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Aim. To compare the clinical manifestations of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nrAxSpA). Subjects and methods. A Moscow early spondyloarthritis cohort has now included 132 patients with axial spondyloarthritis, of whom 69 patients who have been followed up at least 12 months are to be involved in a preliminary analysis. The mean age at the time of inclusion in the study was 28.1±5.5 years; the mean disease duration was 24.7±15.8 months; 63 (91.3%) patients were HLA-B27 positive; 41 and 28 included patients were diagnosed with AS and nrAxSpA, respectively. Results. Men were significantly more in the AS group than in the nrAxSpA group (58.5 and 32.1%, respectively; p=0.05). The patients of the two groups did not differ in main clinical parameters (the presence of arthritis and enthesitis), disease activity (BASDAI, ASDAS-CRP) and functional status (BASFI). All indicators of inflammatory activity decreased nearly 2-fold in both groups after 12 months of follow up. In 7 (25%) patients with nrAxSpA, radiologically detectable sacroiliitis (SI) developed over 12 months and the diagnosis of AS was verified. Among them, 2 (28.5%) patients had initially active SI detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); 4 (57.1%) had chronic SI, and 1 (14.4%) had no pathological MRI changes. Conclusion. Due to the fact that the clinical manifestations of AS and nrAxSpA are comparable, it can be assumed that the latter is an early stage of AS.

The paper reviews investigations studies that have demonstrated that chronic pain syndrome is mixed in rheumatic diseases. The nervous system is involved in its pathogenesis with different frequency and different mechanisms. Under the influence of afferent pain impulses from damaged joints, there are changes in the excitability of spinal cord neurons, which is called central sensitization (CS). A number of patients have enhanced CS and clinical manifestations as neuropathic sensitive phenomena. The mixed model of the development of chronic pain in joint diseases and its presence along with nociceptive (inflammatory) and neuropathic pain components may explain the discrepancy between joint inflammatory and structural changes and pain intensity, the presence of distant pain and sensitive disorders in the areas outside the joint, and sometimes the efficiency of anti-inflammatory therapy. The presence of the neuropathic pain component serves as a rationale for combined therapy by adding centrally acting drugs, such as anticonvulsants.

Aim. To define the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from the data of an epidemiological study. Subjects and methods. During a questionnaire survey of 37057 adults of Russia, patients with complaints of articular swelling (n = 4975) were selected; of the latter a group (n = 3420) was randomly formed to be clinically examined by rheumatologists in order to detect RA. The 1987 ACR criteria were used for its diagnosis. Results. According to the data of the questionnaire survey, RA was diagnosed in 159 (4.6%) of the 3420 patients with complaints of articular swelling. The prevalence of RA in Russia averaged 0.61%. Among the respondents who complained about articular swelling during the questionnaire survey, 258 (7.5%) respondents considered to have RA before rheumatological examination. While comparing the diagnoses reported by the respondents during the survey and the final diagnosis established by a specialist, RA was confirmed only in 61 (24%) patients. Out of all the identified patients with RA (n = 159), only 61 (38%) were aware of their diagnosis. In RA patients with less than one-year articular complaints (n = 24), 17% were familiar with their diagnosis; the diagnosis was first made in the others (n = 20). Among the patients with long-term articular complaints (n = 135), 42% were aware of their diagnosis. Conclusion. The epidemiological survey indicated that the number of patients with RA were twice higher than those given in the official statistics of the Russian Federation (671,000 versus 300,000, respectively). In outpatient practice, RA is correctly diagnosed only in 38% of cases. There is a significant hyperdiagnosis of this disease. The duration of articular complaints affects the establishment of the diagnosis of RA.

The analysis of rheumatic disease morbidity in the Russian Federation in early XXI century is presented.

Aim. To design Markov's model of decision making to study the role of order in the use of most usable basic antirheumatic drugs (methotrexate-MT, parenteral gold -PG and sulfasalasine - SS) in terms of the course duration and cost. Material and methods. The model was based on metaanalysis made in 2000. The program TreeAge 3.0 was used. The prices for the drugs were taken as mean about Moscow for 2002 and prices presented by ACR for 2002. Results. The sequence MT-PG-SS had the advantage over the other sequences in that less number of patients stopped treatment after 5 and 10 years of therapy. Mean cost of the drugs per patient is the lowest (for five years) if MT is prescribed first. In longer treatment SS-MT-PG is more cost-effective. Conclusion. It is feasible to design Markov's models for making decision on optimal therapy of rheumatoid arthritis both in terms of cost and clinical response.

Aim to identify outdated terms and make changes to the terminology of spondyloarthritis. Materials and methods. At the first stage of the work, the terms divided into two categories: “outdated” definitions and terms that need to be improved or unified. Subsequently, each member of the Expert Group of Spondyloarthritis at the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia (ExSpA) presented by its own definition of the designated term or agreed with the previous term. At the next stage, the existing definitions were put together. After discussion, experts left a term that scored at least 2/3 of the votes. The special opinion of experts was recorded, whose did not coincide with the majority opinion. An open vote was conducted, when defining an “outdated” term with the unanimous decision of all group members, this term was not recommended for further clinical use. Results. The work carried out allowed us to identify a number of terms that are not recommended for use in clinical practice. Number of terms are defined, which should be used when discussing the problem of spondyloarthritis. Conclusion. The Expert Group of Spondyloarthritis at the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia suggests using or, accordingly, not using a number of terms and their definitions in clinical practice.