Search for: rheumatoid arthritis methotrexate autoimmune disease biomarker gene expression GWAS HLA genes non-HLA genes
| ID | PMID | Title | PublicationDate | abstract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6682819 | Male gonadal function in coeliac disease: 2. Sex hormones. | 1983 Feb | Hypogonadism, infertility, and sexual dysfunction occur in some men with coeliac disease. We have measured plasma testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, sex-hormone binding globulin, oestradiol, and serum luteinising hormone in 41 men with coeliac disease and have related these findings to jejunal morphology, fertility, semen quality, and sexual function. To determine the specificity of these observations in coeliacs we also studied 19 nutritionally-matched men with Crohn's disease, and men with chronic ill-health due to rheumatoid arthritis and Hodgkin's disease. The most striking endocrine findings in untreated coeliacs were increased plasma testosterone and free testosterone index, reduced dihydrotestosterone (testosterone's potent peripheral metabolite), and raised serum luteinising hormone, a pattern of abnormalities indicative of androgen resistance. As jejunal morphology improved hormone levels appeared to return to normal. This specific combination of abnormalities was not present in any of the disease control groups and, to our knowledge, androgen resistance has not been described previously in any other non-endocrine disorder. Plasma oestradiol concentration was modestly raised in 10% of coeliacs and 11% of patients with Crohn's disease. Unlike plasma androgens and serum luteinising hormone in coeliacs, plasma oestradiol was not clearly related to jejunal morphology. Androgen resistance and associated hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction appear to be relatively specific to coeliac disease and cannot be explained merely in terms of malnutrition or chronic ill-health. In addition, our findings suggest that this endocrine disturbance may be related to sexual dysfunction in coeliac disease but its relationship to disordered spermatogenesis in this condition has not been clearly established. | |
| 6285445 | [Controlled study of nifedipine in the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon]. | 1982 Apr | In each of the 16 patients included in our first study [6 idiopathic Raynaud's phenomenon (I), 4 associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 6 with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS)] digital vasospasm could be reproduced by immersion of both hands in cold water (4 degree C). Each patient received in a double-blind manner and random order on two consecutive days, the calcium-channel blocking agent nifedipine (20 mg) and placebo. Nifedipine protection against vasospasm provoked by cold water (4 degrees C) was considered good or excellent in 14 of the 16 patients (p less than 0.001 versus placebo). In the second study, 30 patients [12 I, 10 PSS, 5 SLE and 3 rheumatoid arthritis (RA)] received in a double blind manner and random order, on two consecutive weeks, nifedipine (20 mg 3 time daily) and placebo. The improvement with nifedipine (in percentage of the decrease of the number of vasospastic attacks) was 90.95 in the 1 group, 78.63 SLE and RA and 64.02 in PSS (p less than 0.01). An open study during 3 months has confirmed the effectiveness of nifedipine (10 mg 3 times daily). The improvement was 88.92 in the 1 group, 76.33 in SLE and RA and 59.16 in PSS, 7 out of 30 patients stopped the treatment because of side effects (headache, flush, nausea, oedema of the ankles). Thus nifedipine appears to be extremely useful in the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon. | |
| 6763340 | Clinical evaluation of iron deficiency. | 1982 Jan | While the prevalence of iron deficiency has remained relatively constant, there has been continuing refinement in its laboratory recognition, especially with the recent introduction of serum ferritin and FEP measurements. It is helpful to classify iron deficiency into three stages. Storage iron depletion is identified by marrow examination or serum ferritin, iron deficient erythropoiesis by TS, FEP, or MCV, and iron deficiency anemia by hemoglobin concentration or therapeutic iron trial. Combinations of these measurements have been used in prevalence studies to obtain a quantitative measure of body iron stores. The optimal laboratory approach to diagnosing iron deficiency depends on the clinical setting. In the office or outpatient clinic, iron depletion is best recognized by the serum ferritin, although the TS, FEP, and MCV are helpful in gauging its severity. In hospitalized patients with overt anemia, the TS, FEP, and MCV are much less helpful because similar changes are seen in the anemia of chronic disease. Examination of marrow iron remains the method of choice, especially in patients with infection, chronic disease, malignancy, or liver disease, although in many clinical situations the same information can be obtained from a serum ferritin. Serial measurements of serum ferritin have been particularly useful in monitoring patients at high risk of iron deficiency such as those with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, or chronic renal failure. | |
