Objective-To investigate the thrombin inhibitory capacity of antithrombin III in the inflamed human joint. Methods-Thrombin inhibitory capacity was measured, using a kinetic spectophotometric method, in matched plasma and synovial fluid samples of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n=22) and osteoarthritis (n=16), together with normal control plasma samples (n=13). In the same samples, the concentration of antithrombin III was also determined by the method of radial immunodiVusion. The combination of these measurements allowed the calculation of the specific thrombin inhibitory capacity of these samples. Results-An increased concentration of antithrombin III in rheumatoid compared

No abstract