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Although relatively unknown, a formal role has been devised for non-governmental organisations and National Human Rights Institutions in the execution process of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. By virtue of Rule 9 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers, ngos and nhris are empowered to be involved in this process by submitting written Communications for consideration by the Committee of Ministers. This exploratory research identifies the role ngos and nhris play through Rule 9, and demonstrates the added value of involving these actors in this respect. As such, this article provides a first inventory and exploration of these Rule 9 Communications, detailing the extent to which Rule 9 is made use of, by whom, in what way and, finally, whether these Communications (visibly) play a role in the supervision process. Combined, this reveals that ngos and nhris use Rule 9 to review, assess and report on the performance of domestic authorities with regard to the execution of judgments of the ECtHR. In doing so, they appear to act as an amicus in the execution process, by providing valuable observations at the echr level and, as such, it is argued that their participation is a welcome one.

WOS: 000432474100200 …

PubMedID: 29051974 Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autoinflammatory disease manifested by inflammatory attacks of peritonitis, pleuritis, pericarditis accompanied by fever and arthritis. Mutations of MEFV gene results in pyrin dysfunction, which causes uncontrolled interleukin-1 beta production and triggers the inflammatory attacks. Inflammation persists even during attack-free periods in one-third of the FMF patients. Findings of elevated proinflammatory cytokine patterns during remission as well as inflammatory attacks indicate the continuous subclinical disease activity and inflammation. Chronic inflammation was thought to be related to the cardiovascular risk in FMF patients. Main cardiac manifestations reported in FMF are pericarditis, idiopathic recurrent pericarditis, pericardiac tamponade, coronary heart disease and abnormal cardiovascular reactivity. Cardiac involvement in FMF may often be related to secondary AA amyloidosis. Deposition of amyloid may lead to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in FMF patients. Associations of several vasculitic disorders such as Immunoglobulin A-associated vasculitis, polyarteritis nodosa and Behcet’s disease are common in FMF. Appropriate prophylactic treatment with colchicine is recommended to prevent from cardiovascular risks. For those resistant to colchicine, IL-1 inhibitor agents can be used. Associated vasculitis should be treated with immunosuppressive agents. This review article aims to compile information about cardiac disease in FMF and refer to recent studies on the topic. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.

Patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) may go undiagnosed or be misclassified due to the insidious nature and wide spectrum of the disease. The available several classification criteria emphasize glandular findings. We aimed to analyze the efficiency of various classification criteria sets in patients diagnosed on the clinical basis by expert opinion and to compare those pSS patients who fulfilled these criteria with those who did not. This is a multicenter study in which 834 patients from 22 university-based rheumatology clinics are included. Diagnosis of pSS was made on the clinical basis by the expert opinion. In this study, we only interviewed patients once and collected available data from the medical records. The European criteria, American-European Consensus Group (AECG) and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Sjogren’s criteria were applied. Majority of the patients were women (F/M was 20/1). The median duration from the first pSS-related symptom to diagnosis was significantly shorter in men (2.5 ± 2.3 vs 4.3 ± 5.9 years) (p = 0 < 0.016). When the European, AECG and ACR Sjogren’s criteria were applied, 666 patients (79.9%) satisfied at least one of them. In total, 539 patients (64.4%) satisfied the European, 439 (52.6%) satisfied the AECG, and 359 (43%) satisfied the ACR criteria. Among the entire group, 250 patients (29.9%) satisfied all and 168 (20.1%) met none of the criteria. The rates of extraglandular organ involvements were not different between patients who met at least one of the criteria sets and those who met none. There is an urgent need for the modification of the pSS criteria sets to prevent exclusion of patients with extraglandular involvements as the dominant clinical features. © 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) may go undiagnosed or be misclassified due to the insidious nature and wide spectrum of the disease. The available several classification criteria emphasize glandular findings. We aimed to analyze the efficiency of various classification criteria sets in patients diagnosed on the clinical basis by expert opinion and to compare those pSS patients who fulfilled these criteria with those who did not. This is a multicenter study in which 834 patients from 22 university-based rheumatology clinics are included. Diagnosis of pSS was made on the clinical basis by the expert opinion. In this study, we only interviewed patients once and collected available data from the medical records. The European criteria, American-European Consensus Group (AECG) and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Sjogren's criteria were applied. Majority of the patients were women (F/M was 20/1). The median duration from the first pSS-related symptom to diagnosis was significantly shorter in men (2.5 +/- 2.3 vs 4.3 +/- 5.9 years) (p = 0 < 0.016). When the European, AECG and ACR Sjogren's criteria were applied, 666 patients (79.9%) satisfied at least one of them. In total, 539 patients (64.4%) satisfied the European, 439 (52.6%) satisfied the AECG, and 359 (43%) satisfied the ACR criteria. Among the entire group, 250 patients (29.9%) satisfied all and 168 (20.1%) met none of the criteria. The rates of extraglandular organ involvements were not different between patients who met at least one of the criteria sets and those who met none. There is an urgent need for the modification of the pSS criteria sets to prevent exclusion of patients with extraglandular involvements as the dominant clinical features.

Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) -- JUN 08-11, 2016 -- London, ENGLAND WOS: 000401523103006 …

Background: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare condition, and treatment choices are frequently dependent on expert opinions. The objectives of the present study were to assess treatment modalities, disease course, and the factors influencing the outcome of patients with AOSD. Methods: A multicenter study was used to reach sufficient patient numbers. The diagnosis of AOSD was based on the Yamaguchi criteria. The data collected included patient age, gender, age at the time of diagnosis, delay time for the diagnosis, typical AOSD rash, arthralgia, arthritis, myalgia, sore throat, lymphadenopathy, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, pleuritic, pericarditis, and other rare findings. The laboratory findings of the patients were also recorded. The drugs initiated after the establishment of a diagnosis and the induction of remission with the first treatment was recorded. Disease patterns and related factors were also investigated. A multivariate analysis was performed to assess the factors related to remission. Results: The initial data of 356 patients (210 females; 59%) from 19 centers were evaluated. The median age at onset was 32 (16-88) years, and the median follow-up time was 22 months (0-180). Fever (95.8%), arthralgia (94.9%), typical AOSD rash (66.9%), arthritis (64.6%), sore throat (63.5%), and myalgia (52.8%) were the most frequent clinical features. It was found that 254 of the 306 patients (83.0%) displayed remission with the initial treatment, including corticosteroids plus methotrexate with or without other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. The multivariate analysis revealed that the male sex, delayed diagnosis of more than 6 months, failure to achieve remission with initial treatment, and arthritis involving wrist/elbow joints were related to the chronic disease course. Conclusion: Induction of remission with initial treatment was achieved in the majority of AOSD patients. Failure to achieve remission with initial treatment as well as a delayed diagnosis implicated a chronic disease course in AOSD. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

41st FEBS Congress on Molecular and Systems Biology for a Better Life -- SEP 03-08, 2016 -- Kusadasi, TURKEY WOS: 000383616901522 … FEBS

Objective. Takayasu arteritis is a rare large vessel vasculitis with incompletely understood etiology. This study was undertaken to perform the first unbiased genome-wide association analysis of Takayasu arteritis. Methods. Two independent cohorts of patients with Takayasu arteritis from Turkey and North America were included in our study. The Turkish cohort consisted of 559 patients and 489 controls, and the North American cohort consisted of 134 patients and 1,047 controls of European ancestry. Genotyping was performed using the Omni1-Quad and Omni2.5 genotyping arrays. Genotyping data were subjected to rigorous quality control measures and subsequently analyzed to discover genetic susceptibility loci for Takayasu arteritis. Results. We identified genetic susceptibility loci for Takayasu arteritis with a genome-wide level of significance in IL6 (rs2069837) (odds ratio [OR] 2.07, P = 6.70 x 10(-9)), RPS9/LILRB3 (rs11666543) (OR 1.65, P = 2.34 x 10(-8)), and an intergenic locus on chromosome 21q22 (rs2836878) (OR 1.79, P = 3.62 x 10(-10)). The genetic susceptibility locus in RPS9/LILRB3 lies within the leukocyte receptor complex gene cluster on chromosome 19q13.4, and the disease risk variant in this locus correlates with reduced expression of multiple genes including the inhibitory leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor gene LILRB3 (P = 2.29 x 10(-8)). In addition, we identified candidate susceptibility genes with suggestive levels of association (P < 1 x 10(-5)) with Takayasu arteritis, including PCSK5, LILRA3, PPM1G/NRBP1, and PTK2B. Conclusion. Our findings indicate novel genetic susceptibility loci for Takayasu arteritis and uncover potentially important aspects of the pathophysiology of this form of vasculitis.