| 7202690 | The pill at 20: an assessment. | 1980 Nov | ||
| 6769623 | Preciitating antibodies to mitochondrial antigens in patients with primary biliary cirrhos | 1980 Mar | Sera of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) were examined for the presence of precipitating antibodies to sonicated rat liver mitochondrial (M) fraction. Three distinct precipitating systems observed in double immunodiffusion were identified and called M-A, M-B and M-C. Unsonicated mitochondria did not form precipitin lines. Precipitating system M-A was found in nineteen of twenty (95 percent) sera from PBC. The mitochondrial antigen of M-A system had the unusual property of being resistant to enzymatic digestion with deoxyribonuclease (DNase), ribonuclease (RNase) and trypsin under standard conditions. The titres of antibody to M-A antigen correlated (P less than 0.05) with titres of mitochondrial immunofluorescence staining on unfixed mouse kidney sections. Precipitating systems M-B and M-C were present in seven of twenty ribonuclease and trypsin but resistant to ribonuclease indicating that it could be DNA-protein complex. The M-C antigen was destroyed by trypsin suggesting its protein character, but it was difficult to determine if nucleic acids might also be associated with antigenicity. The antibodies to mitochondrial antigens were not present in normals (fifteen health adults), systemic lupus erythematosus (forty patients), rheumatoid arthritis (fifteen patients) and chronic liver diseases (fifteen patients). The antibodies did not show identity with antibodies to ribosomal ribonucleo-protein and other known nuclear antigens previously reported. The data confirm previous reports concerning the heterogeneity of mitochondrial antibodies present in sera of patients with PBC. The antibody to M-A antigen appeared to be a diagnostically useful immunological marker since it was present in the majority of patients with PBC. | |
| 731263 | Multiple specificities of antibrain antibodies in multiple sclerosis and chronic myelopath | 1978 Oct | The presence of complement-fixing antibodies against brain antigens was tested in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 60 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, 15 patients with chronic myelopathy of undetermined cause (CM) and 60 control patients. Six MS sera, 34 MS CSF, 4 CM sera, 3 CM CSF, 4 control sera and 1 control CSF gave positive reactions either with a lipid extract or a saline extract of normal human brain. The proportion of anticomplementary CSF was significantly higher in the MS group than in the control group (15% vs 0%, P less than 0.01). The reactivity of a large number of individual positive samples was further investigated. Seven antibody specificities were discerned in the MS samples. Most samples reacted with non-lipid antigens, the dominating being a heat-labile, nonlipid component associated with CNS myelin. Antibodies to cerebroside and sulfatide were detected in a few patients. A number of samples reacted with cholesterol in combination with a variety of lipids. Positive samples from the CM patients exhibited a similar heterogeneity. In the control group positive reactions were seen in one patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), two patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and one with a spinal meningioma. The reaction patterns of these patients were different from those commonly seen in MS patients. The complement-fixing antibrain antibodies in MS CSF are usually of IgG class (Ryberg 1976). This applies also to the positive MS sera in this study. The distribution of the antibodies between serum and CSF indicated, in several cases, an intrathecal synthesis. All of a number of human brains, including one MS brain, contained all 6 antigens (haptens) reactive in saline extracts. Antibodies to tissues outside the CNS were rarely detected in MS patients. The varied humoral autoimmune response in MS might reflect a heterogeneity in the MS patients, the disease itself or its causative agent. | |
