title: Serum amyloid A circulating levels and disease activity in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
abstract: The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between circulating levels of serum amyloid A protein (SAA) and disease activity in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Our study group included 41 JIA patients (9 male, 32 female), classified according to the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria (5); 16 had polyarticular onset disease and 25 had oligoarticular onset disease. Among 25 patients with oligoarticular disease, three had extended oligoarthritis. Serum amyloid A (SAA), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in both patients and 26 healthy controls. SAA levels were higher in JIA patients versus healthy controls (p<0.001). Significant positive correlations were found between SAA and the presence of active joints (rho=0.363, p<0.05), the number of active joints (rho=0.418, p<0.05), ESR (R=0.702, p<0.05) and CRP (R=0.827, p<0.05). No significant correlations between ESR and the presence of active joints (rho=0.221, p=0.225) or between ESR and the number of active joints (rho=0.118, p=0.520) were demonstrated in JIA patients. No significant correlations were obtained between CRP and the presence of active joints (rho=0.034, p=0.855) or between CRP and the number of active joints (rho=0.033, p=0.859). We discovered a significant increase in SAA levels in JIA patients, compared to controls, and a strong positive correlation between SAA level and JIA disease activity. We also discerned SAA to be a more sensitive laboratory marker than ESR and CRP for evaluating the presence and number of active joints. We suggest that SAA can be used as an additional indicator of disease activity in JIA.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine and Immunologic Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. cantariniluca@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cantarini
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Giani
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fioravanti
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iacoponi
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Simonini
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pagnini
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spreafico
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chellini
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galeazzi
authors.forename: Rolando
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cimaz
mesh_terms: D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000685:Serum Amyloid A Protein; D002097:C-Reactive Protein