Rheumatoid arthritis: clinical onset, seropositivity, and a possible cause

Abstract

LETTERSshould be limited to those tumors that most frequently occur with DM, and should only be extended in case of abnormal signs and symptoms (1,2,4,5). In our patient, radiographic examination of the knees was performed because of a low-grade arthritis which occurred during Legionella pneumophila pneumonia. Arthritis in the course of DM is rare (3), and the chondrosarcoma of the tibia was an unexpected finding revealed only by accident. In studies of large series of patients with DM and malignancies, sarcoma was described in only a few patients and did not include chondrosarcoma (2,4). To our knowledge, this is the first report of a chondrosarcoma in connection with DM.The relapse of DM after tumor removal, of course, might have been related to incomplete tumor therapy, but this seems unlikely since no signs of tumor metastasis have been found. This might be an example of the unpredictable, rather autonomous course of DM, after successful tumor therapy, which has been observed by others (4).

Reaction of rheumatoid factors with IgG3 monoclonal anti-Rh(D) antibodies: more frequent reactivity to a monoclonal antibody of the Gm allotype G3m(5) in rheumatoid patients negative for G3m(5).

“…Thus Glm(1,17); G3m(21) is expressed as Gml,17; 21. Where patients are homozygous for Glm (1,17); G3m(21) they were incorporated with those homozygous for Glm (1,2,17); G3m (21) and they are all designated Gml(2)17; 21. The G3m(5) and G3m(21) polyclonal anti-D sera are also called 'b' and 'g' respectively, after the recommended alternative numerical and alphameric notations for immunoglobulin allotypes: 1=a, 2=x, 3=f, 5=bl, 11=b0, 13=b3, 17=z, 21=g.…”