| Autoimmune Medical News by Date |
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| September 2008 |
| Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an under-recognized condition in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). POTS is a frequent finding in patients with CFS/ myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) . We suggest that clinical evaluation of patients with CFS/ME should include response to standing. (PubMed) Hoad A. QJM. September 19 2008. (Also see: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) |
| Immunological aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The pathophysiological mechanism of CFS is unclear. The main hypotheses include altered central nervous system functioning resulting from an abnormal immune response against a common antigen; a neuroendocrine disturbance; cognitive impairment caused by response to infection or other stimuli in sentient people. (PubMed) Lorusso L. Autoimmun Rev. September 15 2008. (Also see: CFS Causes) |
| Viral infections as triggers for Central Nervous System (CNS) autoimmune diseases via molecular mimicry. It is well supported by epidemiological evidence that disease exacerbations of CNS autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis can be triggered by viral infections. (BioMed Central) Roland Martin. Infectious diseases of the nervous system: pathogenesis and worldwide impact. 09/23/08. (Also see: Multiple Sclerosis) |
| Are pediatric autoimmune diseases primarily genetic diseases? Advancing methods are leading to the discovery of genes associated with childhood autoimmune diseases. However, the genetic contribution to disease risk for any one gene remains less than 30% for most diseases, suggesting that pediatric autoimmunity is not primarily genetic in a classical sense. Shaw, E. A. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. September 2008. (Also see: Autoimmunity and Shared Autoimmunity) |
| Efficacy and safety of infliximab in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) over a two-year period. Infliximab demonstrated sustained efficacy and safety over 2 years in this large cohort of patients with active AS. (PubMed) Braun J. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Sep. 15. (Also see: Ankylosing Spondylitis) |
| Copious Coffee Intake May Fuel Progression to RA. Heavy coffee drinking was associated with progression of undifferentiated arthritis to rheumatoid arthritis. N. Walsh. Rheumatology News. September 2008. (Also see: Rheumatoid Arthritis) |
| Substitution of specialized rheumatology nurses for rheumatologists in the diagnostic process of fibromyalgia (FM): A randomized controlled trial. Substituting specialized nurses for rheumatologists in the diagnostic process of FM is a trustworthy and successful approach that saves waiting time, provides greater patient satisfaction, and is cost-effective. (UnBound Medline) M. E. A. L. Kroese. Arthritis Care and Research. August 29,2008. (Also see: Fibromyalgia). |
| Autoimmune disorders in patients affected by celiac sprue and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS). Celiac sprue and Crohn's disease show similar prevalence of associated autoimmune disease, higher than the prevalence in ulcerative colitis. (PubMed) Bardella MT. Ann. Med. September 2008. (Also see: Celiac Disease, Crohn's Disease, and Ulcerative Colitis) |
| Vitamin D in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Most cross-sectional studies show an inverse relationship between levels of vitamin D and disease activity. This suggests that repletion of vitamin D may have benefits beyond bone health for patients with SLE. Kamen, D. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. September 2008. (Also see: Lupus) |
| Functional Improvement After Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Start a New Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drug (DMARD) Associated with Frequent Changes in DMARD: The CORRONA Database. Our study demonstrates that in clinical rheumatologic practices, more frequent changes in DMARD are associated with greater improvement in function. Indirectly, these data support the concept that DMARD should be changed if optimal responses are not achieved within a specified time. Veena K. Ranganath. J Rheumatol First Release. Sept 1 2008. (Also see: Rheumatoid Arthritis and DMARDs) |
| Potential diabetes treatment selectively kills autoimmune cells from human patients. Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have confirmed the mechanism behind a potential new therapy for type 1 diabetes. A team of researchers showed that blocking a metabolic pathway regulating the immune system specifically eliminated immune cells that react against a patient’s own tissues. Massachusetts General Hospital. August 25, 2008. (Also see: Type 1 Diabetes and Diabetes Treatments) |
| Co-occurrence of celiac disease and other autoimmune diseases in celiacs and their first-degree relatives. These results indicate that the presence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus within our celiac disease families may be due to shared genetic susceptibility predisposing to these diseases or autoimmune diseases in general. (UnBound Medline) S.L. Neuhausen. J Autoimmun 2008 Aug 7. (Also see: Celiac Disease and Shared Autoimmunity) |
| Primary central nervous system vasculitis (PCNSV): comparison of patients with and without cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). PCNSV with CAA appears to form a clinical subset of PCNSV. The vasculitis influences the clinical findings to a greater degree than the presence of amyloid deposits in the vessels. C. Salvarini. Rheumatology. August 27, 2008. (Also see: Vasculitis) |
| Silencing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): the power and promise of small noncoding RNAs. Although micro RNA profiling may prove to be a useful diagnostic and prognostic tool for a notoriously heterogeneous disease, manipulation of RNA interference emerges as a powerful and potentially specific means to correct dysregulated gene expression in SLE patients. Rigby, Robert J. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. September 2008. (Also see: Lupus) |
| Amitriptyline in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM): a systematic review of its efficacy. There is some evidence to support the short-term efficacy of amitriptyline 25 mg/day in FM. There is no evidence to support the efficacy of amitriptyline at higher doses or for more than 8 weeks. B. Nishishinya. Rheumatology. August 12, 2008. (Also see: Fibromyalgia) |
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