Four patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis who developed acquired haemophilia are described. They developed a spontaneous bleeding diathesis and diagnosis was based on low or absent Factor VIII levels and the presence of a circulating anticoagulant directed against Factor VIII. The course is variable and cyclophosphamide together with control of the underlying rheumatoid arthritis are re...

In the previous issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy data are presented showing that circulating immune complexes containing citrullinated fibrin(ogen) are present in anti-citrullinated protein antibody-positive rheumatoid arthritis patients, and that such immune complexes co-localize with complement factor C3 in the rheumatoid synovium. These results corroborate the idea that citrullination i...

In the last decades, there has been a significant evolution in the knowledge of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) physiopathogeny, leading to changes in disease’s approach and therapeutics. The concept of “early or initial rheumatoid arthritis” was defined by the majority of authors as the initial phase of disease symptoms up to 12 months, period of time in which Distinct pattern of rheumatoid factor s...

INTRODUCTION MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression via degradation or translational repression of their targeted mRNAs. It is known that aberrant microRNA expression can play important roles in cancer, but the role of microRNAs in autoimmune diseases is only beginning to emerge. In this study, the expression of selected microRNAs is examined in rhe...

Most clinical studies involving rheumatoid factors are made on sera; relatively few investigations are reported on rheumatoid factors in joint fluid, connective tissue extracts, interstitial fluid and cells. Joint fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis often contains rheumatoid factor, measured by the latex fixation and sheep cell agglutination tests.,"'8 Mellors, et al.' established evide...

To measure rheumatoid factors specific for patients with rheumatoid arthritis an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to measure rheumatoid factors in human serum that bind a cross-reactive determinant shared on human and other mammalian IgG. Rheumatoid factors that cross link human IgG and sheep IgG in a double binding ELISA were almost completely specific (greater than 99%)...

Objective: The hepatitis C virus infection is associated with arthritis. However, the clinical roles of the rheumatoid factor in patients who received anti-viral treatment are not as clear. Methods: To identify the association between the rheumatoid factor and the treatment response in hepatitis C virus infected patients, we enrolled patients who received anti-viral treatment with peg-interfero...

BACKGROUND Early recognition and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is important to prevent irreversible joint damage. Anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) have been suggested for early diagnosis. PURPOSE To compare the accuracy of ACPA and rheumatoid factor in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis in patients with early symptoms of the disease. DATA SOURCES 10 medical databases from incep...