Background: Periodontitis (PD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) having similar clinico-pathological characteristics frequently affect the middle-aged population. Objectives: To study the oral hygiene (OH) and periodontal disease (PD) status in patients with RA and without RA (control) and to investigate the association between PD and RA. Methods: OH and PD were assessed in RA patients (n = 35) and controls (n = 35) using plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) and connective tissue attachment loss (AL). RA severity was deter- mined with a standardized disease activity score (DAS). Results: Mean age of RA and control groups were 54.7 ± 9.9 and 51.1 ± 7.1 years. Either group female participation was 91.4%. PI and AL in the RA group positively correlated with DAS (Spearman's rho 0.48, 0.67; P 0≤ 0.01). PI, BOP, PPD and AL were higher in RA patients ( P ≤ 0.01) than the control. RA group had higher mean number of missing teeth (16.1 ± 7.8) than control (6.5 ± 3.6) (P ≤ 0.01). Conclusions: RA is common in middle-aged females. RA patients' PI and DAS showed positive correlation which could be attributed to compromised OH practice resulted by increasing severity of RA. AL in RA group had positive correlation with DAS implying that severe PD leads to severe arthritis and vice versa. PI, BOP, PPD and AL are high in RA patients showing that they are prone to PD. RA patients may also lose teeth early.

Objective: To investigate the relationship among DAS28, CDAI and HAQ-DI in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods: It was a prospective study on 61 consecutive DMARD naive early RA patients attending the outpatient depart- ment of a tertiary care hospital in eastern India. DAS28, CDAI and HAQ-DI were calculated at the initial visit. They were put on DMARD therapy as per protocol with categorization of disease activity as per the CDAI values. DAS28, CDAI and HAQ-DI were again calculated after 3 months. Statistical analysis was carried out. Results: There was a significant correlation among HAQ-DI, DAS28 and CDAI values. HAQ-DI showed significant correlation with the individual variables used in CDAI and DAS28. These observations were noted both in the initial and after 3-month follow-up values. There was significant agreement between the disease activity categories obtained by CDAI and DAS28 cut-off levels. Combination DMARD therapy based on ACR 2008 recommendations resulted in significant improvement in disease activity and functional disability. Conclusion: We can assess the disease activity in the patients by recording the HAQ-DI, at least in cases of early RA. Both DAS28 and CDAI are equally useful in assessing the disease activity of RA. These facts become important as it suggests that laboratory values do not remain absolutely essential in the assessment of the patients. These findings are especially important in a fund-stricken health system in developing countries like India.

Hip joint pain occurs not uncommonly in clinical practice. Arthritis of the hip joint, ligament strain and bursitis are some of the common causes of hip joint pain encountered by physicians. This article dwells on relevant clinical anatomy of the hip and the diagnostic approach to hip pain in rheumatology clinic.

Biobanking is a process of cryogenic preservation of various biological specimens for research and experimental purposes. The various steps in biobanking are collection, preservation and annotation of samples, and availing these for research purposes. Various models of biobanks are followed in different parts of the world. Biobanking is not without bottlenecks, most important of these being legal and ethical issues. This review is directed at a brief overview on some of these aspects of biobanking with purview on Indian perspective. The role of biobanking in rheumatology is discussed with special comments on common rheumatological disorders. Also in this review, its utility in understanding the pathophysiology of various rheumatological illnesses is emphasized.