MANNAN-BINDING LECTIN IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

Objective, Low serum levels of mannan binding lectin (MEL) are associa ted with increased risk of recurrent infections. We determined whether there was an association between serum MBL levels and the course and prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods, MBL was analyzed in s era from 99 patients with RA who were included in a longterm prospecti ve study. Results, Compared with controls, a high fraction of patients lacked detectable MBL in serum (11 vs 3%; p = 0.025). Comparing patie nts with MBL serum levels above and below the median revealed that tho se with levels below the median were younger at onset of RA (p = 0.043 ) and had higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.006), joint swe lling score (p = 0.019), limitation of joint motion score (p = 0.027), and annual increase in radiographic destruction score (p = 0.053). Co nclusion, MBL insufficiency may be a contributing pathogenetic factor in RA.