COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF SERUM POLYSACCHARIDES IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE

Abstract

Comparative polysaccharide (polysac.) studies were made on the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (rheum. arth.) and degenerative joint disease. A limited number of patients with other collagen diseases and with other joint diseases were also studied. The tryptophan method was used to determine the polysac. components other than hexosamine of the total serum protein, albumin, pseudoglobulin, and muco-protein. Elevations of the polysac. of the total protein, albumin, pseudoglobulin, and mucoprotein were found consistently in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but not in those with degenerative joint disease. The polysac. content of the pseudoglobulin fraction was elevated in inactive rheum arth., while other components were unchanged. No significant correlation between erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the polysac. percentage of serum protein was found in rheum arth. patients. Elevations of serum polysac. were found in 2 cases of active gout and in 1 case of lupus erythymatosus, while essentially normal levels were noted in a limited number of patients with inactive gout, dermatomyositis, periarteritis nodosa, and Weber Christian disease. Use of the determination of serum polysac. as a diagnostic aid to distinguish degenerative joint disease from rheum arth. is suggested.