but also the design of clinical studies...

..Furthermore the data can be compared to the German standard population...

..To analyse the impact of infliximab treatment on the number of hospital inpatient days and days of sick leave in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS)...

..To assess the effect of sulfasalazine (SSZ) on inflammatory back pain (IBP) due to active undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA) or ankylosing spondylitis in patients with symptom duration <5 years...

..This report provides analyses from a 3-yr extension study, as a follow-up to both the 1- and 2-yr open label extensions of the original 3-month randomized controlled trial of infliximab in patients with AS...

..Infliximab may decelerate radiographic progression in such patients. Larger studies are needed to prove that anti-TNF treatment inhibits structural damage...

..The potential role of etanercept on deceleration of chronic spinal changes needs further study...

..To estimate the incremental cost-utility of etanercept and infliximab compared with usual care in active ankylosing spondylitis...

..Disease activity parameters did not directly correlate with MRI, but both pointed in the same direction. Both types of information may be useful for the definition of response to anti-TNF therapy...

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..However, severe infections, including tuberculosis, have been reported. These can be largely prevented by appropriate screening. The benefits of anti-TNF therapy in AS seem to outweigh these shortcomings...

..Thus, it seems probable that etanercept must be administered continuously in most AS patients to achieve permanent inhibition of the inflammatory process...

..CONCLUSIONS: Neutralisation of peripheral TNFalpha does not induce a down regulation of the ability of T cells to produce TNFalpha but rather an up regulation, possibly due to a counterregulatory mechanism...

..The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of infliximab treatment of AS for a 1-year period...

..The objective of this article was to study the effect of infliximab on structural changes in AS over 4 yrs...

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..TNFalpha blockers have been shown to be highly efficacious in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS)...

..Spinal inflammation as depicted by MRI decreased significantly, but a few patients still had some spinal inflammation even after long-term anti-TNF therapy...

..In expectation of the approval of infliximab and etanercept for the treatment of active AS international guidelines for initiation, monitoring and discontinuation of these agents have been recently proposed...

..To determine whether a differential impairment of spatial memory exists in Huntington's disease (HD)...

..To determine whether APOE epsilon 4 predicts rate of cognitive change in incident and prevalent Alzheimer disease (AD)...

..Nevertheless, a randomized placebo-controlled study should be performed in the near future in order to safeguard the level of evidence...

..Such episodes will in general occur out of the main pollen season. During this time, allergy patients are unprotected and high pollen concentrations will therefore have a full allergenic impact...

..To estimate long-term trajectories of direct cost of caring for patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and examine the effects of patients' characteristics on cost longitudinally...

..These can be quantified by the modified Stokes Anklylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score (mSASSS). It is unknown which radiographic feature is most relevant for the assessment of change and the prediction of future damage in AS...

..The association between musculoskeletal features and lymphoproliferative disorders as well as the association of rheumatic diseases with an increased risk of malignancies is well-known...

..13%) collected in the same region, we conclude that T. solium cysticercosis is an endemic, but overlooked public health problem in West Cameroon...

..Thus, for patients with AS, the future of successful treatment lies in the development of pharmacological agents capable of both altering the disease course through intervention at sites of disease pathogenesis, and controlling symptoms...

..This study aimed to investigate whether quality of life and cardiac function were affected by an upgrade to dual chamber pacing (DDDR or DDIR) following long-term ventricular stimulation...

..saginata and 8 as T. solium. These data have been discussed in view of the epidemiology of human cysticercosis...

..To compare conventional radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detection of chronic changes in the spine of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS)...

..Motor signs (MOSIs) are common in Alzheimer disease (AD) and may be associated with rates of cognitive decline, mortality, and cost of care...

..5% by STIR). CONCLUSIONS: Spinal inflammation is a common manifestation in patients with AS, and appears more frequently in the TS. The scoring system ASspiMRI-a can be used for evaluation of acute spinal changes in AS...

..CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that treatment with etanercept is efficacious and safe after readministration over 1 yr in patients with active AS not taking DMARDs or steroids...

..More spinal lesions are detected by the STIR sequence, but the reliability between readings and readers is better for the Gd-DTPA sequence. The ASspiMRI-a is a reliable instrument for evaluating acute spinal changes in AS...

..To determine whether specific cognitive deficits can predict the progression of Alzheimer disease (AD)...

..To examine whether the presence of motor signs has predictive value for important outcomes in Alzheimer disease (AD)...

..We describe the rare development of MCTD in an AS patient and report, for the first time, the onset of MCTD potentially triggered by sulfasalazine...