Hormonal abnormalities have been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In order to define the regulatory mechanism involved, the pituitary reserve for gonadotropins secretion was investigated in eight untreated SLE patients with normal menstrual cycles. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were determined on the fifth day of the menstrual cycle before and after intravenous administration of 25 micrograms synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). The pulsatile LH and FSH resting values in SLE were not significantly higher than those found in the controls; after LH-RH stimulation no difference was observed between the SLE group and controls. The LH and FSH response to exogenous LH-RH administration in SLE demonstrate the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary axis that explains normal menses and fertility in this disease.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mesiodens and supernumerary central incisors: early diagnosis and treatment to avoid extensive orthodontic treatment--two cases.

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Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Reynold's syndrome. A case report (author's transl)].

One case of the association of primary biliar cirrhosis and systemic sclerosis progressive (SSP) is described (Reynold's syndrome). This association has been reported in 21 patients. In our case the signs of liver disease precede two years the appearence of SSP. A review of the patients with Reynold's syndrome reported is done and compared with the present case. Diagnostic approach and management of this association is also discussed.

Colchicine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Association of Behçet's syndrome with HLA-B5 in the Mexican mestizo population.

HLA typing done in 10 Mexican mestizo patients with Behcet's syndrome revealed that 7 of them had HLA-B5 antigen as compared to a frequency of 31% in a Mexican mestizo control population. These findings are akin to those made in Japan and Turkey but differ from those made in Caucasian populations in the United States and Great Britain. Ethnic groups with a high frequency of HLA-B5 in Asia and America may belong to the same ancestral trunk. The occurrence of Behcet's syndrome in them may be more frequently HLA-B5 positive than in other ethnic groups.

Behcet Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of human chorionic somatomammotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin on skin homografts in rats.

The action of HCS and HCG on cell-mediated immunity has been investigated. Full-thickness skin homografts were performed in 40 whole adult female Wistar rats. Brown rats of the A X C strain were selected as donors. The animals were divided into four groups injected with HCS, HCG, HCS + HCG, and saline. The graft rejection time and the wet and dry weight of thymus and spleen were evaluated. No hormonal treatment showed any effect on skin graft survival. Thymus weight, both wet and dry, decreased significantly by treatment with HCP or HCS + HCG. No modification was observed in spleen weight. These results do not agree with the theory that HCS and HCG modify immunological competence of maternal lymphocytes and thus may contribute to prevent rejection of the fetus.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Does serum rheumatoid factor have an influence on the clinical picture of ankylosing spondylitis?

OBJECTIVE: To describe the influence of serum rheumatoid factor (RF) on the clinical and radiological picture of definite ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS: In a retrospective chart review of 281 AS patients typed for RF, the clinical picture of RF positive patients (Group 1) was compared with RF negative patients (Group 2); mode of onset, disease duration, and treatment were recorded. All patients were examined to determine their clinical status; the blood cell count. HLA-B27, serum IgG, IgM, IgA, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were determined, and radiological studies of the entire spine, pelvis and affected peripheral joints were carried out. In patients from Group 1 the HLA-DR was also determined. RESULTS: Fifteen of 281 patients (8 men, 7 women) with AS were RF+ (1:64 to 1:1024) (5.3%) and 11 were HLA-B27+. Seven patients in Group 1 had spine involvement and chronic arthritis of the knees. Four out of these 7 were tested for DR, and none was positive; in 6, AS and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) coexisted, 2 were DR1 and 2 were DR4 (test not carried out in 2). In two others we found spinal involvement only, and one of them had both DR1 and DR4. The onset of AS was similar in both groups. Group 1 was characterized by a chronic disease of moderate intensity with chronic arthritis of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints (p = 0.0008 and p = 0.04, respectively), no valvulopathy (p = 0.04) and fewer uveitis sequelae (p = 0.007) than Group 2. The ESR (p = 0.01), IgG (p = 0.008) and IgM (p = 0.0001) were higher in Group 1 than in Group 2. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of RF in AS is associated with a chronic disease of moderate intensity with chronic peripheral arthritis and fewer extra-articular manifestations. The presence of RF, not always associated with HLA-DR, seems to affect the course of AS and does not necessarily indicate an association with RA.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Rheumatic diseases in colonial Mexico].

The medical texts published in New Spain between the XVI and XVIII century have not been searched until now for evidence of the existence of rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatic diseases before the descriptions made by Sydenham. We surveyed most of the medical books written and published in New Spain from the arrival of the Spaniards to the XVIII century, and we divided the diseases with articular manifestations into four groups, according to their main clinical characteristics: pain without swelling in anatomical region; pain without swelling in several joints; pain and swelling in joints, and joint complaints associated with contagious diseases. We found that a difference was established between gout and rheumatoid arthritis one hundred years before Sydenham, according to the different evolutions of both diseases, and we present one of the oldest descriptions of reactive arthritis.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