| 4124211 | Release of cartilage mucopolysaccharide-degrading neutral protease from human leukocytes. | 1973 Aug 1 | The granule fraction of human leukocytes contains neutral protease capable of degrading the noncollagenous protein mucopolysaccharide matrix of cartilage at neutral pH in physiological salt solution. Cartilage degradation was monitored by quantitating the release of (35)S from labeled rabbit ear cartilage. Degradation of cartilage matrix occurs when intact viable human leukocytes are incubated with cartilage opsonized with aggregated human gamma globulin (AHGG). During a similar 4 h incubation period cells did not degrade uncoated cartilage or cartilage coated with nonaggregated gamma globulin. Cells remain viable during the enzyme release process as evidenced by the absence of a cytoplasmic enzyme marker (lactic dehydrogenase) in the supernatant and dye exclusion studies. The release of (35)S from labeled cartilage by human leukocytes in the presence of cartilage coated with AHGG (nonphagocytic enzyme release) was compared with the cartilage degrading activity of the supernatant from the same number of cells preincubated with a suspension of AHGG (phagocytic enzyme release). Nonphagocytic enzyme release by 5 x 10(6) cells provoked two to four times more (35)S and beta-glucuronidase (beta-G) release from cartilage than phagocytic enzyme release conditions. beta-glucuronidase was used as an indicator of the release of lysosomal granule enzymes. By the use of selected pharmacological agents it was possible to dissociate the enzyme release process from intrinsic enzyme (neutral protease) activity. Neutral protease and beta-G release by human cells in the presence of AHGG-coated cartilage was inhibited by 10(-5)M colchicine, whereas the protease activity, but not the release process, was inhibited by 10(-6)M gold thiomalate and 10% human serum. It is suggested that the release of a cartilage degrading neutral protease by viable human cells when exposed to AHGG might be a relevant model for the study of cartilage destruction as it occurs in rheumatoid arthritis. | |
| 3891174 | Antinuclear, anticytoplasmic, and anti-Sjogren's syndrome antigen A (SS-A/Ro) antibodies i | 1985 Jul | A study of 2500 sera from female blood donors between the ages of 20 and 50 years was undertaken to determine the frequency of antinuclear (ANA), anticytoplasmic (ACA), and antimitochondrial (AMA) antibodies. When sera were tested by immunofluorescence (IF) on HEp-2 cells, 15.9 and 1.1% had ANA titers greater than 1/20 and 1/80, respectively. Analysis of these sera for autoantibody specificity showed: 1.5% antinucleolar, 1.0% anti-nuclear matrix, 0.2% anti-mitotic spindle apparatus, and 0.2% anti-primary biliary cirrhosis nuclear antigen. AMA titers of greater than 1/80 were seen in 2.5% and AMA titers greater than 1/160 were seen in 1.0%. None of the sera had anti-double stranded DNA. Testing of an additional 2500 sera for anti-Sjogren's Syndrome antigen A (anti-SS-A/Ro) revealed a frequency of 22/5000 (0.44%) with the highest frequency (0.72%) being in the 45-50 age group and a relatively high frequency (0.58%) in the 20-24 age group. | |
| 7043069 | [The Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence test for detection of antibodies to double-stra | 1982 Feb 1 | For measurement of antibodies of double-stranded DNA (ds DNA) the Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence test (C1-IFT) was compared with the Farr precipitation technique in diagnosis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The C1-IFT proved to be less sensitive in SLE patients without clinical disease activity, but the sensitivity of the test in those with active disease was comparable to that of the Farr test. In 76.9% of the patients' sera identical test results were obtained by both assays. In some sera antibodies were detected only by the C1-IFT. Positive test results in patients with diseases other than SLE were found more often with the Farr test. Thus, The C1-IFT seemed to be more specific for diagnosis of SLE. Measurement of titers using the C1-IFT provides a simple method to survey SL E disease activity. It allows to analyze the immunoglobulin classes of the reacting antibodies and their complement fixation ability in vitro. All three major immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgM, IgA) were found to be present in the sera with high antibody titers, complement fixation in the C1-IFT could predominantly be detected is sera with high antibody titers. | |
