Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Are Free of Filarial Infection in an Area Where Filariasis is Endemic: Comment on the Article by Pineda et al

Abstract

Nanosized ethylene–propylene rubber (EPM) latex with a particle size of 47 nm was synthesized via an alternative route consisting of isoprene (IP) polymerization followed by hydrogenation. First, the IP monomer was polymerized by differential microemulsion polymerization to obtain polyisoprene (PIP) rubber latex with a particle size of 42 nm. The structure of synthetic PIP was hydrogenated at the carbon–carbon double bonds to produce an ethylene–propylene copolymer by diimide reduction in the presence of hydrazine and hydrogen peroxide using boric acid as promotor. The degree of hydrogenation was determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H‐NMR) spectroscopy and the structure of the ethylene–propylene copolymer was identified by 13C‐NMR spectroscopy. In nanosized PIP hydrogenation, the hydrogenation level was found to be increased by boric acid addition. An EPM yield of 94% was achieved using a hydrogen peroxide : hydrazine ratio of 1.5 : 1. The EPM produced from PIP has high thermal stability with the maximum decomposition temperature of 510°C and a glass transition temperature of ‐42.4°C close to commercial ethylene–propylene diene rubber. Dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that EPM had a maximum storage modulus due to the saturated carbons domains of the ethylene segments in the polymer chains. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

Absence of filarial infection in patients of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in filarial endemic area: a possible protective role

“…We had demonstrated earlier the absence of filarial infection in rheumatoid arthritis 3 in a filarial endemic area, 4,5 while a study from South India has demonstrated an association between absence of filarial infection and Type-1 diabetes. 6 The present study was carried out to explore the relationship between SLE and filariasis.…”

Lessons from helminth infections: ES-62 highlights new interventional approaches in rheumatoid arthritis

“…Only lately, Panda et al . reported a clear absence of filarial nematode infection in RA patients from Odisha, India, an area endemic for Wuchereria bancrofti [34], the primary agent for eliciting lymphatic filariasis. Thus, as helminths do not overwhelmingly immunosuppress the host, yet seem to be a factor in protection against the development of RA, the question is: can we learn from parasitic worms how to develop better and more effective biological therapies for RA?…”

A parasite-derived 68-mer peptide ameliorates autoimmune disease in murine models of Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis

“…Several environmental risk factors, such as low vitamin D, infection with Epstein-Barr virus, and smoking, have been associated with the occurrence of autoimmune disease23. However, compelling epidemiological evidence indicates an inverse correlation between infections with helminth parasites and the incidence of autoimmune disease worldwide4567. These observations concur with the so-called ‘old friends’ hypothesis, suggesting that the long evolutionary co-adaptation between parasites and humans has fundamentally affected the composition of the human immune response.…”