Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0003873 (rheumatoid arthritis)
 53,068 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In order to study the role of excessive synovial iron sequestration in the production of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the antianemic efficacy and anti-inflammatory effect of desferrioxamine administered in a short-term treatment (14 days), were evaluated in 10 patients suffering from classic or definite RA and hyposideremic anemia. Treatment with desferrioxamine showed an elevated urinary iron excretion, a significant increase of serum iron, UIBC and hemoglobin, and a marked progressive decrease of serum ferritin. A moderate improvement of the pain intensity, morning stiffness and Ritchie's index was also observed. The results obtained suggest that excessive reticuloendothelial iron deposits occur in RA and that the iron uptake can be an important factor in the production of anemia. Desferrioxamine seems to be useful in the treatment of patients suffering from RA and anemia, in order to release iron from synovial tissue, reduce the inflammatory process and improve anemia, changing an anemia which is typically resistant to the martial therapy into an iron-sensitive anemia.
 ...
PMID:Antianemic and potential anti-inflammatory activity of desferrioxamine: possible usefulness in rheumatoid arthritis. 351 95

Basic red cell ferritin (RCF) content reflects the rate of iron uptake by marrow erythroid cells in patients with anaemia due to chronic inflammation which are sometimes also associated with metabolic disorders of the erythrocytes. For 29 patients with active inflammatic states of chronic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and microcytic (mean corpuscular volume up to 80fl) or normocytic (MCV 80-95fl) anaemia respectively, the mean RCF content, irrespective of plasma ferritin levels, was determined using a recently established ELISA test. Red cell intermediates (ATP, GSH, 2.3 DP.G) were measured using conventional methods. The results revealed decreased RCF levels (2.8 +/- 1.5 ag/RBC) in 12 patients with RA and normal values (8.8 +/- 4.7 ag/RBC) in 17 patients which obviously did not correlate with the degree of the anaemia. The extent and pattern of the intermediates of RBC did not significantly vary from normal values. Thus, ATP, GSH and 2.3 DPT levels of RBC were only slightly increased up to 10%, especially in those patients with higher anaemic degrees. The findings of our study suggest that conventional indices for iron metabolic disorder in anaemic patients with chronic inflammatic disease should include peripheral microcytosis, transferrin saturation, and RCF content but could neglect plasma ferritin concentrations. Concerning the RBC metabolism this study did not disclose any further influences on iron metabolism parameters due to changes of mean cell age in patients with RA. Specific alterations which might hence produce additional functional disturbances of the erythrocytes in the peripheral microcirculation thus leading further to tissue cell damages in RA could be excluded as well.
 ...
PMID:Red cell metabolism and ferritin levels in iron deficiency anaemia. 359 1

Desferrioxamine was used to treat six patients who had rheumatoid arthritis refractory to conventional treatment, on the basis that levels of intra-articular iron would be reduced and inflammation lessened. After a period of initial intensive treatment which was limited by side effects, five patients continued on once-weekly maintenance doses. Two patients had temporary improvement in their symptoms, but relapsed in spite of continuing treatment. The remaining three patients completed six months of treatment with no improvement in their rheumatoid disease. There were no significant changes in rheumatological parameters, immunological markers of disease activity nor radiological evidence of improvement. Treatment did lead to significant falls in haemoglobin concentration (p less than 0.01), mean corpuscular volume (p less than 0.05) and serum ferritin levels (p less than 0.02). Therefore, in spite of a reduction in iron available for haem synthesis and a fall in tissue storage iron the rheumatoid inflammatory process persisted.
 ...
PMID:Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with desferrioxamine. 365 52

In order to test the hypothesis that serum ferritin below 60 micrograms/l is a good indicator of iron deficiency in patients with rheumatoid arthritis peroral iron was given to 67 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis over a three month period. A rise in haemoglobin concentration was taken as evidence of iron responsive anaemia. In anaemic patients serum ferritin below 60 micrograms/l was a good indicator of iron responsive anaemia, with a predictive value of 83%. Although high plasma transferrin and low mean cell volume showed similar predictive values, more patients with iron deficiency anaemia could be diagnosed by serum ferritin measurements than by other conventional blood tests. In contrast, the predictive value of serum ferritin above 60 micrograms/l was low (50%). The test was of no predictive value in non-anaemic patients. In patients with anaemia and active rheumatoid arthritis serum ferritin is the best blood test currently available for the prediction of iron responsive anaemia.
 ...
PMID:Serum ferritin as indicator of iron responsive anaemia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. 374 Sep 84

