Antinuclear factor (ANA) and rheumatoid factor (RF) were determined in 220 employees of an asbestos plant. The relationship of the appearance of the two factors to sex, age, smoking habit, duration of asbestos exposure and asbestos exposure level was studied. In 207 employees who had chest roentgenograms, the relationship of these two factors to pulmonary lesions and pleural lesions was examine...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS This study was comprised of Iranian children with oligoarthritis and rheumatoid factor negative (RF) polyarthritis subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) to determine the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles in Iran. METHODS HLA-DRB1 alleles were investigated in 33 Iranian children with oligoarthritis and RF negative polyarthritis JIA and compared with 45 healthy contr...

INTRODUCTION We wanted to assess the importance of the levels of anti-citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) rheumatoid factor (RF) in predicting development of persistent arthritis from undifferentiated arthritis (UA), and to investigate whether there is an added predictive value for persistent arthritis in testing for both anti-CCP and IgM RF. METHODS Patients ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether autoreactive mechanisms occur in Lyme disease (LD) by determining IgA, IgG and IgM rheumatoid factor (RF) concentrations and RF associated cross reactive idiotype (CRI) expression in the serum of LD patients, with comparison to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS The RF isotype profiles were determined in 59 patients with LD; erythema migrans (EM)...

Introduction: For the diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), detection autoantibodies, rheumatoid factor (FR) and cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (APCC) are used. The presence these determines that RA is classified as seropositive or seronegative, with important implications both in clinical development prognosis disease. Objective: To assess role APCC RF RA, well its influence on esta...

OBJECTIVE Develop guidelines for management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Brazil, focusing on diagnosis and early assessment of the disease. METHOD Literature review and expert opinions of RA Committee members of the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The following ten reccommendations were established: 1) RA diagnosis should be established considering clinical fin...

INTRODUCTION Although the prognostic value of rheumatoid factor (RF) and autoantibodies against citrullinated proteins (ACPAs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is well established, their association with RA disease activity remains unclear. Here, we investigate this association in a large study using data from clinical trials. METHODS We used baseline data from four recent randomize...

The relation between immunohistological findings in biopsy specimens of apparently normal skin, HLA antigens, and rheumatoid factors (RF) was studied in 120 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), selected for treatment with D-penicillamine. Perivascular infiltration (PVI) of more than three mononuclear cells was present in 77 (68%) of 114 patients, accompanied usually by the presence of IgM o...

Objectives: To find out whether autoantibodies to citrullinated telopeptides of type I and II collagens and to cyclic citrullinated peptides (CCPs) predict the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A case-control study (matched for sex, age and municipality) was nested within a Finnish cohort of 19072 adults who had neither arthritis nor a history of it at the baseline examination ...

ACPA: Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibody; ACR: American College of Rheumatology; APRIL: A Proliferation-Inducing Ligand; BAFFR: B Cell Activating Factor Receptor; BLyS: B-lymphocyte Stimulator; BTK: Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase; CRP: C-Reactive Protein; DMARDs: Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs; ESR: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate; EULAR: European League Against Rheumatism; FDA: Food and Drug ...