Polymyalgia rheumatica Musculoskeletal Diseases Polymyalgia rheumatica
Conditions
Interventions
Participants are allocated to groups based on their diagnosis. Participants (the patients and the control participants) receive an open-label, once-daily prednisolone tablets 20 mg/day for 14 days.
Sponsors
Bispebjerg Hospital
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Patients: 1. Age 50 years or older 2. Bilateral aching and stiffness persisting for 1 month or more involving two of the following areas: neck or torso, shoulders or proximal regions of the arms, and hips or proximal aspects of the thighs 3. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate >40 mm/h 4. Exclusion of other diagnoses except giant cell arteritis Control participants: Aged 50 years or older
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Patients and control participants: 1. Prior treatment with glucocorticoids 2. Diagnosis of GCA based on obligatory temporal artery biopsy (patients only) 3. Inflammatory conditions other than PMR 4. Cancer during the past 5 years 5. Neuromuscular disease 6. Severe infections 7. Hereditary disposition for type 2 diabetes 8. Thyroid disease 9. Disturbance of calcium homeostasis 10. Uncontrolled hypertension 11. Use of drugs with potential effects on the study parameters
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Gene expression is measured in symptomatic muscle tissue using the microarray and quantitative real-time PCR methods at baseline and 14 days. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is measured using standard clinical laboratory procedures at baseline and 14 days 2. C-reactive protein is measured using standard clinical laboratory procedures at baseline and 14 days 3. Clinical symptoms is evaluated by a trained rheumatologist at baseline and 14 days | — |
Countries
Denmark
Contacts
Public ContactHenrik Galbo
Outcome results
None listed