Dropped head syndrome is characterized by gradual forward sagging of the head due to weakness of the neck extensor muscles. We report three cases in elderly patients seen by rheumatologists at our institution. There was some evidence suggestive of a neurogenic process, whereas most reported cases of dropped head syndrome have been ascribed to myopathy. Dropped head syndrome can probably be produced by multiple causes. The close ties between dropped head syndrome and acquired camptocormia in adults are discussed.
Les pubalgies sont frequentes chez les footballeurs mais leur etiologie peut etre difficile a preciser. Les auteurs rapportent une observation d'une pubalgie febrile chez un footballeur professionnel de 18 ans. L'IRM a revele un abces du muscle obturateur interne droit. Un seul cas similaire a ete rapporte a ce jour. Ce diagnostic a ete evoque devant une limitation douloureuse de la rotation interne de la hanche droite a l'examen clinique. Chez un footballeur, une pubalgie avec fievre ne doit pas toujours evoquer une osteite pubienne, associee a une limitation en rotation interne de la hanche elle suggere une atteinte de l'obturateur interne.
OBJECTIVES:To describe magnetic resonance imaging findings in idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder.PATIENTS AND METHODS:Twenty patients with idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder underwent magnetic resonance imaging involving two spin-echo T2-weighted sequences with fat saturation and two spin-echo T1-weighted postgadolinium sequences; for all sequences, sections were obtained in the oblique coronal and transverse axial planes. Findings were compared to those obtained using the same imaging protocol in 15 patients with clinical manifestations of rotator cuff tear.RESULTS:Postgadolinium enhancement of the joint capsule and synovial membrane was seen in the rotator interval in all 25 adhesive capsulitis patients and in the axillary recess in 22 of the 25. Only one of the 15 rotator cuff tear patients had this finding. In both groups, postgadolinium enhancement occurred in the subacromial bursa, in the rotator cuff tendons, and in the acromioclavicular joint. No significant rotator cuff tears were found in any of the adhesive capsulitis patients.CONCLUSION:In difficult cases, magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium injection can contribute to the diagnosis of idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder.
OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the continuation rate of cyclosporin therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients followed for at least three years.METHODS:Retrospective medical chart review of rheumatoid arthritis patients on cyclosporin. Treatment efficacy was assessed based on a visual analog scale pain score, Ritchie's articular index, and Lee's functional index. Nonparametric Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to evaluate continuation rates.RESULTS:24 cyclosporin-treated patients with a mean age of 58 years and a mean disease duration of ten years were included in the study; 87% had received three second-line drugs prior to cyclosporin. Mean cyclosporin treatment duration was 28 months (range, 1-103 months). Overall cyclosporin continuation rates were 75% after four months and 50% after 36 months. Toxicity and inefficacy caused 33% and 13% of cyclosporin discontinuations, respectively.CONCLUSION:The continuation rate of cyclosporin was satisfactory and similar to that reported for other second-line drugs.
Telengiectasias (arteriovenous malformations) can be seen in scleroderma throughout the gastrointestinal tract, including the stomach, small bowel and colon. Massive gastrointestinal bleeding rarely results from these malformations in scleroderma. The case of a patient presenting with severe jejunal bleeding secondary to telangiectasias with special regard to the management is discussed. This case emphasizes the importance of endoscopic examination combined with mesenteric angiography in patients with scleroderma who present with a high index of suspicion of telangiectasias as a source of bleeding.
A 38-year-old woman on piroxicam for hip osteoarthritis secondary to hip dysplasia developed secondary sterility. Ova collected for in vitro fertilization were immature and failed to fertilize. A further attempt done after piroxicam discontinuation produced seven mature ova that fertilized, allowing embryo implantation. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may induce infertility by reducing the production of prostaglandins, most notably via inhibition of the enzyme cyclooxygenase 2. The impact of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy on reproductive function needs to be evaluated.
Schnitzler's syndrome is a rare condition of urticaria, macroglobulinemia, and sclerotic bone lesions. We report a case in a 70-year-old man in whom inflammatory polyarthralgia was followed by a nonpruritic urticarial eruption with a moderate decline in general health. Laboratory tests showed inflammation and a modest isolated peak of monoclonal IgM kappa. There was no evidence of Waldenström macroglobulinemia. Schnitzler's syndrome was considered. However, an ultrasound scan of the abdomen done because of mild gamma-glutamyl-transferase elevation disclosed multiple hepatic lesions. The liver histology showed incipient nodular regenerative hyperplasia. Only about 30 cases of Schnitzler's syndrome have been reported since the seminal description in 1972. Hepatic involvement was a common but nonspecific finding, and we found no cases with nodular regenerative hyperplasia. However, this abnormality is often found in patients with autoimmune or hematological disorders. The pathogenesis of Schnitzler's syndrome remains unknown, but the possibility of progression to a hematological malignancy requires prolonged follow-up.
