title: Rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis is often considered to be an autoimmune disease in which the abnormal immunological response is triggered by an infectious agent(s) but progress towards identifying such extrinsic factors has so far been unrevealing. In contrast, the genetic component of host susceptibility is slowly becoming clearer. In particular, the nature of the HLA class II association with the disease has led to new insights into its pathogenesis and possible novel forms of therapy.
authors: Nuffield Department of Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Wordsworth
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006681:HLA-D Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006681:HLA-D Antigens; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor