Steroid treatment might reduce risk of rheumatoid arthritis related lymphoma

The findings of a study, presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2007, suggest that the risk of rheumatoid arthritis related lymphomas are significantly reduced in patients treated with oral steroid treatment for more than two years. The most pronounced steroidal effect was observed in the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma subtype. "The pros and cons of corticosteroid treatment in rheumatoid arthritis have been a subject of much debate, and long-term steroid treatment is often limited as a result of concerns about various side effects," said Eva Baecklund of the Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. "Patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis are at increased risk for malignant lymphomas (cancer in the immune system), but long-term steroid treatment may decrease this risk." In this study, the steroid treatment outcome was not associated with the presence of the Epstein-Barr virus in lymphomas.

A study conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden showed that consuming three alcoholic drinks per week decreases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers conducted a study of incident rheumatoid arthritis cases among 18 to 70-year-olds in a defined area of Sweden. DNA from 1,204 cases and 871 controls was examined to detect the presence of HLA-DRB1 SE alleles, a marker indicating a genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis. "These are very interesting findings and are the first observation, from epidemiological data, which now should be confirmed by further clinical studies before a firm conclusion can be achieved,” said Tore Kvien, president of EULAR. These findings could prove useful in understanding the effects of lifestyle on the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, and prove useful in a potential treatment based on the beneficial effects of alcohol.

A recent study that used data from a study conducted in the early '90s in Spain found that breast feeding for 13 or more months reduced women's risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared to those who had never breast fed. "This study specifically highlights the potential of naturally-induced hormones in protecting individuals from developing RA (rheumatoid arthritis) in the future," said Mitra Keshavarz of the Malmö Hospital University in Sweden.

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Comments

[chronic arthritis]

The symptoms and causes of arthritis vary depending on the specific form of the disease. Some forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, gout, pseudogout, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Still's disease and ankylosing spondylitis.

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Doctors need to be aware of the risk of lymphoma in certain groups of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.It is really very much long and effective diseases.

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