RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Intra-articular glucocorticoid injections decrease the number of steroid hormone receptor positive cells in synovial tissue of patients with persistent knee arthritis
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP 1552
OP 1558
DO 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-201019
VO 71
IS 9
A1 Marlies C van der Goes
A1 Rainer H Straub
A1 Marion J G Wenting
A1 Silvia Capellino
A1 Johannes W G Jacobs
A1 Zalima N Jahangier
A1 Luise Rauch
A1 Johannes W J Bijlsma
A1 Floris P J G Lafeber
YR 2012
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/71/9/1552.abstract
AB Objectives To explore changes in the number of steroid hormone receptor positive cells in synovial tissue (ST) after intra-articular glucocorticoid injection, to correlate these changes with changes in clinical variables, and to evaluate whether the number of steroid hormone receptor positive cells predicted the clinical response to glucocorticoid injection. Methods Fourteen patients with persistent knee arthritis despite at least two previous injections in an outpatient setting received an intra-articular injection with glucocorticoids, followed by 3 days of admission with bed rest. Clinical efficacy was assessed at 6 and 12 weeks. ST biopsies were performed 2 weeks before and 12 weeks after the injection. The presence of different cell types (T cells, macrophages, fibroblast-like synoviocytes) and numbers of glucocorticoid, androgen and oestrogen α and β receptor positive cells were evaluated by histochemistry. Results Patients showed, despite previous failures, good clinical response to glucocorticoid injection, with significant improvement in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, and joint disability score. The number of steroid hormone receptor positive cells decreased markedly (p<0.05 for all four receptors). The decrease in oestrogen receptor α positive cells correlated significantly with the improvement in VAS for pain and joint disability score. The number of glucocorticoid, androgen and oestrogen α and β receptor positive cells before injection did not predict the effect of treatment. Conclusions Intra-articular glucocorticoid injections followed by bed rest for persistent arthritis are clinically effective and significantly decrease the number of steroid hormone receptor positive cells in ST. The relevance of the latter needs further study.