ANTI‐IgG ANTIBODIES IN JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

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Abstract
Sixty-two patients, 48 children and 14 adults, with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and 62 age and sex matched controls were studied for anti-IgG antibodies of the classes IgG, IgM and IgA by an indirect immunofluorescence method. IgG anti-IgG occurred in 88% of 48 children .ltoreq. 16 yr and in 64% of 14 patients > 16 yr with JRA against 2% of the controls. IgM anti-IgG occurred in 4% of the children, in 24% of the adults and in 2% of the controls. IgA anti-IgG occurred in 2% of the patients and in none of the controls. The prevalence of IgG anti-IgG was the same in pauciarticular, polyarticular and systemic cases; the titers were higher in polyarticular than in pauciarticular cases and higher in children with a disease duration of > 5 yr. Higher titers were related to higher ESR [erythrocyte sedimentation rate] and lower Hb values. The relationship of higher titers to clinically active disease was not statistically significant. No relationship was found to age, sex, age at onset or to the duration of disease. The titers were not related to the concentrations of serum IgG or to the titers of antinuclear antibodies. IgG anti-IgG are common to all the clinical types of JRA; antinuclear antibodies separate the systemic type from pauci- and polyarthritis. Their possible pathogenic significance must therefore be different.