title: Free rheumatoid factor in dental periapical lesions and gingivae of patients with rheumatoid disease.
abstract: To determine whether evidence of rheumatoid inflammation, in the form of free rheumatoid factor, might be found in the teeth-supporting tissues of patients with known rheumatoid disease, tissues from the dental periapical lesions of one group of 50 rheumatoid and 23 control patients, and from the marginal gingivae of a second group of 58 rheumatoid patients were examined by the direct immunofluorescence technique that employed fluroesceinisothiocyanate (FITC)-labelled aggregated human IgG. The gingival tissues contained no free rheumatoid factor. Free rheumatoid factor-producing plasma cells were, however, detected in the  dental periapical lesions of 3 of the 50 rheumatoid patients, i.e. in 6%, and in 1 of the control patients i.e., in 4%. This control patient had suffered from nephritis 10 months prior to the investigation. Because free rheumatoid factor did occur, albeit infrequently, in the dental periapical lesions of rheumatoid patients, a search for IgG rheumatoid factor, known to occur in greater abundance than the IgM type although "hidden", was indicated.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010482:Periapical Abscess / Q000378:metabolism*; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D012217:Rheumatoid Factor