Iron mobilized from ferritin is able to convert superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, which are produced in large amounts in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to the extremely toxic hydroxyl radical. We have found that synovial fluid ferritin is increased significantly in RA patients compared with levels in controls. The high synovial fluid:serum ferritin ratio is compatible with the hypothesis that synovial fluid ferritin is derived from the synovial membrane. We found no difference in ferritin concentrations in the synovial membranes of RA patients compared with those of controls. Quantitative data on the amount of iron bound to ferritin showed that the level was 2.9 times higher in RA synovial membranes than in those of controls. Moreover, RA synovial fluid contained considerable amounts of iron bound to ferritin. Calculation of the iron saturation of ferritin revealed that RA synovial membranes contained a mean of 2,210 moles of iron per mole of ferritin: a significant elevation when compared with the mean value of 1,500 moles found in the synovial membranes of the controls. The decreased saturation of ferritin in RA synovial fluid, compared with that in the synovial membrane, could be caused by an uncompensated release of iron from ferritin, which has been induced by superoxide that is produced by stimulated granulocytes. The results demonstrate that in the joints of RA patients, sufficient ferritin loaded with iron is available to stimulate oxygen free radical damage.
 ...
PMID:Intraarticular ferritin-bound iron in rheumatoid arthritis. A factor that increases oxygen free radical-induced tissue destruction. 376 55

Chronic inflammation in such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis has been associated with the accumulation of iron in mononuclear phagocytes. Cigarette smoking, which also produces chronic pulmonary inflammation, may be associated with iron accumulation in alveolar macrophages (AM). We have examined the total iron content in human AM and found it to be 43.0 +/- 7.7 (mean +/- SEM) and 12.8 +/- 1.3 nmol/1 X 10(6) cells (P less than 0.01) from smokers and nonsmokers, respectively. Because the higher iron content in smokers' macrophages may reflect increased internalization, the binding and uptake of iron-saturated transferrin was examined in cells from smokers and nonsmokers. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups. The smoking-related alteration in iron content may instead reflect differences in the fate of internalized iron. Iron internalized by AM as iron 59 initially bound to transferrin was distributed to a cytoplasmic, largely ferritin-associated, pool more slowly in smokers than in nonsmokers, during a 24-hour incubation in vitro. Significantly less newly internalized iron was returned to the culture medium by AM from smokers, which by 24 hours had released 11.0% +/- 3.7% of the initially internalized 59Fe compared with 36.0% +/- 2.3% for nonsmokers (P less than 0.01). The increased accumulation of iron by AM in the alveolar space of smokers may modulate hydroxyl radical production in the microenvironment of these cells.
 ...
PMID:Iron binding, internalization, and fate in human alveolar macrophages. 378 29

The interrelationships between various components of the non-immune inflammatory response (white cell count, plasma lactoferrin, C-reactive protein, ferritin, iron and iron-binding capacity), were studied serially in a variety of inflammatory conditions including acute lobar pneumonia, active pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis on gold therapy and sepsis in the face of marrow hypoplasia induced by chemotherapy. Lactoferrin concentrations paralleled the white count in all groups. They were highest in pneumonia and tuberculosis, mildly elevated in rheumatoid arthritis and markedly decreased in neutropenic sepsis. Very high initial lactoferrin concentrations were associated with a poor prognosis in acute pneumonia. C-reactive protein and ferritin concentrations remained elevated through the period of study in acute pneumonia and neutropenic sepsis, while they gradually normalised over weeks in subjects with tuberculosis or rheumatoid arthritis on therapy. In pneumonia and tuberculosis moderate hypoferraemia and a reduced iron-binding capacity were evident. In contrast, a raised percentage saturation was present in neutropenic sepsis, probably related to erythroid marrow suppression. Comparisons between ferritin, lactoferrin and C-reactive protein in the various groups supported the concept that ferritin behaves in part as an acute phase reactant and that hypoferraemia in inflammation is due to deviation of iron into ferritin stores. The suggestion that lactoferrin is responsible for the hypoferraemia and hyperferritinaemia was not supported by the present data. Iron deficiency appeared to limit the hyperferritinaemic response in rheumatoid arthritis, while erythropoietic inhibition by chemotherapy dampened the hypoferraemic response in neutropenic sepsis.
 ...
PMID:The non-immune inflammatory response: serial changes in plasma iron, iron-binding capacity, lactoferrin, ferritin and C-reactive protein. 378 68