Vascular involvement is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in Behcet disease (BD). There are no controlled studies for the management of vascular BD (VBD), and according to the EULAR recommendations, only immunosuppressive (IS) agents are recommended. In this study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic approaches chosen by Turkish physicians during the initial event and relapses of VBD and the association of different treatment options with the relapses retrospectively. Patients with BD (n-936, female/male: 347/589, mean age: 37.6 ± 10.8) classified according to ISG criteria from 15 rheumatology centers in Turkey were included. The demographic data, clinical characteristics of the first vascular event and relapses, treatment protocols, and data about complications were acquired. VBD was observed in 27.7% (n - 260) of the patients during followup. In 57.3% of the VBD patients, vascular involvement was the presenting sign of the disease. After the first vascular event, ISs were given to 88.8% and AC treatment to 59.8% of the patients. Median duration of AC treatment was 13 months (1-204) and ISs, 22 months (1-204). Minor hemorrhage related to AC treatment was observed in 7 (4.7%) patients. Asecond vascular event developed in 32.9% (n=86) of the patients. The vascular relapse rate was similar between patients taking only ISs and AC plus IS treatments after the first vascular event (29.1% vs 22.4%, P=0.28) and was significantly higher in group taking only ACs than taking only ISs (91.6% vs 29.1%, P

Vascular involvement is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity in Behcet disease (BD). There are no controlled studies for the management of vascular BD (VBD), and according to the EULAR recommendations, only immunosuppressive (IS) agents are recommended. In this study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic approaches chosen by Turkish physicians during the initial event and relapses of VBD and the association of different treatment options with the relapses retrospectively. Patients with BD (n = 936, female/male: 347/589, mean age: 37.6 +/- 10.8) classified according to ISG criteria from 15 rheumatology centers in Turkey were included. The demographic data, clinical characteristics of the first vascular event and relapses, treatment protocols, and data about complications were acquired.

WOS: 000215799103058 …

PubMedID: 25582053 Complement-mediated humoral rejection has become the main focus of research in organ transplantation. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association of the complement C5aR gene 450 C/T polymorphism in antibody-mediated renal allograft rejection. This polymorphism was investigated in 290 first deceased donor kidney graft recipients with well functioning grafts and no rejection treatment during the first transplant year (WFG), 265 recipients with graft failure within the first transplant year (F), and 187 healthy controls. Frequency of the 450 CT genotype was lower in the total population of 555 kidney recipients (4.7%) than in 187 healthy controls (8.6%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.065). A significantly higher frequency of CT genotype was found in F patients (CT: 6.8%) when compared to WFG patients (CT: 2.8%, P=0.027). The CT genotype was also significantly lower in WFG patients than in healthy controls (P=0.009). Low frequency of the C5aR 450 CT genotype, which apparently is a feature of certain kidney diseases, appears to be associated with good graft outcome in kidney transplantation and might be helpful for identifying recipients who are at low risk for graft rejection. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: GZ:446TUR112/8/05

PubMedID: 23517396 Background: Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) is a matrix protein of eosinophils and has been reported to reflect eosinophil activity. Few studies have examined the role of eosinophils in the pathogenesis of Behçet's disease. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the serum ECP levels in BD and its relation to clinical activity. Methods: Forty-seven consecutive patients with BD (22 active, 25 inactive), 21 age and sex matched patients with allergic rhinitis and 21 healthy controls were evaluated cross-sectionally. The serum ECP levels were measured by the flourescein enzyme immunoassay method. Results: Mean serum ECP levels of active patients with BD (34.28 ± 23.43 µg/L) were found to be significantly lower than those of the inactive patients (65.69 ± 46.32 µg/L, p

Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) -- JUN 12-15, 2013 -- Madrid, SPAIN WOS: 000331587904421 …

PubMedID: 22842809 Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a chronic granulomatous panarteritis, predominantly affecting the aorta and its main branches. Infections, genetic factors as suggested by familial clustering, and autoimmunity may play a role in its pathogenesis. In this report, we describe familial TA in a mother and daughter with diverse clinical manifestations. In addition to being a familial form of vasculitis, both of our cases demonstrated amyloidosis, chronic renal disease thought to be due to ischemic nephropathy, and hypertensive nephrosclerosis. © 2012 Urban & Vogel, Muenchen.

PubMedID: 22546069 Objectives: To determine the direct and indirect costs due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients in Turkey. Methods: An expert panel was convened to estimate the direct and indirect costs of care of patients with RA and AS in Turkey. The panel was composed of 22 experts chosen from all national tertiary care rheumatology units (n=53). To calculate direct costs, the medical management of RA and AS patients was estimated using "cost-of-illness" methodology. To measure indirect costs, the number of days of sick leave, the extent of disability, and the levels of early retirement and early death were also evaluated. Lost productivity costs were calculated using the "human capital approach", based on the minimum wage. Results: The total annual direct costs were 2,917.03 Euros per RA patient and 3,565.9 Euros for each AS patient. The direct costs were thus substantial, but the indirect costs were much higher because of extensive morbidity and mortality rates. The total annual indirect costs were 7,058.99 Euros per RA patient and 6,989.81 for each AS patient. Thus, the total cost for each RA patient was 9,976.01 Euros and that for an AS patient 10,555.72 Euros, in Turkey. Conclusion: From the societal perspective, both RA and AS have become burden in Turkey. The cost of lost productivity is higher than the medical cost. Another important conclusion is that indirect costs constitute 70% and 66% of total costs in patients with RA and AS, respectively. © Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2012.

PubMedID: 22246419 Hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome (HIDS) is one of the autoinflammatory syndromes which are characterized by febrile attacks. Duration and frequency of the febrile attacks, as well as typical organ involvements vary greatly. Recently, it is possible to reach more reliable data by the possibilities that are opened up by molecular genetics in order to highlight the aetiopathogenesis of this group of diseases. Typical patients with HIDS have an onset of disease in the first year of life. Here, we report four Turkish HIDS cases; three of whom, the symptoms started at a later age. The diagnoses were made by relevant clinical symptoms along with MVK mutations detected by DNA sequencing method. As summarised in this article, HIDS could be presented with a broad spectrum of symptoms. Although most of the HIDS patients are reported from Europe and especially Dutch ancestry, case reports are presented from all over the world. For this reason, HIDS should be kept in mind for the differential diagnosis of periodic fever syndromes or before accepting an FMF patient as colchichine resistant. We suppose that the phenomenon of "later-onset HIDS" should shed light into unresolved clinical problems of patients with periodic fever. Especially in countries that FMF is more frequent such as Turkey, even though the symptoms start later than classic cases, HIDS should be kept in mind for differential diagnosis of periodic fever syndromes. © Clinical Rheumatology 2012.

PubMedID: 22766250 Objective: Various cancer studies have suggested that polymorphism of GSTM1 may influence the ability to detoxify chemicals in cigarette smoke. In the present study the effect of smoking on clinical features of Behçet's disease were investigated in patients having GST-M1 and/or -T1 null polymorphisms. Methods: Ninety-seven patients meeting International Study Group Criteria for Behçet' Disease (63 male, 34 female) and 172 healthy controls (94 male, 78 female) were included into the study. GST-M1 and -T1 polymorphisms were investigated using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Results: Frequency of GSTM1- and/or GSTT1-null polymorphisms were comparable between the Behçet and the control groups. Smoking patients with GSTM1 null-polymorphism have decreased risk of developing papulopustuler lesions (OR=0.227 [0.063-0.818], ?2=5.463, p=0.019). Non-smoking patients with GSTM1 null-polymorphism has increased risk for having chronic arthritis (OR=5.988 [0.845-43.478]) but smoking patients with GSTM1 nullpolymorphism have decreased risk (OR=0.741 [0.593-0.926]). GSTT1 null-polymorphism is associated with the presence of venous insufficiency (?2=6.273, p=0.012, OR=2.740 [1.224- 6.135]); smoking further increases the risk (?2=7.840, OR=3.333 [1.412- 7.874], p=0.005). GSTM1 null-polymorphism seemed to effect development of large vessel vasculitis (OR=1.158 [0.981-1.367], ?2=4.760, p=0.029). Male smoker Behçet patients even have more risk (OR=1.250 [0.971-1.610]). Conclusion: Several manifestations of Behçet's disease may be influenced by smoking, and this effect can be augmented in patients carrying GST gene polymorphism, which code enzymes crucial for the detoxification of chemicals. © Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2012.

