Objective: to analyze the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the real practice of a rheumatologist in Russia. Subjects and methods. The cross-sectional study included 330 AS patients who had been actively seeking medical advice from rheumatologists during 4 months in 24 cities and towns of the Russian Federation. The therapy performed was studied using the medical history data recorded by physicians in the specially designed clinical chart. Drug intake, its regularity, reasons for discontinuation of medications, and their clinical effect were elucidated in all the patients. The need to intensify the therapy and to use genetically engineered biological agents was determined by disease activity at the time of examination. Results. The medical histories indicated that 62% of the patients received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) regularly, 34% had them periodically, and 4% were not treated; two thirds of the patients took diclofenac, nimesulide, or meloxicam. 33, 14, and 9% of the patients used sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and oral glucocorticosteroids, respectively. Sixty (18%) patients received tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) inhibitors. Different physiotherapeutic methods were used in 30% of cases; only 46% did exercises regularly; as high as 4% of the patients had sanatorium-and-spa treatment. In the physicians' opinion, 81% of the patients needed intensified therapy and 62% did therapy with TNF-α inhibitors. At the same time TNF-α inhibitors were indicated in 38% of the patients according to the ASAS recommendations. Conclusion. In real clinical practice, AS treatment does not always meet the current recommendations: only 62% of the patients received continuous NSAID therapy; disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were frequently used without any indications. 18% of the patients took TNF-α inhibitors and 38% really needed them.

The activity of an inflammatory process, the visceral manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and arterial hypertension (AH) are usually initiators and accelerators of the progression and complicated course of atherosclerosis and the remodeling of the left cardiac chambers (LCC). Objective: to study the pattern and possible pathogenetic aspects of LCC structural and functional changes in patients with RA in view of the clinical and immunological features of the disease and the presence of AH. Subjects and methods. The trial enrolled 103 patients (84 women and 19 men) (mean age 46.3+3.4 years), with the reliable and valid diagnosis of RA (mean duration 8.2+1.6 years). Forty-six patients of them had different systemic manifestations and, by the beginning of a follow-up, AH was verified in 54. All the included patients underwent echocardiographic study to analyze the generally accepted structural and morphological parameters of LCC. Results. The patients with RA as the disease progresses and is concurrent with AH develop LCC structural and functional rearrangement, the major components of which were the development of left ventricular concentric hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction, the hyperkinetic type of hemodynamics, and the spherization of LCC. The findings show that the basis of LCC remodeling in RA is a set of closely related factors, mainly the activity and systemic pattern of rheumatoid arthritis, and AH, which generally allows the LCC structural rearrangement to be regarded as a unique pathological process.

Objective: to evaluate the efficiency of arthroscopic lavage in combination with subsequent injection of hyaluronic acid into the joint cavity at shortand long-term follow-ups. Subjects and methods. Eighty-two patients with knee osteoarthrosis (OA) were examined in accordance with the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Group 1 consisted of 40 patients only after arthroscopic lavage; Group 2 comprised 42 patients who were administered hyaluronic acid after arthroscopic lavage. Clinical evaluation encompassed pain while walking, resting, and moving (by a visual analogue scale), limited ability in covering 100 m (by a 5-point scale), general clinical evaluation (by a 5-point ordinal scale), the presence or absence of pain after 100-m walking, as well as resting pain (its presence or absence). Results. The treatment effect evaluated using different indicators was comparably positive in both groups within 3 months. Following 3 months of therapy, its effect remained stable and even better in Group 2. The latter showed a particularly noticeable superiority a year later. Thus, there were excellent and good results in 88 and 47.5% in Groups 2 and 1, respectively. The clinical symptoms of the disease were absent in 58% in Group 2 and in only 15% in Group 1. Moreover, Group 1 showed worsening and 20% of the patients had no effect. This trend was also seen while evaluating the therapeutic effectiveness in different periods. Thus, after therapy, no substantial difference was found in both groups, but 3 months later this difference was as many as 0.8 scores and a year later Group 2 had many points in its favor (1.2 scores). Conclusion. Arthroscopic lavage followed by the administration of hyaluronic acid makes it possible to prevent the negative effect of a washing liquid on the metabolism and structure of the articular cartilage and to achieve a long-term effect against the major clinical symptoms (joint pain and function) affecting the quality of life. The effect depended on the magnitude of cartilage changes according to arthroscopic data and failed to be related to age and disease duration.

