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Objectives: We compare the symptomatic effects of 300 or 600 mg daily of ASU in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: A multicenter, double blind, study comparing a daily intake of 300 mg or 600 mg of ASU and placebo. The study lasted 3 months and involved patients of both genders, aged 45 to 80 years and presenting with femoro-tibial knee osteoarthritis. The primary endpoint was NSAIDs and analgesics intake between D30 and D90. Results: All efficacy parameters were significantly improved (p< 0.01), in the two ASU groups compared to the placebo group. At D90, NSAIDs and analgesics intake decreased by more than 50% in 71% of the patients receiving ASU 300 mg or 600 mg, compared to 36% of the patients receiving placebo. From D0 to D90 Lequesne's index dropped by 3.9 and 2.9 points in ASU 300 mg and 600 mg groups, respectively, against 1.6 in those receiving placebo. Conclusion: The efficacy of ASU at a dosage of 300 mg/day and 600 mg/day was consistently superior to that of placebo at all endpoints...

Background: Activated lymphocytes are considered to play a pathogenic role in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), although only a limited fraction of the gut-residing lymphocytes in these diseases may be pathogenetically involved, due to active recruitment from the peripheral circulation. Our aim was to characterize in situ preactivated lymphocytes in inflammatory bowel disease mucosa by expansion with interleukin-2. Methods: Flow cytometry was performed on T cells expanded from the colon of patients with CD (7), UC (16), and controls (20), with special reference to T-cell activation markers and adhesion molecules. Results: In CD a decrease in alpha 4 beta 7 integrin expression was associated with an increase in alpha E beta 7. In UC a similar increase in alpha E beta 7 was observed. Moreover, L-selectin and CD30 were overexpressed on T helper cells in UC versus CD. Conclusion: These findings indicate different immunopathogenic pathways for CD and UC.

Thirty patients with acute bacterial infection of a peripheral joint were treated with intravenous antibiotics, daily closed needle aspiration and early mobilization therapy. Joint mobility, expressed as a percentage of normal mobility, was evaluated at the end of the recon- valescence period and again after 42 to 65 months (mean: 50 months). The functional outcome was excellent and joint mobility normal in 2/3 of the cases as revealed by the short-and long-term evaluation results. Factors that affected joint mobility were: delayed treatment, joint disorders prior to treatment, and ease of access to the joint for needle aspiration. Poor results were found in the presence of hip infections. In the long term, deterioration of joint mobility can occur in the same aggravating conditions. Treatment of septic arthritis with daily needle aspiration and early mobilization gave very good functional results.