%0 Journal Article
%T The Electrophysiological Evaluation of 70 Iranian Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
%A Mohammad YAZDCHI
%A Ali Asghar EBRAHIMI
%A Haleh MIKAEELI
%A Mohammad Ali ARAMI
%J Journal of Neurological Sciences
%D 2007
%I Ege University Press
%X Objectives: We have conducted an electrophysiological investigation to find out the incidence and patterns of peripheral nerves involvements in rheumatoid arthritis patients and to correlate them with some patients¡¯ characteristics.Patients and Methods: Using clinical examination and proper laboratory end electrophysiological tests, seventy unselected rheumatoid arthritis patients (50 female and 20 male) were evaluated for evidence of peripheral nervous system involvement. The results were correlated with clinical data (severity and duration of disease) using statistical tests.Results: Clinical and electrophysiological manifestations of peripheral nervous system involvement were found in 33 patients (47.1%). Most of cases were asymptomatic. The most common disorder was entrapment neuropathy, which was predominantly carpal tunnel syndrome (17 patients, 24.3%). Polyneuropathy was detected in 14 patients (24%) and was mostly sensorimotor. Also, it was exclusively axonal type and was significantly common in severe cases. (p<0.05) Conclusion: Electrophysiological findings of peripheral nerve damage, even in the absence of clinical evidences, are common in rheumatoid arthritis.
%K Peripheral nervous system
%K electrophysiological study
%K Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
%U http://www.jns.dergisi.org/pdf/pdf_JNS_168.pdf