LIPOPROTEIN(A) IN RELATION TO ACUTE-PHASE REACTION IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS AND POLYMYALGIA-RHEUMATICA

The effect of altered inflammatory activity, as reflected by acute pha se protein levels, on the concentration of lipoprotein(a) was analysed in 51 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and in 25 patients wit h polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Despite significantly decreased acute phase proteins in RA, the Lp(a) concentration increased significantly between the two observations in the group as a whole. In one subgroup with initially high Lp(a) levels, large intraindividual variations bet ween the samplings and a high correlation to the ESR changes were foun d. Another subgroup with initially low levels showed small variations of Lp(a) without correlation to any acute phase reactant. In the PMR g roup, Lp(a) decreased in line with diminishing acute phase reactivity.