| 7165375 | Structure and function of salivary glands in psoriatics. | 1982 | A total of 28 psoriatics and the same number of age-and sex-matched healthy individuals as controls were subjected to clinical, histopathologic, and salivary flow rate studies to assess whether structural and functional disturbances attributable to psoriasis vulgaris are detectable in their salivary glands, i.e., whether they have sicca syndrome or not. The oral status of the patients in the two series proved to be normal, and no clinical signs of impaired tear and salivary secretion were notable, as determined by Schirmer test I and stimulated parotid flow rate measurement, respectively. In labial biopsy, the degree of salivary gland inflammation, fatty infiltration, and fibrosis were equal in both series. These results, seemingly contradictory to those of earlier workers, are discussed in the light of the newly introduced concept on MALT (mucosal associated lymphatic tissue), and the conclusion is drawn that salivary glands are not affected by psoriasis vulgaris nor complicated by arthritis. The latter seems to be required to initiate the inflammatory reaction within MALT, in which synovial tissue and salivary glands are included. The necessity of an age- and sex-matched control series is emphasized whenever salivary gland changes in association with systemic diseases are studied. | |
| 6273364 | Nuclear medicine in diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the head and neck. I. Salivary | 1981 Nov | The advent of both improved imaging systems and new radioactive agents has increased the effectiveness of nuclear medicine in diagnosing and treating diseases of the head and neck. In this first in a series of two articles, the role of nuclear medicine is discussed in the evaluation of diseases of the salivary and parathyroid glands, and in the identification and staging of head and neck tumors. Radionuclide studies of the salivary glands are useful in the identification of tumors and the evaluation of gland function. Such studies are a valuable adjunct in the diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome and of acute and chronic inflammatory disease. Radionuclide imaging also has been helpful in the detection of adenomata and hyperplasia of the parathyroid glands and often complements ultrasonography localization procedures. The advent of gallium-67 imaging has improved the staging of head and neck tumors. | |
| 921344 | Frequency and clinical significance of antibodies to ribonucleoprotein in SLE and other co | 1977 Oct | Antibodies to the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) component of extractable nuclear antigen were measured in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other connective tissue subgroups by counterimmunoelectrophoresis. Antibodies to RNP were found in the sera of 32% of patients with a primary diagnosis of SLE, 29% of patients with features of SLE and erosive joint disease, none of 9 scleroderma patients, and in 75% of 8 patients with features of SLE and scleroderma. In the SLE patients overall there was an increased frequency of sclerodactyly and severe Raynaud's phenomenon in the patients with antibodies to RNP but no association of antibodies to RNP was found with the presence of erosive joint disease, Sjögren's syndrome, or the absence of renal disease in these patients. | |
| 6174547 | Studies of the function of natural killer-interferon system in patients with Sjögren synd | 1982 Mar | The natural killer (NK)-interferon (IFN) system is shown to be significantly involved in the resistance of host to viral infections and to tumours in numbers of animal models (1-4). The patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS) as well as those with collagen diseases were systematically investigated for the functions of NK-IFN system, including endogenous and augmented NK activity, IFN production, and responsiveness of NK cells to IFN stimulation, using virus persistently infected cells (heLa-measles cells) as target and stimulator cells. Although endogenous NK activity was not reduced, augmented NK activity by HeLa-measles cells in vitro was significantly depressed in patients with SS compared with that in age-matched normal controls. The patients with SS had also impaired capacity to produce IFN, which is shown to be a major factor regulating NK activity (5,6) in response to HeLa-measles cells in vitro. In three patients with SS who showed severely depressed NK activity, the effect of exogenous IFN was examined, and virtually no augmentation of NK activity was observed in all cases. Under the same condition, the normal controls demonstrated a dramatic increase in NK activity. The reduced IFN production was observed in all examined patients with SS, whereas impaired augmentation of NK activity by the stimulation with HeLa-measles cells as well as IFN seemed to be more striking in patients with the systemic manifestations of the disease, such as hypergammaglobulinemia and lymphoid hyperplasia. The possible involvement of dysfunction of NK-IFN system in the systemic manifestations of SS is discussed. | |
| 6257521 | A computer-assisted method for semi-quantitative assessment of salivary gland diseases. | 1980 Dec | The authors report on a computer-assisted method that allows a semi-quantitative assessment of salivary gland function under normal and pathologic conditions. They illustrate some mathematical procedures suitable for this purpose and the results achieved in various salivary gland diseases. | |
