ABSTRACT
This study was conducted on thirty Rheumatoid Arthritis [RA] patients, 21 females and 9 males, with a mean age of 37 +/- 12.5 years; ten primary osteoarthritis [OA] patients, 7 females and 3 males whose mean age was 51 +/- 10.3 years; and ten apparently healthy volunteers, 8 females and 2 males whose mean age was 38 +/- 12.3. RA patients were subjected to: erythrocyte sedimentation rate, full blood picture antinuclear antibodies, rheumatoid factor and C-reactive protein. Measurement of serum IL-6 was done for all 3 groups, RA, OA and controls and synovial IL-6 levels for RA and OA patients. The results showed a non-significant difference in the level of serum and synovial fluid IL-6 in patients with disease duration below 10 years [200 +/- 127 pg/ml] and those with disease duration above 10 years [189.7 +/- 11.6 pg/ml]. Again there were non-significant differences in the serum and synovial fluid levels of IL-6 in RA patients treated with NSAIDs, immunosuppression [Methotrexate,] a combination of Methotrexate and chloroquine phosphate Na aurothiomalate, or corticosteroids. There was a significant correlation between both serum and synovial fluid IL-6 levels and the mean disease activity grades of RA. Also we found a significant correlation between serum and synovial fluid IL-6 levels and R.F [p <0.05]. But there was no significant correlation between serum and synovial fluid IL-6 and ANA. We concluded that serum IL-6 level can be considered as a parameter of rheumatoid disease activity and it might play a role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid disease