Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease with unidentified etiology. We hypothesized that T cell activation in the rheumatoid synovium might be responsible for the induction of increased expression of soluble interleukin 2 receptor (sIL2R). Objectives: To evaluate in RA whether T cell activation, as reflected by levels of sIL2R was associated with the disease...

The present study aimed to investigate the generic organization of research article introductions in local Iranian and international journals in English for Specific Purposes, English for General Purposes, and Discourse Analysis. Overall, 120 published articles were selected from the established journals representing the above subdisciplines. Each subdiscipline was represented by 20 local and 2...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cardiovascular comorbidities, including hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes, in Taiwanese patients based on the data from medical records. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective study was performed using the computerized medical records from a regional hospital located in southern Taiwan. A total of 2293 patient...

OBJECTIVE To explore the experiences, coping styles, and support preferences of male rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS Six focus groups comprised 22 men with RA. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS Three overarching themes describe the experiences, coping styles, and support preferences of men with RA. In "challenges to masculinity," the men descri...

Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) and rheumatoid factors (RFs) have been demonstrated to predate the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by years. A nested case-control study was performed within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease study cohort to analyse the presence of shared epitope (SE) genes, defined as HLA-DRB1*0404 or DRB1*0401, and of anti-CCP antibodies and RFs in...

The effect of geometrical parameters involved in vortex extrusion (VE) die design, on AA1050 aluminium alloy processed by VE were investigated using finite element analysis (FEA) and response surface methodology (RSM). For this, VE die length (L), reduction in area (RA), twist angle , and position of control points in Beziers' formulation (C1) were considered as input parameters and strain inho...

The present study is the first report of the radiomodulatory effects of Psoralea corylifolia Linn. The extract (IBG-RA-26) prepared from P. corylifolia was chemically analysed by HPLC, LC-MS/MS and NMR. The total polyphenolic content of IBG-RA-26 was 0.287 mg/ml of quercetin equivalents. IBG-RA-26 exhibited a dose-dependent increase in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging act...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune disease that, in addition to causing joint damage, is associated with pain, fatigue, disability and functional loss, which can substantially decrease a patient's quality of life (QoL). Along with improvements in signs and symptoms, QoL benefits have become increasingly important in optimizing treatment outcomes in RA. Measurements ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the incidence of early arthritis (EA) and of RA in adults (>16 yrs) in Spain. METHODS Primary care physicians were instructed in the detection of new cases using a checklist. All cases were evaluated at EA units (EAUs) within 15 days of detection. ACR criteria for the classification of RA were assessed every 6 months thereafter. RESULTS In an area covering 4,342,378 in...