title: Infectious aspects and the etiopathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Infections are believed to contribute to the maturation of the immune system from the innate to the adaptive phases and therefore may take part in the induction of autoimmune conditions. In the current study, we present an extensive analysis conducted on sera samples of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in order to seek evidence of previous or coexisting infectious processes using the Bio-Rad BioPlex immunoassay analyzer. We detected higher rates of serological evidence of infections with Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus viruses. Our findings may indicate a role of these viruses in the pathogenesis of RA.
authors: Department of Medicine D, Meir Medical Center affiliated with Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Kfar-Saba, Israel.
authors: Michal Kasher
authors: MK
authors: Meron
authors: Howard
authors: H
authors: Amital
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Shepshelovich
authors: Ori
authors: O
authors: Barzilai
authors: Maya
authors: M
authors: Ram
authors: Juan-Manuel
authors: JM
authors: Anaya
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Gerli
authors: Nicola
authors: N
authors: Bizzaro
authors: Bizzaro
authors: B
authors: Nicola
authors: Yehuda
authors: Y
authors: Shoenfeld
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000382:microbiology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D014210:Treponema pallidum
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000914:Antibodies, Viral