Antibodies to histones in rheumatoid arthritis.

Using a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, antibodies to histones (H1, H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) were found in 32 out of 40 rheumatoid arthritis patients with antinuclear antibodies at a titer greater than or equal to 100 as measured by indirect immunofluorescence. The anti-H2A reactivity was higher in patients with secondary Sjögren's syndrome than in those without, but the highest antihistone reactivity and the most heterogeneous patterns were observed in patients who were receiving D-penicillamine.

[Different effects of diclofenac and ketoprofen on the bactericidal action of polynuclear neutrophils in rheumatoid polyarthritis].

The bactericidal action of neutrophil polynuclear cells (NP) is significantly lower in the presence of diclofenac than in the presence of ketoprofen in patients with rheumatoid polyarthritis. This effect perhaps takes place through a serum factor, since the bactericidal action of normal NPs is diminished when the cells are incubated in the serum of patients treated with diclofenac or in the serum of healthy individuals after ingestion of diclofenac, but it is not decreased when the cells are incubated in the serum of patients treated with ketoprofen or the serum of healthy volunteers after ingestion of ketoprofen.

Acute synovial fluid eosinophilia associated with delayed pressure urticaria: a role for mast cells?

We report a case of exercise induced joint effusion with synovial fluid (SF) eosinophilia of 9,540/mm3 in a patient with delayed pressure urticaria. The SF eosinophilia was an acute but transient event associated with some evidence of local complement activation. Histologic assessment revealed a normal synovial membrane but with no detectable intact mast cells.

[Is the target of anti-cardiolipin antibodies the same in Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome and lupus erythematosus disseminatus?].

Forty-seven patients were diagnosed as having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 34 patients primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS); 30 controls were also studied. Anti cardiolipin (CL), anti double-stranded DNA (ds DNA) and anti single-stranded DNA (ss DNA) antibodies were determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Elevated anti-CL antibody levels were detected in 47.

[Pyoderma gangrenosum and pelvispondylitis without patent intestinal disease. Apropos of a case].

The authors report a case of pyoderma gangrenosum associated with a positive B27 pelvispondylitis. The search for a hemorrhagic rectocolitis, possible link between the two syndromes, revealed to be negative. Pelvispondylitis is an unusual complication of pyoderma gangrenosum.

Drug induced impairment of polymorphonuclear cell bactericidal ability in rheumatoid arthritis.

Thirty three patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated only with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were divided into two groups according to the drug received (group A: diclofenac, group B: indomethacin or ketoprofen), and their polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell functions were investigated. We found that bactericidal ability was the only function significantly impaired in group A as compared with group B patients and normal controls. This modification correlated well with the reduction of control PMN bactericidal ability when this test was carried out in patient plasma.

Organ-specific autoantibodies in non-organ-specific autoimmune diseases with special reference to rheumatoid arthritis.

Sera from 367 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and from 102 patients with other non-organ-specific (NOS) autoimmune diseases were examined for the presence of organ-specific (OS) autoantibodies. The incidence of these OS autoantibodies was not increased in patients with NOS autoimmune diseases with the exception of thyroglobulin antibodies, which were significantly more frequent in RA (P less than 0.001) and in Sjögren's syndrome (P less than 0.

CD5 positive B cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: phorbol ester mediated enhancement of detection.

CD5 molecules present on human T cells are detectable but weakly expressed on some human B cells. We have increased the sensitivity of their detection by treating the B enriched cells with phorbol myristic acetate (PMA), a tumour promoting agent. The numbers of CD5+ B cells in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were higher than in control blood, and after PMA treatment this was statistically significant.

[Comparative study of rheumatoid polyarthritis with and without the Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome. 54 cases].

Clinical, biological and evolutive profiles of rheumatoid polyarthritis (RP) associated or not with a Gougerot-Sjögren syndrome (GSS) were compared in two series of 27 patients matched according sex and age, and recruited among 158 patients examined during a period of 36 months. The GSS was defined by the presence, in addition to RP, of xerophthalmia (Schirmer and Rose Bengal tests were positive) and/or salivary glands disorders (histological abnormalities at stages III or IV of Chisholm classification). The evolution of RP and the importance of articular or extra-articular involvement of the disease are identical in both groups.

[Expression of T-lymphocyte antigens by serum B lymphocytes in rheumatoid polyarthritis].

Molecules recognised by the monoclonal antibodies Leu 1 - OKT 1 - Mid 5 (CD5 molecules) were originally shown on human T cells and are equivalent to Lyt-1 molecules in the mouse. These surface molecules are detectable on some human B cells, but are weakly expressed. We have therefore tested the effects of the tumour-promoter, phorbol myristic acetate (PMA) on expression of these molecules on B cells.

[Chemonucleolysis in the treatment of disk lumbo-radiculalgia. Cooperative study of 333 cases].

A retrospective study was carried out of 333 patients who had been treated by chemonucleolysis with chymopapain. The efficacy and safety of this treatment were evaluated and factors exerting a statistically significant effect on the quality of the results were selected from clinical and radiological data and the conditions of chemonucleolysis. Results were satisfactory in 70.

[Activation of T lymphocytes in the blood and joints of patients with rheumatoid polyarthritis].

The proportion of T Lymphocytes with receptors for interleukin 2 is increased in the blood, the synovial fluid and, in particular, the synovial membrane in rheumatoid arthritis. However, there is no correlation between the percentage in blood and the percentage in the joints. The helper T lymphocytes are proportionately more activated than the suppressor T lymphocytes.