beta 2-Microglobulin levels in serum and urine of rheumatoid arthritis patients on gold therapy.
The levels of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m) in serum and urine of 24 seropositive patients with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) treated with regular gold (sodium aurothiomalate) injections have been investigated. The values obtained were compared with levels from 20 seropositive patients with RA treated only with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and 20 age and sex matched normal controls who had received no medication. A significant increase of urinary beta 2-m levels was found in the gold-treated RA group. No correlation between dose of gold received and the levels of beta 2-m in the urine could be established. There was also no correlation between the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or total lymphocyte count and beta 2-m levels in serum or urine. We conclude that serum and urinary beta 2-m levels appear to be poor indices of joint inflammation, but sequential urinary beta 2-m levels may prove valuable in monitoring the development of renal tubular lesions due to gold therapy.[1]References
- beta 2-Microglobulin levels in serum and urine of rheumatoid arthritis patients on gold therapy. Latt, D., Weiss, J.B., Jayson, M.I. Ann. Rheum. Dis. (1981) [Pubmed]
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