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Biomedical subjects

J E Brick

Publications and source records attributed to J E Brick.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Rethinking the therapeutic pyramid for rheumatoid arthritis. When are NSAIDs alone not enough?

A large number of agents that compare quite favorably to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in terms of toxicity and efficacy are available to physicians for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Primary care physicians need to familiarize themselves with the use of these drugs and consider prescribing them early in the course of the disease, when they may be of greatest benefit.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1992

Giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

The close relationship between giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica has not been clearly explained. These disorders affect the same patient population and often coexist in the same person. Monitoring of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate is a useful tool in both diagnosis and treatment. Management with varying doses of prednisone has proved effective in resolving symptoms.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1992

Evaluating the complaint of fatigue in primary care: diagnoses and outcomes.

PURPOSE: This case series describes associated diagnoses and prognoses of persistent fatigue in a community-based, primary care population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients presenting to a private practice internist with a chief complaint of fatigue of more than 1 month's duration were prospectively evaluated with clinically directed examination and diagnostic testing. Patients were excluded if they had a previously diagnosed illness associated with fatigue. Fatigue was attributed to newly established diagnoses or medication use based on explicit criteria. Change in the state of each patient's fatigue was measured 6 months after entry. RESULTS: Fifty-two consecutive patients entered the study. The diagnoses associated with fatigue were a medical disorder in 25 patients, depression in 10 patients, and no definitive diagnosis in 18 patients. The mean cost of diagnostic testing was $131. At 6 months, 37 of 52 patients (72%) reported improvement in or resolution of their fatigue. CONCLUSION: In a primary care setting, many patients presenting with persistent fatigue have an associated, treatable disease that can be determined using a cost-effective, clinically directed approach. Most will experience an improvement in their fatigue.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Musculoskeletal disorders. When are they caused by hormone imbalance?

Often, the source of a musculoskeletal problem can be traced to an endocrine disorder. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome is not uncommon in patients who are pregnant or have diabetes, hypothyroidism, or acromegaly. Joint problems and arthritis are other common findings in diabetes, pregnancy, and hyperparathyroidism. Muscle weakness or stiffness is seen in both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and muscle wasting is a characteristic of adrenocorticoid insufficiency. Bone disorders are common with glucocorticoid excess, acromegaly, and hyperparathyroidism. Some presentations are a classic picture of a specific endocrine condition and are readily recognized if the index of suspicion is appropriately high.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Conquest of the gout.

With students such as Hippocrates, Galen, Paracelsus, Sydenham, Herberden, Harvey, Cheyne, Boerhaave and Paŕe, the history of "The Gout" (L. gutta-drop), more than any other disorder, parallels the history of Western medicine. It also played important parts in modifying American and European culture and history. Such was the fear and honor it commanded in the last 3,000 years, that over a score of saints and holy men are credited with its cure. Long stated to be a disease of the upper class, at one time, it was considered so stylish that it was said that the only thing worse than having it was to be cured.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Herpes zoster in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with weekly, low-dose methotrexate.

PURPOSE: Herpes zoster occurred in nine patients with methotrexate-treated rheumatoid arthritis. We compared these patients to a large group of methotrexate-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients in order to uncover potential factors explaining the occurrence of herpes zoster. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from 187 patients taking methotrexate were reviewed and compared with data from another nine patients who developed herpes zoster while taking the drug for rheumatoid arthritis, all from the same university-based arthritis clinic. Literature pertinent to infection in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with methotrexate is reviewed. RESULTS: Herpes zoster occurred in 14.5 cases per 1,000 patient-years in our methotrexate-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients, as compared with the general population incidence of 1.3 to 4.8 cases per 1,000 patient-years. The infection was unrelated to duration of methotrexate usage, prednisone treatment, or the co-existence of diabetes mellitus, but appeared to occur in patients with high titers of rheumatoid factor and an overall longer duration of rheumatoid arthritis. There were no cases of systemic dissemination or recurrence of herpes zoster despite 27.4 years cumulative follow-up on continued methotrexate therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Herpes zoster may occur more frequently in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with low-dose methotrexate than in the general population. Herpes zoster in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with methotrexate appears to be self-limited, benign, and statistically related to methotrexate use in the presence of longer-term rheumatoid disease.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1990

Hepatitis with bridging fibrosis and reversible hepatic insufficiency in a woman with rheumatoid arthritis taking methotrexate.

A patient with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis developed ascites while taking weekly doses of methotrexate (MTX). Her serum transaminase and albumin levels were normal. A liver biopsy revealed chronic hepatitis with bridging fibrosis and piecemeal necrosis. Upon discontinuation of MTX, her ascites resolved, and her arthritis became more active. This is the third report of reversible hepatic decompensation associated with prolonged MTX therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1990

EEG and pathologic findings in patients undergoing brain biopsy for suspected encephalitis.

