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Biomedical subjects

J P Devogelaer

Publications and source records attributed to J P Devogelaer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Trabecular and cortical bone loss in systemic lupus erythematosus.

We measured lumbar spine, hip (total and sub-regions) and total body bone mineral densities (BMDs) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 47 premenopausal female patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). As compared to health controls, SLE patients had lower BMDs at all trabecular and cortical sites. Comparison of BMDs between patients ever and never treated with glucocorticoids indicated that patients who had ever received glucocorticoids had a significantly lower lumbar spine BMD compared to those who never did. Moreover, bone loss in patients ever treated with glucocorticoids was commensurate with their cumulated oral glucocorticoid intake. Interestingly, patients never treated with glucocorticoids had a lower hip BMD compared to controls, thereby suggesting that the disease per se might induce some bone loss. Taken together, SLE patients suffer from a significant trabecular and cortical bone loss indicative of an increased risk of future fracture.

Adult

Comparative prospective, double-blind, multicenter study of the efficacy of tiludronate and etidronate in the treatment of Paget's disease of bone.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of tiludronate and etidronate at the same dosage (400 mg/day) for the treatment of active Paget's disease of bone. METHODS: We studied 234 patients with radiologic lesions characteristic of Paget's disease of bone and serum alkaline phosphatase (AP) concentrations at least twice the upper limit of normal, in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial lasting 6 months. Patients were randomly allocated into 1 of 3 treatment groups: tiludronate for 3 months followed by placebo for 3 months, tiludronate for 6 months, or etidronate for 6 months. Serum AP levels and urinary hydroxyproline excretion were measured at baseline and after 3 months and 6 months. Patients with a reduction of at least 50% in the serum AP concentration were considered to be responders. RESULTS: After 3 months, the proportion of responders was higher in the tiludronate group (57.4%) than in the etidronate group (13.9%) (P < 0.0001). In the etidronate group, this percentage was lower among patients who had received previous treatment with a bisphosphonate (2.3%) than among those who had not (28.6%) (P < 0.01). Previous bisphosphonate treatment was not associated with response in the tiludronate group. After 6 months, the proportion of responders did not differ between the 2 tiludronate groups (60.3% and 70.1%), but was lower in the etidronate group (25.3%) (P < 0.0001). There was a higher proportion of patients with treatment-resistant disease (< 25% reduction of serum AP) in the etidronate group (51.9%) than in the tiludronate 3-month group (17.9%) or the tiludronate 6-month group (19.5%) (P < 0.0001). Gastrointestinal disturbances were more common, and occurred earlier, with tiludronate, but they were mostly mild, requiring no treatment. CONCLUSION: Tiludronate at 400 mg/day for 3 months or 6 months is more effective than the same dosage of etidronate for 6 months in the treatment of Paget's disease.

Adult

Serum interleukin 10 titers in systemic lupus erythematosus reflect disease activity.

We investigated whether serum titers of interleukin 10 (IL-10), a cytokine known to shift lymphocyte responses towards humoral immunity, reflect disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Sera from 72 SLE patients, 25 RA patients and 30 healthy controls were tested for IL-10 by ELISA. Low titers of IL-10 were detected in the serum of 37.5% of SLE patients and in 24% of RA patients but in only 3% of healthy controls. Interestingly, serum IL-10 titers in SLE patients were positively correlated with the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and with anti-DNA antibody titers, but negatively with complement fraction C3 levels. These results indicate that serum IL-10 values reflect SLE disease activity and suggest that overexpression of IL-10 might play a pathogenic role in severe lupus disease.

Adolescent

[Involvement of the shoulder in rheumatoid arthritis].