BACKGROUND:Little information is available on the occurrence of generalized osteopenia in psoriatic arthritis. The only two published studies of bone mass in psoriatic arthritis produced conflicting results.METHODS:We compared bone mineral density measured at the lumbar spine and femoral neck using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 52 patients with active peripheral psoriatic arthritis and in 52 controls. The psoriatic arthritis group included 19 males, 14 premenopausal women, and 19 post-menopausal women. Controls were matched to the patients on sex, age, and menopausal status.RESULTS:In the overall study population no significant differences were found between psoriatic arthritis patients and controls. Postmenopausal psoriatic arthritis patients had a lower femoral neck bone mineral density than the relevant subgroup of controls. No significant differences in lumbar spine bone mineral density were found in the analyses of the male, premenopausal female, and postmenopausal female subgroups. Neither was femoral neck density significantly different between male or premenopausal female psoriatic arthritis patients and controls.CONCLUSION:These results suggest that peripheral psoriatic arthritis is not associated with significant generalized bone loss.
Although Parkinson's disease selectively alters motor function, its victims frequently experience pain at some point during the course of their disease. Pain is rarely mentioned, however, in descriptions of the clinical aspects of Parkinson's disease, perhaps because the motor disorders are far more conspicuous or because the pain often occurs at a stage when the patient's ability to communicate discomfort is impaired. The mechanism of Parkinson's disease-associated pain remains obscure. About 50% of Parkinson's disease patients develop primary or secondary pain syndromes at some time during the course of their disease. The existence of primary pain syndromes suggests that the basal ganglia may contribute to nociception, a possibility that is consistent with current knowledge on neuron network connections, neurotransmitter effects, and interactions between dopaminergic, somatosensory, and endogenous opioid systems. Secondary pain syndromes include reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, pain due to postural disorders, painful dystonia, and rheumatic or pseudorheumatic manifestations. The treatment of Parkinson's disease-associated pain remains poorly standardized. A better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved would probably lead to therapeutic improvements.
UNLABELLED:Psoriatic arthritis probably owes to its radioclinical presentation its position as the most controversial and poorly understood of all major chronic inflammatory joint diseases. Differentiating psoriatic arthritis from ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis remains difficult.OBJECTIVE:To conduct a statistical analysis aimed at identifying clinical, radiological, and laboratory criteria for classifying psoriatic arthritis.PATIENTS AND METHODS:260 patients were studied retrospectively, including 100 cases with psoriatic arthritis and 160 controls with ankylosing spondylitis meeting Amor's criteria (n = 80) or with rheumatoid arthritis meeting American College of Rheumatology criteria (n = 80). Mean disease duration was five years. Thirty-nine variables were recorded for each patient. Multiple logistic regression and discriminant analysis were used to select the classification criteria.RESULTS:Each of the two statistical methods selected the same nine criteria. After assigning a weighting coefficient to each of these criteria, sensitivity and specificity were better with the multiple logistic regression model (95% and 98%, respectively) than with the discriminant analysis model.CONCLUSION:Our classification criteria require further evaluation in multicenter prospective studies.
OBJECTIVE:To demonstrate the contribution of magnetic resonance imaging to the elucidation of mechanisms involved in "osteonecrosis-like syndrome of the medial tibial plateau".PATIENTS AND METHODS:A magnetic resonance study with sagittal and coronal sections was done in 13 patients (age range, 57-95 years) two weeks to four months into a painful syndrome meeting the definition of "osteonecrosis-like syndrome of the medial tibial plateau". Gadolinium injection was used in nine patients. Clinical symptoms resolved within a few weeks in all 13 cases.RESULTS:T1-weighted images without gadolinium showed diffuse low signal from the epiphysis (n = 12) containing an area of even lower signal seen either as a crescent-shaped subchondral image (n = 3/12) or as a linear image (n = 9/12). On postgadolinium images, the low signal was abolished except for a line of low signal parallel to the subchondral bone. T2-weighted images demonstrated diffuse high signal from the medial tibial plateau with persistence of the line of low signal (n = 8/12).CONCLUSION:Magnetic resonance imaging allows to analyze the anatomic lesion responsible for "osteonecrosis-like syndrome of the medial tibial plateau". Our magnetic resonance findings were similar to those seen in stress fractures at other sites.
Lipoma arborescens is a rare intraarticular lesion characterized by diffuse replacement of the subsynovial tissue by mature fat cells, producing villous transformation of the synovium. The etiology of this benign condition is unknown. The most typical site of involvement is the knee, most notably at the suprapatellar pouch, although other joints can be affected. Symptoms consist of gradual joint swelling, variable pain, motion range restriction, and intermittent joint effusions or bleeding. We report a case of lipoma arborescens and discuss the clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of this disorder based on a literature review. Although it is rare, lipoma arborescens should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with chronic joint swelling or hemarthrosis.