The hematologic status of 265 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was assessed. In the group as a whole, a mild depression in the hemoglobin concentration and mean cell volume (MCV) was associated with an increase in the red blood cell distribution width (RDW), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and platelet count. Bone marrow trephine biopsies and further measurements of iron status and disease activity were done in [a further] 38 more anemic patients, and the findings in those with absent marrow iron (iron deficiency) were compared with those having stainable stores (anemia of chronic disorders). The RDW was raised in both, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. The concentrations of nonheme iron in the marrow and of serum ferritin were significantly lower in the iron-deficient group, but the geometric mean serum ferritin of 34 micrograms/L was still a good deal higher than that associated with uncomplicated iron deficiency. This was presumably because of the fact that the serum ferritin, which was significantly correlated with the ESR (r 0.55; P less than 0.0004) and C-reactive protein (CRP) r 0.41; P less than 0.01), was also functioning as an acute phase protein. While there was a weak correlation (r 0.37; P less than 0.04) between the marrow nonheme iron and the serum ferritin concentrations, it disappeared when nonactive patients with normal CRP concentrations were excluded. The absence of a correlation is unlike the findings that have previously been noted in other chronic inflammatory conditions and in neoplasia. This raises the possibility that serum ferritin concentrations in rheumatoid arthritis may reflect, in part at least, another store of iron located in affected joints.
 ...
PMID:Hematologic and iron-related measurements in rheumatoid arthritis. 381 50

The new generation of oral contraceptives (OCs) contains less than 50 mcg of estrogen compared to previous levels of 100-150 mcg, and as a result have fewer undesirable side effects. In addition, it appears that the newer OCs decrease the susceptibility to many diseases. For example, the pill decreases by 40% the risk that a woman under 55 years of age will develop ovarian cancer. The risk of endometrial cancer is reduced by 50% in OC users. The pill also significantly lowers the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease--a condition that is involved in almost 20% of all gynecologic problems and is a leading cause of infertility. OC use reduces the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Further, by decreasing menstrual blood flow, the pill protects against iron-deficiency anemia. The pill is claimed to decrease premenstrual tension, menstrual cramps, and even acne. It has a protective effect against ovarian cysts and benign breast cancer. Finally, there is the possibility that OCs protect against the development of rheumatoid arthritis and duodenal ulcers.
 ...
PMID:Oral contraceptives come of age. 385 23

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have altered protein patterns in their serum and synovial fluid which influences the antioxidant activity of these fluids. Rheumatoid serum has a higher antioxidant activity than control serum when ferrous and ferric ions stimulate membrane damage. The raised levels of caeruloplasmin and the lower iron saturation of transferrin contribute to these differences. When membrane damage is stimulated by a copper salt, rheumatoid serum does not show an increased antioxidant protection and has probably a lower protective activity than control serum. Attempts to damage caeruloplasmin and transferrin with oxygen radicals were unsuccessful. However, prolonged incubations with trypsin reduced the iron-binding capacity of transferrin and decreased the ferroxidase and antioxidant properties of caeruloplasmin. Copper was released from caeruloplasmin under these conditions.
 ...
PMID:Antioxidant properties of the proteins caeruloplasmin, albumin and transferrin. A study of their activity in serum and synovial fluid from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. 394 55


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>