The course of rheumatoid arthritis (R.A.) in the shoulder is evaluated in 100 patients in a retrospective study and in 73 patients in a prospective study. The involvement of the shoulder may occur at an early stage of the disease. However, usually it causes a significant handicap at a later stage. The retrospective study shows that 62% of the patients hospitalized between 1976 and 1992 for R.A. complained of pain, reduction in range of motion and functional disability of one or both shoulders. However, these historic cases cannot be used for a radiological study because the shoulders have been radiographed in 17% of cases only, probably because of the poor possibilities of surgical therapies available at this time. The survey of 72 patients received at the out- patient clinic between september 1992 and december 1993 who had a radiograph of the shoulder is the basis for the description of the progress of the disease. The erosions appear at the border of the cartilage where the synovium is attached and refers mainly to the cephalic articular cartilage. Narrowing of the subacromial space is often present with early appearance of subluxation in the cranial direction. The destruction often prevails in the area of humeral head but cases with predominant global joint space narrowing or with destruction of glenoid labrum and fossa exist as well. Secondary osteoarthritis was often observed. The involvement of the shoulders is not always symmetric. Unilateral involvement has been observed. The different evolutive processes will be illustrated and their frequency evaluated. The forms with predominant cephalic destruction constitute the best indications for total shoulder arthroplasty.

Acromioclavicular Joint

Comparison of the acute biological action of injectable salmon calcitonin and an injectable and oral calcitonin analogue.

In most countries, calcitonin is available in the form of injections, and less frequently as an intranasal spray. An oral route of administration should improve compliance. In a preliminary feasibility study, we have compared the acute biological action of injectable salmon calcitonin (50 IU), with the injectable calcitonin analogue ASC 710 (0.2 mg) and oral ASC 710 (20 mg) in 6 patients suffering from active Paget's disease of bone. The intensity and duration of the biological response were not significantly different in the 3 modes of therapy. In conclusion, the oral calcitonin analogue ASC 710 possesses an antiresorbing activity in Paget's disease comparable to that of an injection of salmon calcitonin which demonstrates that it can cross the intestinal barrier.

Administration, Intranasal

Automated computerized radiogrammetry of the second metacarpal and its correlation with absorptiometry of the forearm and spine.

The value of a new computerized radiogrammetric method of assessment of the second metacarpal has been evaluated, and its results have been compared with those of single (SPA) and dual photon absorptiometry measurements (forearm and spine) in 74 and 79 postmenopausal women, respectively. Standard hand X-rays were digitized by a video-camera connected to a microcomputer. The combined cortical thickness (CCT) was automatically calculated in a zone of 10 mm around the midpart of the second metacarpal. The intra- and interobserver coefficients of variation were close to 1%. The correlation between CCT and SPA of the proximal and midforearm (with a significant amount of cortical bone) was satisfactory (r = 0.62 and 0.50, respectively; P < 0.001). The correlation between CCT and osteodensitometry of sites comprising more trabecular bone were not so good (0.50 for lumbar and 0.44 for distal forearm bone mineral density, respectively), but still significant (P < 0.001). Radiogrammetry proved unaffected by a change of X-ray apparatus, as measurements of 48 metacarpals radiographed by two different kinds of X-ray apparatus were not significantly different. Radiogrammetry is by no means the best method to evaluate bone mass. Its automation did not improve the correlation with osteodensitometric values. Radiogrammetry is still of interest in mass screening, particularly when other more expensive techniques such as osteodensitometric methods of bone mass measurement are not readily available. Its automation makes it simpler, faster, and more precise, rendering its use easier on a larger scale.

Absorptiometry, Photon

Occurrence of a painful stress fracture of the femoral neck simultaneously with six other asymptomatic localizations in a runner.

The authors report the case of 38-year-old man who suffered severe right groin pain after an unusually long run. Total body bone scan disclosed several hot spots in the lower limbs corresponding radiographically to stress fractures. Biological work-up did not reveal any significant abnormality. Hip, lumbar and forearm bone mineral densities were low compared to age- and sex-matched controls (Z-score ranging from -2 to -2.5). The occurrence of multiple stress fractures in a jogger has been favored by low bone mass and by excessive exercise. This case underlines that a lot of stress fractures can remain asymptomatic even when readily visible on plain radiographs.

