[The effect of intra-articular treatment with corticosteroids, polyvinylpyrrolidone and dimethyl sulfoxide on the composition of the synovial fluid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis].

Synovial fluid (SF) contained by the knee joint from 102 patients (80 with rheumatoid arthritis, 12 with osteoarthrosis, 10 with posttraumatic arthritis) and controls was studied for cytosis, activity of acid phosphatase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, and cAMP and cGMP content. In 18% of the cases, the local corticosteroid treatment of patients with RA produced no beneficial effect. To treat RA and OA patients, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO, 5 ml of 20% solution) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, 5 ml of 15% solution) were administered intra-articularly.

[Cyclic AMP level in T- and B lymphocytes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus].

The content of cAMP in blood T and B lymphocytes was measured in 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 10 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 28 donors. A statistically significant increase in the cAMP content in T lymphocytes of RA and SLE patients was established. On the contrary, in B lymphocytes of blood of RA patients and of SLE patients, in particular, the cAMP content was below normal.