Previous studies have suggested that EEG may be helpful in the diagnosis of herpes encephalitis (HE). To further define the value of EEG in an acutely ill, febrile, encephalopathic patient suspected as having encephalitis, we reviewed initial preoperative EEGs with the results of cerebral biopsies in 24 consecutive patients suspected of having encephalitis. Statistical analysis demonstrated that EEG patterns have only limited association with biopsy results. Since diseases which mimic encephalitis may also generate identical EEG changes, this is not an unexpected finding. EEG is useful in the evaluation and management of patients with encephalitis. However, the absence of specific wave forms or focal EEG abnormalities in the proper clinical setting should not deter consideration of HE or delay treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Anti-histone antibodies in the serum of autoimmune MRL and NZB/NZW1 F1 mice.

Anti-histone antibodies have been reported in a number of human autoimmune diseases, most notably idiopathic and drug-induced lupus erythematosus. In the current study, anti-histone antibody activity was detected using ELISA and electroblotting techniques in sera from autoimmune NZB/W, MRL-lpr, and MRL-(+)/+ mice. Anti-histone activity increased with age, maturing earlier in females, in both NZB/W and MRL-lpr mice. Testosterone treatment decreased anti-histone activity in NZB/W mice and estrogen treatment from 2 weeks of age increased anti-histone activity in MRL-lpr mice, suggesting that gonadal hormones modified the expression of autoantibodies recognizing these protein antigens. Estrogen also increased serum IgG levels in MRL-lpr mice. Sex hormones affected expression of antibodies recognizing soy milk proteins but not ovalbumin in a similar manner. Nitrocellulose Western blots of SDS gels probed with sera from both types of autoimmune mice most often demonstrated reactivity with histone1. Some mice, usually mature females, also recognized histone4, histone3, and histone2.

Aging↗
PubMed1990

Muscle involvement in the scleroderma syndromes.

Muscle involvement was identified in 14 patients with scleroderma or a connective tissue disease overlap syndrome with predominant features of scleroderma. Patients presented with symmetrical proximal weakness indistinguishable from other inflammatory myopathies. Creatine kinase and electromyography were useful to demonstrate muscle involvement. Muscle histopathology demonstrated primarily the vasculopathy of scleroderma or polymyositis in similar numbers of patients. Scleroderma vasculopathy and polymyositis generally occur without specificity to diffuse scleroderma, the calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia syndrome, or an overlap syndrome with arthritis. Polymyositis also occurs when the vasculopathy of scleroderma involves other organ systems.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Prospective analysis of liver biopsies before and after methotrexate therapy in rheumatoid patients.

The significance of hepatic changes in methotrexate-treated RA patients is unclear at this time. In our group of RA patients, there was a slight increase in the incidence of triaditis and fat during methotrexate therapy. Disease duration greater than or equal to 10 years was associated with increased hepatic triaditis before treatment. Age greater than 50 years was associated with increased hepatic fat before and after treatment. It appears that patients' ages and duration of underlying RA account for some changes, independent of methotrexate therapy. Several of our patients changed from higher to lower histologic grade or had an apparent decrease in fibrosis, fat, or triaditis on the pathologists' reports and the blind readings of the repeat biopsies. This may be explained by sampling error. More importantly, some of these changes may not be of clinical significance. One report of methotrexate-induced cirrhosis in patients with psoriasis demonstrated that in all but one of 14 patients who continued receiving methotrexate the cirrhosis decrease or did not progress. This may also be true of the hepatic fibrosis seen in RA after methotrexate treatment. In this study, there did not appear to be changes seen on pretreatment liver biopsy that were predictive of subsequent fibrosis or cirrhosis. Our data indicate that pretreatment biopsy is unwarranted in a population similar to ours. However, our practice has been to try to avoid methotrexate in patients with diabetes, prior liver disease, alcoholism, or obesity because of previous reports suggesting that these patients are at increased risk for the development of cirrhosis. Only the above-mentioned patient, eventually diagnosed as having cirrhosis, might have been handled differently. Including the study, none of the approximately 700 RA patients in the literature having liver biopsies after methotrexate therapy have developed cirrhosis consequent to its use. Most of these had received a total dose of approximately 1,500 mg in small weekly doses, and alcohol was prohibited. Below this cumulative dose the risk of clinically significant liver damage in carefully selected patients is very low. In view of this experience, the recommendation that RA patients have liver biopsies after 1,500 mg of methotrexate (a holdover from the psoriasis literature) may be too conservative in low-risk RA patients, provided methotrexate is administered weekly and alcohol is prohibited. Recognizing that the absolute need for biopsy is unproven, a more realistic milestone for those choosing biopsy might be after each 2,000 to 2,500 mg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Neurologic manifestations of rheumatologic disease.

Patients with pain, dysethesias, or dysfunction of an extremity may present to a neurologist or rheumatologist for the same complaints. A careful history, physical examination, and a simple investigation will usually, but not always, allow for assignment to the proper clinic. This article addresses the ground shared by these two specialties with particular emphasis on common diseases.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1989

Methotrexate therapy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common disease with a significant economic and social impact on Americans. Many patients with RA are unresponsive to or intolerant of conventional therapy or the limited therapeutic options available. For many of those patients, immunosuppressive drugs have been the mainstay of therapy. Our experience with methotrexate for these patients indicates that this drug provides symptomatic relief and improvement in objective parameters. Significant toxicity was uncommon. Methotrexate should be considered for selected patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis when conventional measures have been exhausted.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