Objective. To investigate the hypothesis that whole bacteria might be found in the joints of patients with Chlamydia-associated reactive arthritis.Methods. The presence of 2 plasmid-and 2 chromosome-specific sequences of Chlamydia DNA was investigated by amplification with the polymerase chain reaction, in synovial fluid (SF) samples from 71 patients with various arthropathies.Results. Chlamydia DNA was found in SF samples from 22 patients.Conclusion. Whole chlamydiae are likely present in the SF of patients with Chlamydia-associated reactive arthritis.Reactive arthritis may occur following an infection of the urogenital tract caused by Chlamydia. The presence in joint material of chlamydial antigens, suggestive of elementary and reticulate bodies, has been reported (1-6). An important question is whether whole chlamydiae, or only fragments, are present in the joint. Bacterial remnants, in contrast to live bacteria, would not contain appreciable amounts of undegraded nucleic acids.Studies investigating for the presence of Chlamydia nucleic acids have had variable results. Initial attempts to use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (7) to detect Chlamydia DNA were unsuccessful.

In a 2-yr prospective follow-up study of patients presenting clinically with possible reactive arthritis (ReA), 17 (9%) of the patients turned out to have acute sarcoid arthritis (SA). The number of new cases of SA per year was 2.9/100,000 persons in the city of Oslo between 18 and 60 yr of age. The onset of SA clustered in the spring. All the SA patients presented with bilateral ankle joint involvement and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, and ten (59%) presented with the triad of erythema nodosum, arthritis and lung involvement. A prospective follow-up after 104 weeks showed complete remission of arthritis in all 17 cases of SA. The total duration of arthritis [median (range)] was 11 (2-107) weeks. Erythema nodosum was mild and transient in all cases. At week 104, the lung and hilar manifestations had resolved. We conclude that the outcome of SA appeared favourable. Bilateral ankle joint involvement, erythema nodosum and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy found at the routine chest X-ray examination are important clues for the diagnosis of SA.

Objective. Extensive changes in articular cartilage metabolism occur during the acute phase of reactive arthritis, as indicated by altered release of cartilage macromolecules into synovial fluid (SF) demonstrated immunochemically. Nevertheless, permanent cartilage lesions are rare in this disease. To monitor specific events during the evolution of reactive arthritis, we investigated the content of cartilage macromolecules in sequentially obtained SF samples from 22 patients.Methods. Two groups of proteoglycan epitopes, the glycosaminoglycan-rich region of aggrecan (referred to as proteoglycan) and its hyaluronan-binding region (HABr), as well as one matrix protein, cartilage oligo- Results. SF proteoglycan concentrations, which were initially elevated, decreased significantly with prolonged arthritis, whereas COMP levels changed less markedly and levels of HABr remained stable. There was a positive correlation between SF and serum concentrations of COMP in samples obtained during the early phase of the disease.Conclusion. Cartilage involvement in reactive arthritis is transient, in contrast to findings in rheumatoid arthritis. Reactive arthritis should therefore be a suitable model for studies of repair processes in cartilage, which will facilitate understanding of the pathophysiology of cartilage involvement in arthritis.Reactive arthritis is characterized by the acute onset of arthritis in one or a few joints following an infection, most often of the urinary or gastrointestinal tract (1). Viable organisms are not found in the joint. In the majority of cases the disease is self-limited, and radiographically visible joint damage rarely develops. Nevertheless, previous work has indicated that articular cartilage is involved in the disease process (2).Major constituents of the organic matrix of articular cartilage are type I1 collagen fibers and the cartilage-specific, large aggregating proteoglycan, aggrecan (3). The function of cartilage depends on both the highly polyanionic proteoglycan aggregates and the collagen fibers. A number of other matrix constituents have essential roles in regulating the assembly of the matrix and in participating in interactions necessary for the integrity of the tissue. One such noncol-

