Effect of methotrexate on the temporomandibular joint and facial morphology in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients

摘要: Abstract Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a disease characterized by chronic inflammation in one or more joints; it affects children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. This may cause significant skeletal joint destruction, the temporomandibular joint, like other joints, become severely affected resulting aberrant mandibular growth, abnormal dentofacial development, and/or altered orofacial muscle function. Methotrexate most common remittive agent used juvenile modify course inflammatory destruction peripheral joints. The purpose this study was: (1) evaluate effect methotrexate therapy on prevalence lesions aberration craniofacial development afflicted with arthritis; (2) further examine relationship between joint/cephalometric findings rheumatologic data (ie, age at onset, duration disease); (3) pauciarticular- polyarticular-onset facial dysmorphology. following information was obtained from 45 patients arthritis: routine clinical examination data; anamnestic evaluation (4) lateral cephalometric measurement (5) posteroanterior (6) individually corrected axial tomographic data. results demonstrated following: radiographic evidence condylar degeneration apparent 63% all pauciarticular showing less involvement than polyarticular patients; receiving showed severe not methotrexate; structure greater extent form disease; craniomandibular index scores were significantly group; vertical height asymmetry chin deviation noted 50% there correlation severity retroposition, posterior rotation, smaller ramus dimensions) onset disease. In conclusion, under conditions study, effective minimizing dysmorphology (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2000;118:75-83)