Adult

Endometriosis.

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Adult

Levels of circulating tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Relationship to serum levels of hyaluronan and antigenic keratan sulfate.

OBJECTIVE: To measure serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and age-matched control subjects and to study how these correlate with serum levels of hyaluronan (HA) and antigenic keratan sulfate (KS) and other biochemical as well as clinical indicators of disease activity. METHODS: Immunoassays were used to measure levels of TNF alpha, IL-6, HA, and antigenic KS in the serum of 35 patients with RA and a group of age- and sex-matched control subjects. Clinical disease activity in the RA group was assessed using the Lansbury index. Drug intake was recorded and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and levels of fibrinogen, creatinine, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aminotransferase were measured. RESULTS: Serum levels of TNF alpha, IL-6, and HA were significantly higher in the RA population than in the control group. In patients with RA, serum levels of HA correlated positively with serum levels of TNF alpha and with clinical joint scores, but only weakly with other laboratory parameters of inflammation. Serum levels of antigenic KS correlated negatively with levels of circulating TNF alpha, but much more weakly with other clinical and biochemical parameters of disease activity. CONCLUSION: These in vivo data support in vitro studies which have shown that TNF alpha is a potent stimulator of HA synthesis by synovial lining cells. The results strengthen the contention that serum HA may be a unique marker of synovial involvement and inflammation, rather than of only inflammation, in RA.

Adult

Osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis constitutes a major financial burden for society, which will increase in the near future owing to the ageing of the population. Women are the most common victims of involutional osteoporosis because of post-menopausal bone loss induced by oestrogenic deficit. Men are nevertheless not completely untouched by osteoporosis, however, compared to women, they are under less threat. Every effort should be made to curtail the financial burden on society and to improve the quality of life of sufferers. The first steps should be to increase the calcium intake, the level of exercise and to decrease the risk of falls. A preventive therapy with oestroprogestogens should be instituted at the time of the menopause, provided there is no contraindication. In the absence of fracture data, the modalities of alternative therapies like calcitonin and bisphosphonates are still debated. For people already suffering from fractures, restorative therapy should be considered. Sodium fluoride therapy is able to provoke a decrease in vertebral fracture frequency without compromising cortical bone strength provided elementary rules for its use are respected. Whether bisphosphonates can protect against fractures is still unsettled. Vitamin D has a physiological role, particularly in institutionalized elderly patients deprived of any exposure to the sun. Anabolic steroids are not devoid of side effects, and furthermore, no fracture data are so far available.

Accidental Falls

Intravertebral vacuum cleft: changes in content after supine positioning.

Sequential radiographic and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examinations were performed in nine patients with an intravertebral vacuum cleft indicative of avascular necrosis. Progressive changes in the content of the cleft occurred within an hour after the patients were placed in a supine position. Initially, the cleft showed a gaslike pattern during extension of the spine, with a radiolucent band on radiographs and a signal void on MR images. Later, the vacuum phenomenon disappeared on radiographs, and a fluidlike high-signal-intensity pattern appeared on T2- or T2*-weighted MR images, suggestive of a slow fluid inflow within the intravertebral cleft. Because the recognition of a vacuum cleft in a collapsed vertebral body helps avoid confusion with malignancy or infection, it is important to search for this in examinations performed immediately after supine positioning.

