This novel animal model of intravital intestinal video microscopy that uses an abdominal cavity chamber is a feasible and sensitive experimental tool to study intestinal microcirculation during increased intra-abdominal pressure. Intra-abdominal pressure likely results in a severe impairment of mucosal microcirculation.

Both crosslinking density and degradation of mature collagen from synovial tissue depend on the disease activity in RA. Urinary excretion of associated crosslinks, expressed as the Pyr/Dpyr ratio, correlates with those in synovial tissue and may be confirmed as a marker of synovial tissue collagen degradation. We suggest that increased crosslinking of mature collagen in the synovial tissue of RA is related to an inflammation-dependent regulation of collagen synthesis in activated synovial fibroblasts, in which lysyl oxidase represents the final enzymatic step for crosslinking.

Reaction to stress and stress tolerance resulting from diverse social and economic factors are evaluated by means of various psychologic tests in a group of rheumatoid arthritis and in a control group of nonrheumatoid arthritis patients. The arthritics show a greater incidence of psychophysiologic reaction than the controls. They show greater evidence of contained hostility, presumably because they are unable or unwilling to express feelings of dissatisfaction toward many stressful aspects of their environment. They are also unable to admit to themselves and to others their negative feelings toward their lot in life.Le reaction a stress e le tolerantia pro stress le qua1 resulta ab diverse factores social e economic es evalutate per medio de varie tests psychologic in un gruppo de patientes con arthritis rheumatoide e in un gruppo de controlo de patientes sin arthritis rhenmatoide. Le arthriticos monstra un plus grande incidentia de reactiones psychophysiologic que le patientes de controlo. Illes manifesta plus nette signos de hostilitate restringite, presumitemente proque illes es incapace o non desirose de exprimer sentimentos de dissatisfaction con numerose aspectos stressose de lor ambiente. Illes etiam es incapace de admitter a illes mesme e a alteres lor negative sentimentos relative a lor fato.N 1956 we reportedR the results of projective tests designed to evaluate the I personality structure and unconscious motivation of a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis as compared with a group of control subjects. Our findings indicated that patients who had rheumatoid arthritis tended either to turn aggression inwardly or to evade and gloss over frustrating situations, rather than to express aggression extrapunitively ; and that early parental conflicts continue to exert their effects unconsciously, resulting in defective personality integration.The present study was undertaken to determine whether there were psychologic differences in reacting to stressful situations resulting from various social and economic factors between rheumatoid arthritis patients and a group of patients hospitalized for diseases other than rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS AND PROCEDURESTwenty-eight patients with peripheral rheumatoid arthritis, two of whom also had rheumatoid spondylitis, and one patient with rheumatoid spondylitis were studied by means of the following instruments: Shipley-Hartford Vocabulary Test, Cornell Index ( N-2 ), selected TAT Cards, a trait-type questionnaire about the male figure drawn by the patient, and a personal data and life events questionnaire. The tests were chi-square, the 275