BACKGROUND: A wide variety of clinically significant interactions occur between neoplastic and rheumatic diseases, and many are clinically significant. METHODS: The types of interactions between rheumatologic and neoplastic diseases and their clinical manifestations are reviewed and described. RESULTS: Several diseases included in the classic definition of rheumatology are associated with an in...

Many of the chronic inflammatory and degenerative disorders that present to clinical rheumatologists have a complex genetic aetiology. Over the past decade a dramatic improvement in technology and methodology has accelerated the pace of gene discovery in complex disorders in an exponential fashion. In this review, we focus on rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and ankylosing spo...

The relative prevalence and clinical pattern of the major rheumatic diseases in the patient population of a teaching hospital in Jamaica were studied over the 3-year period 1974--7. The prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus approached that of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). All grades of severity of RA were seen, and there was an unusually high proportion of females with RA. Rheumatic fever and...

In the developing countries of the world, rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease remain significant medical and public health problems

JUSTIFICATION Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic chronic valvular heart disease is an important preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in suburban and rural India. Its diagnosis is based on clinical criteria. These criteria need verification and revision in the Indian context. Furthermore, there are glaring differences in management protocols available in literature. These facts prompted...

One in seven of the population suffers from a sig­ nificant rheumatic disease. This accounts for one third of all severely disabled people in the coun­ try. Many of the disabling systemic forms of arthritis are painful, debilitating, life altering and incurable. Disease management attempts to control the inflammatory process, relieve pain, prevent joint destruction and deformity and minimise ph...

Certain factors of climate are favorable to streptococcus respiratory diseases. In those tropical environments where hemolytic streptococcus is unusual in the throat flora, scarlet fever is unknown and rheumatic fever rare. In New York City, however, following epidemic waves of pharyngitis with hemolytic streptococcus the incidence of rheumatic fever rises precipitously. The correlation between...

Rheumatic heart disease is still a relevant problem in children, adolescents and young adults. Molecular mimicry between streptococcal and human proteins has been proposed as the triggering factor leading to autoimmunity and tissue damage in rheumatic heart disease. Despite the widespread application of Jones' criteria, carditis is either underdiagnosed or overdiagnosed. Endocarditis leading to...

Although once rheumatic fever and its consequences were the major cause of valvular heart disease in the developed world, this disease has become exceedingly rare today. As a consequence, mitral stenosis (MS), which is usually caused by rheumatic fever, has also become rare. In fact, MS is most commonly found in the United States in patients who have emigrated here from areas where rheumatic fe...

The infrequent association of bacterial endocarditis with auricular fibrillation and with severe mitral stenosis is noted. The relevant literature is reviewed. Eighty-two cases of bacterial endocarditis superimposed on rheumatic heart disease and 47 examples of bacterial endocarditis without underlying rheumatic valvulitis are studied. Auricular fibrillation and severe mitral stenosis occurred ...