Article Abstract:
The body's natural defense system, the immune system, consists of cells and factors that inactivate foreign invading particles called antigens. In the presence of an antigen, immune B cells produce specialized proteins called antibodies or immunoglobulins (Ig) that bind and inactivate that specific antigen. Under abnormal conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory joint disease, immune complexes of antibody bound to antigen contribute to the disease process. Polyethylene glycol precipitation is a method for detecting and measuring immune complexes. Various aspects of this technique need to be clarified, including its specificity for immune complexes (that is, its ability to measure specific immunoglobulins and to separate out other blood proteins) and effects of proteins other than antibodies on the formation and elimination of immune complexes. The proteins detected by PEG in 10 normal blood samples and 60 blood samples from patients with rheumatic diseases were evaluated. Proteins other than immunoglobulins that were detected by PEG precipitation included fibronectin, haptoglobulin (which binds hemoglobin), albumin, transferrin (which transports iron), and alpha- 1-antitrypsin (which blocks enzymes that degrade proteins). Thus PEG precipitation separates nonimmunoglobulin proteins, which may bind to or precipitate with immune complexes. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
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Article Abstract:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a joint disease characterized by inflammation, stiffness, swelling, overgrowth of cartilage tissue, and pain. Patients with RA often have sore, swollen hands and feet due to synovitis, an inflammation of the tissue lining the joint. RA may also be complicated by lymphoedema, the accumulation of fluid within the lymphatic vessels. The clinical course of lymphoedema in RA is reviewed; this is an unusual complication of RA not involving the joint. Only sixteen cases of lymphoedema in RA have been reported. The cases are described of seven patients with lymphoedema of the hands and arms. The lymphoedema was persistent in all cases and resistant to treatment with slow-acting drugs, steroids, and cytotoxic (cell-killing) agents. Lymphoedema was unrelated to severity of the RA. These findings suggest that lymphoedema may associated with: a decreased number of lymphatic vessels; increased capillary permeability, or flow of fluids and particles through the walls of the small blood vessels; or impaired breakdown of fibrous tissue. It is recommended that patients with lymphoedema and RA be treated with conservative measures. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
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Article Abstract:
The authors cite a case in which a mentally disturbed patient being treated with the tranquilizer haloperidol showed significant improvement in his rheumatoid arthritis, prompting this study. They learned that haloperidol has a beneficial effect, reducing inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis by acting on proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 1Beta.
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