Recommended Reading List
February 2006
Access Instructions:
To access the articles listed in this month’s Recommended Reading List, click on the title to be taken to the journal site or to open the full-text article in a new page.
This month’s ‘must-read’ articles by category
Rheumatoid Arthritis
“Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Four Different Treatment Strategies in Patients with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (the BeSt Study).” Goekoop-Ruiterman YPPM, deVries-Bouwstra JK, Allaart CF, et al. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2005; 52: 3381-3390.
This is a very important study for the advancement of RA care. Edward D. Harris, Jr., MD, George DeForest Barnett Professor of Medicine, emeritus, Academic Secretary, Stanford University, California. Further commentary on this research is available here
Rheumatoid Arthritis
“A New Model for an Etiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis: smoking may trigger HLA-DR (shared epitope)-restricted immune reactions to autoantigens modified by citrullination.” Lars Klareskog et al. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2006; 54: 38-46.
Recommended by Daniel E Furst MD, Carl M Pearson Professor of Rheumatology, University of California at Los Angeles.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
“Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is a Major Mortality Factor in Diffuse Systemic Sclerosis Independent of Interstitial Lung Disease.” Trad S, et al. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2006; 54: 184-191.
Recommended by Daniel E Furst MD, Carl M Pearson Professor of Rheumatology, University of California at Los Angeles.
Spondyloarthropathies
“Infliximab to Etanercept Switch in Patients with Spondyloarthropathies and Psoriatic Arthritis: Preliminary Data.” Delaunay C, Farrenq V, Marini-Portugal A, Cohen JD, Chevalier X, Claudepierre P. Journal of Rheumatology. 2005 Nov; 32(11): 2183-2185.
This is an early paper reporting experience of switching anti-tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-alpha) agent in patients with spondyloarthropathies (SpA). They examined 15 patients with various SpA (seven ankylosing spondylitis, six undifferentiated SpA, two psoriatic arthritis) who showed an inadequate response or an adverse event on infliximab. Eleven of these patients responded to etanercept and none experienced side effects, suggesting that switching between anti-TNF-alpha drugs may be useful for patients with SpA who are unresponsive or intolerant to a first agent.
This issue is particularly clinically important in SpA since, at least for spinal disease in SpA, there are no alternative effective disease modifying therapies. It will be interesting to see whether this strategy of changing agents evolves, in SpA or rheumatoid arthritis, as an increasing number of biologic agents come to the market. Dr Gabrielle Kingsley, Kings College London, Academic Dept of Rheumatology, UK
Ankylosing Spondylitis
“How Early Should Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) be Treated with Tumour Necrosis Factor Blockers?” Sieper J, Rudwaleit M. Annals of Rheumatic Disease. 2005 Nov; 64 Suppl 4: iv61-4.
This review considers the potential benefits of early diagnosis and treatment with tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockers in AS. The authors suggest that AS should be diagnosed much earlier, before radiological changes are evident. They propose that a potential benefit of early diagnosis is that TNF blockers might induce long term remission if given early enough; however, they concede that evidence for this needs to be strengthened and clarified with regard to health economic issues and adverse events. Dr Gabrielle Kingsley, Consultant Rheumatologist, Kings College London, Academic Dept of Rheumatology, UK
Osteoarthritis
“Testing Acupuncture for Osteoarthritis: Pragmatic Trials or Efficacy Studies?” Ernst E. Rheumatology Advance Access published on December 13, 2005, Rheumatology 2006 45: 125.
“Acupuncture for Osteoarthritic Pain: an Observational Study in Routine Care” K. Linde, W. Weidenhammer, A. Streng, A. Hoppe, D. Melchart . Rheumatology Advance Access published on December 20, 2005. Rheumatology 2006 45: 222-227.
The first is an insightful editorial by Edward Ernst, reminding us of the drawbacks of pragmatic trials and allowing us to interpret the second, which at first appears to be a very large and compelling study of acupuncture in osteoarthritis. Dr Fraser Birrell, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
Best Practices
“Joint Aspiration and Injection.” Courtney P, Doherty M. Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology. 2005 Jun;19(3):345-369.
Intra-articular injection of long-acting insoluble corticosteroids produces rapid resolution of inflammation in most injected joints and is a well established procedure in rheumatological practice. This article addresses the indications, technical principals, expected benefits and risks of intra-articular corticosteroid injection. Dr Marcelo Cruz Rezende, Rhuematology and Internal Medicine, Campo Grande, Brazil.
Open Access
Celecoxib
“Tolerability and Adverse Events in Clinical Trials of Celecoxib in Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Information from Company Clinical Trial Reports” R Andrew Moore, Sheena Derry, Geoffrey T Makinson, Henry J McQuay. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006, 8:401 (14 November 2005).
Hip Arthroplasty
“Hip Joint Replacement Surgery for Idiopathic Osteoarthritis Aggregates in Families”
H Bukulmez, AL Matthews, CM Sullivan, C Chen, MJ Kraay, RC Elston, RW Moskowitz, VM Goldberg, ML Warman. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006, 8:R25 doi:10.1186/ar1878.