Aged

Appendicular and vertebral bone mass in ankylosing spondylitis. A comparison of plain radiographs with single- and dual-photon absorptiometry and with quantitative computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the prevalence, severity, and anatomic distribution of ankylosing spondylitis (AS)-related osteopenia (OP). METHODS: We studied 70 patients (60 males, 10 premenopausal females) with AS (according to the New York criteria) to determine the frequency of OP. Bone mass was measured by plain radiographs of the spine, by single-photon absorptiometry (SPA) of the distal and midshaft of the radius on the nondominant side, by dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), and by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) of the lumbar spine. RESULTS: SPA values for the radius mass were normal in males and in females, both at the distal and midshaft sites. In contrast, spine radiographs showed diminished density of the vertebral bodies in 69% of the males and 50% of the premenopausal females. Two male patients had had a vertebral compression fracture, and one female patient had had two. DPA values for the spine mass were significantly diminished in the male patients compared with the controls, but not in the female patients. Males with less severe AS also had the largest reduction in lumbar bone mineral content. In patients with more severe disease, lumbar bone mineral content was not statistically different from that in controls. QCT of the lumbar spine performed in 10 patients disclosed low density of the trabecular bone of the vertebral bodies, more so in those with more severe AS and syndesmophyte formation and/or apophyseal joint fusion, which contrasts with the normal values on DPA in these patients. CONCLUSION: Male patients with AS have axial osteopenia. In those who have very severe AS with new bone formation, DPA demonstrates normal values as a result of two opposite trends: central osteopenia (as assessed from QCT) and peripheral new-bone formation, which transforms vertebral bodies into long bones. This could modify the mechanical resistance of the spine and account for the propensity for anteroposterior transvertebral and transdiscal fractures after trauma in AS.

Absorptiometry, Photon

Low bone mass in hypogonadal males. Effect of testosterone substitution therapy, a densitometric study.

Sixteen (16) male patients who were suffering from hypogonadism but who were free from bone symptoms were recruited from the Andrology Clinic. Their bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by single photon absorptiometry in the non-dominant radius, at both the distal radius (DR) (27% trabecular bone) and the midshaft radius (MR) (90% cortical bone). Measurements were carried out before and during testosterone substitution therapy. BMD was found to be lower in the subjects than in the controls, to a similar extent at both the DR (0.47 +/- 0.02 g/cm2, i.e. 83.1 +/- 4.3% of the value in the controls, or Z score -1.42 +/- 0.39; P less than 0.01) and the MR (0.68 +/- 0.02 g/cm2, i.e. 87.8 +/- 2.4% of the value in the controls, or Z score -1.49 +/- 0.33; P less than 0.01). There was no correlation between testosterone levels and BMD at either the DR or the MR at the beginning of the study. Following testosterone substitution therapy, bone mineral content (BMC) increased significantly at the DR (+5.9 +/- 1.4% per year; P less than 0.01) and at the MR (+1.1 +/- 0.9% per year; P less than 0.01). If the study is limited to the subjects who had achieved full bone age maturity before the start of therapy, the bone gain remains significant only at the DR, a site with a sizeable proportion of trabecular bone.

Adolescent

Fever, hepatitis and acute interstitial nephritis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. Concurrent manifestations of azathioprine hypersensitivity.

We describe a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who developed hypersensitivity after 3 weeks of therapy with azathioprine with fever, jaundice and renal insufficiency. A percutaneous liver biopsy was compatible with hypersensitivity hepatitis. During azathioprine rechallenge, the symptoms recurred within a few days, consistent with the diagnosis of an acute hypersensitivity reaction. This report is the first to describe the association of an azathioprine induced hypersensitivity simultaneously involving the liver and the kidneys, in the same patient with RA, with resurgence after rechallenge.

Acute Disease

A rare case of bronchial stenosis in Wegener's granulomatosis. Dramatic response to intravenous cyclophosphamide and oral cotrimoxazole.

We describe a patient with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) who developed as the only pulmonary manifestation a severe proximal bronchial stenosis despite conventional treatment with steroids and oral cyclophosphamide. The patient subsequently responded to a combined therapy with intravenous (IV) cyclophosphamide and oral cotrimoxazole. We stress the rarity of bronchial involvement in WG and discuss the role of IV cyclophosphamide and cotrimoxazole in the management of this disease.

Administration, Oral