| Abstrakt: |
Abstract: Objective: To study the immunological profile, disease characteristics and socioeconomic status of a population of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Sri Lanka. Methods: A case-control study was undertaken to characterize the immunoglobulin profiles of 105 RA and, age and gender matched osteoarthritis (OA) patients (n = 30) from the National Hospital, Sri Lanka. Healthy, non-arthritic individuals (n=30) served as controls. Sera were assayed for immunoglobulins [IgG, IgM, IgE and IgA isotypes] by establishing sandwich type ELISA. IgM, IgG and IgA rheumatoid factors (RFs) of 162RA patients were assayed by indirect ELISA. Disease characteristics and socioeconomic factors were accrued via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results: Higher IgG, IgM, IgE, IgA and lower IgG1, IgG2 levels were observed in RA sera compared with controls (P < 0.05). Novel correlations between disease characteristics and immunoglobulins, as well as group-specific correlation matrices of immunoglobulins and RFs (P < 0.05) of seropositive and seronegative patients, were found. Higher IgM-RF and IgA-RF levels in seropositives and IgG-RF in seronegatives were evident compared with controls (P < 0.05). Immunoglobulin and RF profiles did not reflect gender disparity of RA (P > 0.05). Proportions of seropositives with nodules and erosions were significantly higher than seronegatives (P < 0.05). While IgM-RF and erosions positively correlated in the seropositives (P < 0.05), the seronegatives showed an inverse correlation between IgG-RF and erosions (P < 0.01). Familial clustering imposed a relative risk of 4.7 for developing seropositive RA. Conclusions: This model study provides baseline information on pathogenetic aspects of RA in Sri Lanka, which may have implications for further research on management of the disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] |
