Studies on Cyto-Immunological Changes of the Synovial Fluid in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Summary

The comparative values of the rheumatoid factor titer, the total hemolytic complement activity in the sera and synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the percentage of RA cells, have been determined in a selected series of 20 patients (16 sero-positive and four sero-negative cases).

The most constant change — depression of the synovial fluid complement activity — correlated closely with the status of the joint involved, with the degree of disease activity evaluated from the non-specific inflammatory tests and the percentage of RA cells. No such correlation was seen in this series as regards serum and synovial fluid rheumatoid factor titers.

RA cells were found in a larger amount in the sero-positive RA. After lysis of the cells by freezing, a latex-agglutinating activity was seen only in the homogenates from the sero-positive RA plots.