Thymol reaction in rheumatoid arthritis.

As demonstrated by various investigators (Carter and Maclagan, 1946; Stillerman, 1948; Poulsen, 1949; Kalbak, 1951), the thymol reaction is positive in rheumatoid arthritis patients at a somewhat advanced and active stage of the disease. This positive reaction is assumed to be due to changes in the serum proteins. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis generally show marked changes in the serum proteins in the form of increased total protein, hypo-albuminaemia, and increase in a globulin and, especially, y globulin. These shifts in the serum proteins follow rather closely the curve of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and also to some extent, the variations in the clinical state of the patient. When rheumatoid arthritis is being treated with cortisone or ACTH decisive changes take place in the serum proteins. The hypoproteinaemia subsides, and the albumin/globulin ratio becomes normal. In keeping with the theory that the positive thymol test is due to pathological