ABSTRACT
Serum levels of sialic acid [SA], serum glycosaminoglycans [GAGs] and urinary excretion of glycosaminoglycans were analyzed in 76 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis [RA]. The values were compared with those of 69 normal healthy controls. Other related parameters of disease activity were also analyzed, i.e, serum rheumatoid factor [RF], C-reactive protein [C-RF], ceruloplasmin [CF],hemoglobin [Hb] and erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]. There was a significant elevation in the serum SA and urinary GAGs levels of the RS patients compared to control subjects, while no such elevations in serum GAGs were noticed. Serum SA levels were significantly correlated with disease activity. This suggests that serum SA levels can be used as an additional parameter to assess disease activity in RA patients