Objective: to study the incidence of osteoporosis (OP) in patients with calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition disease (CPCDD). Subjects and methods. Eighty patients with CPCDD were examined. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the forearm, lumbar spine, and femoral neck was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Laboratory diagnosis involved determination of the blood levels of C-reactive protein, parathyroid hormone, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus and the daily urinary excretion of calcium and phosphates. Results. The patients with OP were significantly older than those with normal BMD and osteopenia. Forearm bones were the most common isolated location of OP and osteopenia. Injuries in the history, traumatic fractures, and the intake of diuretics were somewhat more common in the patients diagnosed with OP. The incidence of hyperparathyroidism did not differ significantly in the groups.

Objective: to estimate the time course of changes in the ultrasound signs of wrist joint synovitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment and to determine whether the progression of joint X-ray changes can be predicted by ultrasonography (USG). Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 46 patients with the diagnosis of RA that met the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria. All the patients were given TCZ during insufficiently effective previous therapy (median DAS28 was 6.7 [range 5.9—7.2]). They were divided into 2 groups: 1) early RA (ERA) with a disease history of less than 2 years (n = 11); 2) RA with a history of over 2 years (n = 35). Hand USG (Voluson-i GE, USA) with a 4—13-MHz linear probe using an energy Doppler (ED) was carried out before and 6 months after therapy. Structural changes were evaluated by hand and foot X-ray study (before and at 12-month follow-up) according to the Sharp method modified by van der Heide. Results. Dynamic evaluation of the ultrasound signs of inflammation indicated a significant reduction in the magnitude of synovitis in accordance with the gray-scale data in both groups and only in the patients with ERA in the ED mode. There was a clear association of the annual increment in joint X-ray changes with the result of estimation of the magnitude of synovitis according to the ED data (r = 0.669; p < 0.01). Conclusion. Wrist joint sonography allows evaluation of the efficiency of the performed therapy in patients with RA and the presence of moderate or severe synovitis, as evidenced by ED, is a predictor for the progression of joint destruction.

The paper presents the results of an open-label nonrandomized prospective trial, the purpose of which was to evaluate the efficiency and safety of etanercept (ETC) treatment for different forms and variants of active juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in real clinical practice. The trial included 24 patients with JIA. ETC treatment proved to be effective in most patients with a long disease history and a high clinical and laboratory activity who were refractory to conventional antirheumatic therapy. ETC therapy was most effective in patients with the articular form of the disease who showed 100% improvement in at least ACRpedi30 criteria at 6 months of treatment.

Objective: to analyze the efficacy of rituximab (RTM) in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) resistant to conventional therapy. Subjects and methods. The trial enrolled 10 male patients with the reliable and valid diagnosis of AS who received therapy with RTM used in cases of steadily high AS activity, resistance to standard therapy, and contraindications to the use of tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors. The number of patients meeting the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria for 20% improvements 24 weeks after treatment initiation was the main indicator of therapeutic effectiveness. Results. After 24-week therapy, 7 and 4 of the 10 patients showed 20 and 40% improvements, respectively; and 2 patients had partial remission according to the ASAS criteria. During the treatment, the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) significantly decreased (p = 0.046), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) remained substantially unchanged. Treatment response did not depend on the development of an early (at 2 weeks) complete depletion of CD20 lymphocytes. No significant effect could be achieved in patients with high baseline BASDAI and BASFI scores. Conclusion. RTM used patients with AS can ensure clinical improvement and even remission in a number of cases; however, it is unpromising in cases of high disease activity and severe functional failure.