This study investigated the relation between stress and current disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). During a routine clinic appointment, subjects were given ratings of global disease status by their physicians and completed self-report measures of major stress and minor stress. In addition, each subject's erythrocyte sedimentation rate was taken. After controlling for disease severity and major stress, minor stress accounted for a significant amount of the variance in inflammation level. These results suggest that minor stress is associated with current disease activity in RA.

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The efficacy of naproxen in treating rheumatoid arthritis patients was evaluated in a double-blind clinical trial using aspirin as the control drug. The study was conducted at seven centers and involved 80 patients. After an unequivocal increase in disease activity during a drug-free period, patients were randomly assigned to either drug and continued in the trial for 16 weeks. Some patients took low maintenance doses of corticosteroids, or gold salts, or both throughout the trial. Both test drugs significantly decreased disease activity as measured by a number of ways. By objective measurements, naproxen was as effective as aspirin, although patients in the naproxen-treated group entered the trial with more severe disease. By some subjective evaluations, naproxen was considered more effective than aspirin. Although patients taking naproxen had less frequent gastrointestinal side effects and fewer symptoms VIIIth nerve toxicity, the differences were not statistically significant. We conclude that naproxen is a useful addition to the physician's armamentarium for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

volve brain, heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys. I remember one case that was at first diagnosed as typhoid fe¬ ver. Subsequently, the correct diag¬ nosis was established by strongly pos¬ itive antibody test and a typical blood picture.

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