To determine the direct and indirect costs due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients in Turkey.An expert panel was convened to estimate the direct and indirect costs of care of patients with RA and AS in Turkey. The panel was composed of 22 experts chosen from all national tertiary care rheumatology units (n=53). To calculate direct costs, the medical management of RA and AS patients was estimated using 'cost-of-illness' methodology. To measure indirect costs, the number of days of sick leave, the extent of disability, and the levels of early retirement and early death were also evaluated. Lost productivity costs were calculated using the 'human capital approach', based on the minimum wage.The total annual direct costs were 2,917.03 Euros per RA patient and 3,565.9 Euros for each AS patient. The direct costs were thus substantial, but the indirect costs were much higher because of extensive morbidity and mortality rates. The total annual indirect costs were 7,058.99 Euros per RA patient and 6,989.81 for each AS patient. Thus, the total cost for each RA patient was 9,976.01 Euros and that for an AS patient 10,555.72 Euros, in Turkey.From the societal perspective, both RA and AS have become burden in Turkey. The cost of lost productivity is higher than the medical cost. Another important conclusion is that indirect costs constitute 70% and 66% of total costs in patients with RA and AS, respectively.

/ Antineutrophil cytoplasmin antibodies are defined as cytoplasmin (c-ANCA) and perinuc¬lear (p-ANCA) with respect to microccopic apperance in indirect immunofluorencent assaş which is the gold standard for their detection. They may be seen in other inflam¬matory diseases besides pauci-immune necrotising vasculitides which exhibit a high inci¬dence of positivity. We examined the prevalance of antineutrophil zytoplasmic antibodies in a cohort of 21 FMF patients with acute attack by using indirect flurescent antibody method. There was no positivity among the study group and controls which consisted of 20 healthy volunteers. We found 59% of antibody positivity amonf 22 active lupus patients taken as positive controls. The absolute negativity of ANCA in FMF, an inflamatory disea¬se of unknown etiology, may depend on its paathogenetic diversity from primary necrotising vasculitides and/or the different target tissues of which the disease process is direc¬ted.Anti-nötrofil sitoplazmik antikorlar, belirlenmeleri için en iyi standard olarak kabul edilen immünoiloresan teknikle, mikrospopik görünümlerine göre, sitoplazmik (c-ANCA) ve peri-nükleer (p-ANCA) olmak üzere iki şekilde tanımlanmıştır. Sıklıkla pozitif bulundukları pauci-immün nekrotizan vaskülitler dışında, diğer inflamatuar hastalıklarda görünebilir¬ler. Bu çalışmada, akut hecmede olan 21 FMF'li hastada, indirekt floresan antikor tekni¬ğini kullanarak, anti-nötrofil sitoplazmik antikorların sıklığı araştırılmıştır. Aktif şikaayetleri olan 21 FMFliden oluşan hasta grubu ve 20 sağlıklı gönüllüden oluşan kont¬rol grubunda hiçbir pozitifliğe rastlanamazken, pozitif kontrol olarak alınan 22 aktif lupuslu hastada anti-nötrofil sitoplazmik antikorların oranı %59 bulunmuştur. Elde edilen veriler henüz sebebi bilinmeyen inflamatuar bir hastalık olan FMF'de mutlak ANCA negatifliğinin, patogenezinin primer nekrotizan vaskülitlerden tamamen farklı bir mekanizma ile oluşmasına ve/veya patogenezin yöneldiği hedefin farklılığına bağlı olabileceğini dü¬şünmektedir.

