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Biomedical subjects

Leonardo Punzi

Publications and source records attributed to Leonardo Punzi.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Fibromyalgia in Italian patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of fibromyalgia in primary Sjögren's syndrome and to evaluate the clinical differences between patients affected with both primary fibromyalgia and primary Sjögren's syndrome and those affected only with primary fibromyalgia. METHODS: Clinical features of fibromyalgia were evaluated in 100 consecutive outpatients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and, as controls, in 90 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, in 75 patients with primary fibromyalgia and in 30 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Fibromyalgia was recorded in 22% of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome, in 12.2% with diabetes and in 3.3% of healthy controls. In the primary Sjögren's syndrome group the prevalence was significantly higher than in healthy controls (P < 0.01), but not significantly different than in diabetes. Moreover, primary Sjögren's syndrome with fibromyalgia and primary fibromyalgia patients did not differ with respect to the number of tender points, while the mean pain threshold was lower in the latter (P = 0.05). Purpura, hypergammaglobulinemia, rheumatoid factor, and a focus score > or = 1 on lip biopsy were significantly more frequent in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients without than with fibromyalgia. CONCLUSIONS: As recently reported by other authors, our study confirms the moderate increase of fibromyalgia prevalence in primary Sjögren's syndrome. Typical fibromyalgic findings are quite similar to those of primary fibromyalgia, but surprisingly, primary Sjögren's syndrome patients with fibromyalgia show a less severe global involvement than those with primary Sjögren's syndrome alone.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Clinical manifestations and outcome of polyarthralgia associated with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis.

OBJECTIVES: Arthralgia is among the most frequent musculoskeletal symptoms occurring in patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT), often causing pain and physical impairment over extended periods of time. Our study aims to characterize arthralgia and, in particular, polyarthralgia (PA) associated with CLT and to evaluate the influence of thyroid replacement therapy. METHODS: Of 130 patients affected with CLT attending the Division of Rheumatology for rheumatic complaints, the authors sequentially selected 20 patients with PA without any known rheumatic diseases. Of these 20 patients, 8 were euthyroid, 2 hyperthyroid, and 10 hypothyroid. The last group had never undergone therapy for thyroid disease; then, they were treated with thyroxine and followed up for 24 months. Clinical assessment included the number of joints affected by pain (NAJ), the visual analogic scale of pain (VAS), the duration of PA (number of days), and the intake of acetaminophen. RESULTS: At baseline, the only correlations in the 20 patients with PA were between NAJ and antithyroid microsomal antibodies (r =.782; P <.001), thyroid stimulation hormone (r =.651; P =.001), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r =.511; P = 0.021), respectively. During follow-up, although symptoms improved in the 10 hypothyroid patients treated with thyroxine, a statistical significance was reached only after 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CLT may be affected with PA severely, even in absence of hypothyroidism. Replacement therapy with thyroxine in hypothyroid patients with CLT induced a progressive but gradual improvement of symptoms.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed2002

Clinical significance of cytokine determination in synovial fluid.

Cytokines are a complex family of small regulatory proteins able to mediate intercellular communication and play a crucial role in immunologic and inflammatory reactions. Many reports have demonstrated that some cytokines, in particular tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8, so-called proinflammatory, may have a major role in the pathogenesis of joint diseases. Thus, high levels of these substances have been found in inflammatory arthropathies, in particular in those characterized by a more aggressive and destructive outcome, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and infectious arthritis. In keeping with their role, the determination of cytokines in synovial fluid may be proposed for clinical purposes, including diagnostic and prognostic assessments. Furthermore, as some of these cytokines may reflect disease activity, their determination may also be useful in the evaluation of therapy.

Biological Assay↗