The efficacy, toxicity and possible steroid-sparing properties of auranofin in the treatment of elderly-onset rheumatoid arthritis (EORA) were studied in a 2 yr prospective double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Sixty-five patients with onset of arthritis after the age of 60 yr were randomized to either auranofin 3 mg b.i.d. [n = 31, age 70 (61-84) yr, median (range)] or placebo tablets [n = 34, age 72 (60-81) yr]. Oral prednisolone, starting dose 7.5 or 20 mg daily, was used as a rescue drug in patients with intolerable joint pain and stiffness and with C-reactive protein (CRP) > or = 20 mg/l, and was tapered down according to protocol guidelines. Patients receiving auranofin continued therapy for a longer period of time (55% completers) than those on placebo medication (18% completers). The auranofin group consumed significantly less prednisolone, 2.64 (0-11.85) mg/day [median (range)], compared to 5.0 (0-18.33) mg/day in the placebo group (P = 0.006). No group differences at 2 yr follow-up were found for changes in joint pain (P = 0.49), number of swollen joints (P = 0.61), Health Assessment Questionnaire score (P = 0.18) and radiographic damage score (Larsen-Dale index) of the hands (P = 0.84). Within-group changes in radiographic scores were also insignificant. The drop-out rate due to adverse events was surprisingly higher in the placebo group (41%) than in the auranofin group (10%) and, as expected, higher due to lack of effect (29 and 16%). The results indicate that auranofin is safe, superior to placebo and has steroid-sparing capacity in the treatment of EORA. The favourable radiographic outcome in both groups needs confirmation in future studies.

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) upon dental health. A questionnaire was mailed to all seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients aged 44-56 yr in the files of the two main departments of rheumatology in South Eastern Norway. Data were obtained from 125 patients, constituting 91% of the target group. The number of remaining teeth in these patients was not related to disease duration or physical dysfunction, whereas a relationship to prolonged use of medication for pain relief was indicated. Factors known to affect tooth loss in the general population, such as smoking habits, dental attendance, interdental cleaning habits, previous dental disease, and place of residence were found to be important in RA patients as well. The RA patients from Oslo had a mean number of 25 remaining teeth, which is the same as reported for the general Oslo population at this age. Oral dryness was reported by more than 50% of the RA patients, but was not related to the number of teeth. The conclusion is that serious and long lasting rheumatoid arthritis had little influence on the number of remaining teeth in this middle-aged group of Norwegians.

The objective was (1) to examine the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by a county patient register, (2) to cross-validate the register findings by a postal population survey, and (3) to estimate prevalences of disease subsets according to age, sex, and levels of physical disability. The study was performed within a county setting in the city of Oslo with 356,486 inhabitants between 20 and 79 years of age. Prevalence estimates were calculated from a county patient register comprising 1333 patients with RA and a population survey of 10,000 inhabitants. The overall prevalence of RA between 20 and 79 years was 0.437 (95% CI 0.413, 0.461) after adjusting for the incompleteness of the register by a factor of 1.17. Prevalences exceeding 1.0% was only found among females over 60 years. The prevalence of RA with MHAQ scores > or = 1.5 and > or = 2.0 (range 1-4) was 0.225 (95% CI 0.209, 0.243) and 0.099 (0.088, 0.111) respectively. We conclude that RA is less frequent in the city of Oslo than stated in most of the literature. The prevalence of RA with physical disability levels assumed to be associated with increased mortality is less than half of the overall prevalence of 0.4-0.5%.

A total of 146 consecutive patients between 18 and 60 yr of age with oligoarthritis of unknown origin (< or = 6 active joints, < or = 8 weeks duration) were examined by a variety of clinical, laboratory and microbiological investigations, and followed longitudinally for 24 weeks. Reactive arthritis was diagnosed in 46 patients (19 induced by Chlamydia trachomatis, 27 by enterobacteria), 62 had undifferentiated arthritis, eight other inflammatory arthritic diseases, 15 acute sarcoid arthritis and 15 non-inflammatory joint diseases. Group differences were found for many baseline variables, but with considerable overlap between the groups. A set of four clinical and laboratory variables (elevated CRP, genitourinary symptoms, metatarsophalangeal joint involvement. HLA B27) could predict reactive arthritis with a sensitivity of 69.2% and a specificity of 93.5%. A wide range of clinical and laboratory examinations are required to determine the final diagnosis in oligoarthritis, but individual and sets of clinical and laboratory measures may give helpful clues for the correct diagnosis.

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