PubMedID: 15643295 Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease that is prevalent among eastern Mediterranean populations, mainly non-Ashkenazi Jews, Armenians, Turks, and Arabs. Since a large proportion of all the FMF patients in the world live in Turkey, the Turkish FMF Study Group (FMF-TR) was founded to develop a patient registry database and analyze demographic, clinical, and genetic features. The cohort was composed of 2838 patients (mean age, 23.0 ± 13.33 yr; range, 2-87 yr), with a male:female ratio of 1.2:1. There was a mean period of 6.9 ± 7.65 years from disease onset to diagnosis; the period was about 2 years shorter for each decade since 1981. Ninety-four percent of patients were living in the central-western parts of the country; however, their familial origins (70% from the central-eastern and Black Sea regions) reflected not only the ongoing east to west migration, but also the historical roots of FMF in Turkey. Patients' clinical features included peritonitis (93.7%), fever (92.5%), arthritis (47.4%), pleuritis (31.2%), myalgia (39.6%), and erysipelas-like erythema (20.9%). Arthritis, arthralgia, myalgia, and erysipelas-like erythema were significantly more frequent (p < 0.001) among patients with disease onset before the age of 18 years. Genetic analysis of 1090 patients revealed that M694V was the most frequent mutation (51.4%), followed by M680I (14.4%) and V726A (8.6%). Patients with the M694V/M694V genotype were found to have an earlier age of onset and higher frequencies of arthritis and arthralgia compared with the other groups (both p < 0.001). In contrast to other reported studies, there was no correlation between amyloidosis and M694V homozygosity in this cohort. However, amyloidosis was still remarkably frequent in our patients (12.9%), and it was prevalent (27.8%) even among the 18 patients with a disease onset after age 40 years. Twenty-two patients (0.8%) had nonamyloid glomerular diseases. The high prevalence of vasculitides (0.9% for polyarteritis nodosa and 2.7% for Henoch-Schönlein purpura) and high frequency of pericarditis (1.4%) were striking findings in the cohort. Phenotype II cases (those patients with amyloidosis as the presenting or only manifestation of disease) were rare (0.3% or less). There was a high rate of a past diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever, which suggested a possible misdiagnosis in children with FMF presenting with recurrent arthritis. To our knowledge, this is the largest series of patients with FMF reported from 1 country. We describe the features of the disease in the Turkish population and show that amyloidosis is still a substantial problem.

PubMedID: 16133585 [No abstract available] TF 2001 Acknowledgement This study was funded by Cukurova University Research Foundation project number TF 2001.U12.

Purpose: Increased chromosomal breakage and rearrangements have been reported in cell cultures of blood, skin and aponeurosis in patients with systemic sclerosis (SS). Among the drugs used for SS, d-penicillamine have been shown to increase sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in vitro, whereas there exist no data available to our knowledge for colchicine. Method: SCE frequencies were searched in 27 non-smoking patients with SS (mean age ± SD; 46.0 ± 11.9; 3 males, 24 females) of whom 8 on only colchicine and 10 on only d-penicillamine. In nine patients SCE was also studied after 45 days of colchicines administration as well. Twenty-one non-smoking healthy individuals (mean age ± SD; 34.8 ± 8.2; 4 males, 17 females) were taken as the control group. Results: When patients on d-penicillamine were excluded, SCE values were comparable among the patients with colchicine users (6.24 ± 0.45, n = 8) and non-users (6.22 ± 0.26, n = 8). Similarly when colchicine users were excluded no significant difference was found in SCE values between patients on d-penicillamine (6.08 ± 0.24, n = 10) and patients that were not taking the drug (6.22 ± 0.26, n = 8). Initial SCE values and those after 45 days of colchicine commencement were comparable (n = 9; 6.17 ± 0.24 and 6.30 ± 0.39, respectively). Conclusion: Colchicine and d-penicillamine usage appears not to effect SCE rates in the studied patients with systemic sclerosis.

Annual European Congress of Rheumatology -- 37790 -- LISBON, PORTUGAL WOS: 000224551401120 …