| 205650 | Presence of leucocyte inclusions in spleen and bone marrow of patients with Felty's syndro | 1978 Spring | The spleens from two patients with Felty's syndrome and the bone marrow from one patient with Felty's syndrome were examined for the presence of intracytoplasmic inclusions in neutrophils when stained with antibodies to IgG, IgM, IgA, and betalc. Four normal spleens from trauma patients were similarly examined. In both spleens and the bone marrow from the Felty patients, large inclusions were noted. In none of the four normal spleens were large inclusions present. These studies suggest that phagocytosis of immune complexes by neutrophils in Felty patients may induce sequestration of these cells in the spleen and bone marrow. | |
| 53436 | Coeliac disease: a cause of various associated diseases? | 1975 Nov 15 | Deposition in other organs of immune complexes originating from the small-intestinal musosa is suggested as a possible reason, in some patients, for the described association between coeliac disease and a range of "autoimmune" diseases. | |
| 6437732 | A rapid screening enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for autoantibodies to extractable nucl | 1984 | An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed to detect antinuclear antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (ENA)--a rabbit thymus nuclear derivative. A second ELISA has also been developed (ENA RNA-ase ELISA) to analyse the relative contribution of the components of ENA (nucleoprotein and RNA antigens) to antibody binding as detected by the ELISA assays. Both ELISA assays provide a rapid screening method for antibodies to soluble, diffusable nuclear antigens that could otherwise go undetected by immunodiffusion or the indirect immunofluorescent method that uses unfixed frozen sections of rat liver. The considerable improvement that these ELISA assays offer in efficiency and both diagnostic and serological sensitivity over the traditional immunodiffusion method used for specificity characterisation of ENA autoantibodies is discussed. | |
| 6360447 | Purification and characterization of the Sjögren's syndrome A and B antigens. | 1983 Dec | In sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome (SS), antibodies are present in high titres to small cellular proteins which may be involved in RNA processing. In this study we used affinity chromatography with antibodies isolated from patients sera to purify two cellular antigens; SS-A (Ro) from human spleen and SS-B (La) from rabbit thymus. Both antigens co-purified as a molecular complex from human thymus. The protein components were acidic though SS-A was resistant, and SS-B sensitive to trypsin. On polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis SS-A migrated as a single 55K polypeptide and SS-B as 40-45K polypeptides with a 29K degradation product. All of these polypeptides were reactive in the western blot with their respective antibodies from characterized sera and similar components in SS-B were demonstrated in tissue extracts from a range of mammalian species. These purified antigens represent important reagents for the investigation of the aetiology of some types of autoimmunity. | |
| 6308794 | [Renal manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome. Review of the literature starting with a cas | 1983 Jun 2 | Sjögren syndrome, characterized by lymphocytic proliferation and drying up of exocrine secretions ("sicca syndrome") due to glandular destruction, is well known for it's ocular and salivary localizations. However, other glandular epithelia (bronchial, vaginal . . .) or parenchyma (such as the kidney) may be involved. Damage to the kidney is rarely prominent; it is usually discovered late in the course of the disease. Moreover the renal manifestations are multiple and variably associated: diabetes insipidus, tubular acidosis, Fanconi syndrome, tubular and interstitial nephritis, and glomerulonephritis. | |
| 6682497 | Aseptic meningoencephalitis in primary Sjögren's syndrome. | 1983 May | The clinical features and CSF characteristics of five patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and associated aseptic meningoencephalitis (AME) are described. Episodes of AME were recurrent in four patients. Viral, fungal, and bacterial cultures were uniformly negative. Plasma cells were observed in the CSF but not in the blood of three patients. The CSF IgG:albumin index was elevated, suggesting intrathecal synthesis of IgG in each of the four patients tested; each patient had either one or two broad bands with the mobility of IgG on CSF agarose electrophoresis. These observations are consistent with current understanding of SS as a polyclonal gammopathy associated with the multifocal proliferation of B lymphocytes and plasma cells. |