Publication | Closed Access
The Assessment of Rheumatoid Arthritis<subtitle>A STUDY BASED ON MEASUREMENTS OF THE SERUM ACUTE-PHASE REACTANTS</subtitle>
103
Citations
0
References
1972
Year
ImmunologyPsoriatic ArthritisInflammatory ArthritisInflammationRheumatoid DisorderChildhood ArthritisBlood LevelsInflammatory MarkerInflammatory Rheumatic DiseaseClinical ChemistryAcutephase ReactantsRheumatoid ArthritisRheumatologyAutoimmune DiseaseSpondyloarthritisRheumatic DiseasesAutoimmunityMedicineSystemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
We have studied 187 patients with rheumatoid arthritis for periods ranging from three months to six years; 55 of them were observed for more than three years. The aim of the study was to compare changes in clinical state with changes in measurements of the blood levels of two acutephase reactants (C-reactive protein and haptoglobin). The results showed that measurements of the serum acute-phase reactants reflected exacerbation or remission of arthritis when such changes occurred over short periods of time—for example a few months. The serum acute-phase reactants also reflected the course of rheumatoid arthritis over longer periods of time; in patients studied for more than three years there was a close correlation between the course of the disease and the levels of the acute-phase reactants. We suggest that measurements of the serum acute-phase reactants provide an accurate and objective way of assessing the progress of rheumatoid arthritis and of its response to treatment.