This is the first Canadian case of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection reported in a traveller returning from the Caribbean. Following multiple mosquito bites in Martinique Island in January 2014, the patient presented with high fever, headaches, arthralgia on both hands and feet, and a rash on the trunk upon his return to Canada. Initial serological testing for dengue virus infection was negat...

RATIONALE Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP) is a rare hereditary disorder that affects the skin and bones. PDP is characterized by periostosis, digital clubbing, and pachydermia. Previous studies demonstrated that increased prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels resulting from defective protein degradation pathways play a crucial role in PDP pathogenesis, and males were more commonly and severely affected th...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore symptoms and symptom development during the earliest phases of RA in patients with seropositive arthralgia and patients newly diagnosed with RA. METHODS Interviews were conducted with 15 seropositive patients (anti-CCP positive, and often with arthralgia) and 11 newly presenting RA patients [classified according to the 2010 ACR/European League Ag...

BACKGROUND Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and related arboviruses have been responsible for large epidemic outbreaks with serious economic and social impact. Although infected individuals clear the virus from the blood, some develop debilitating and prolonged arthralgia. METHODS We investigated specificity and strength of antibody responses in a longitudinal study on CHIKV-infected patients and an...

Pyoderma gangrenosum is strongly associated with inflammatory bowel disease and exhibits pathergy, occurring at sites ofprevious minor trauma. A patient is presented with a 21 year history of extensive ulcerative colitis, who developed pyoderma gangrenosum and arthralgia while receiving high dose corticosteroids for active ulcerative colitis. The arthralgia exhibited pathergy affecting particul...

Early initiation of treatment in patients with inflammatory arthritis at risk of persistence and/or erosive progression is important because it is associated with a reduced rate of progression of joint damage and functional disability. It has been proposed that a window of opportunity exists, during which disease processes are less matured and disease modification can be more effective. The pha...

OBJECTIVES Arthropathy, particularly synovial inflammation in SSc, is not well characterized. We explored the role of MRI and musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) in detecting and characterizing synovial inflammation in SSc patients with arthralgia while comparing the two imaging modalities. METHODS Seventeen SSc patients with arthralgia and no overt inflammatory arthritis had a baseline MS...

BACKGROUND Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection induces arthralgia. The involvement of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines has been suggested, but very little is known about their secretion profile in CHIKV-infected patients. METHODS A case-control longitudinal study was performed that involved 30 adult patients with laboratory-confirmed Chikungunya fever. Their profiles of clinical disease,...

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are the standard of care for postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the occurrence of menopausal symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving the AI therapy. Patients treated with AIs had an increased risk of all-grade arthralgia (1.63 [95% CI: 1.34-1.98]) and insomnia (1.24 [95% CI: 1.14-1.34...

Pyoderma gangrenosum is strongly associated with inflammatory bowel disease and exhibits pathergy, occurring at sites ofprevious minor trauma. A patient is presented with a 21 year history of extensive ulcerative colitis, who developed pyoderma gangrenosum and arthralgia while receiving high dose corticosteroids for active ulcerative colitis. The arthralgia exhibited pathergy affecting particul...