[Value and significance of the immunologic determination of various serum sialoglycoproteins in rheumatic diseases of inflammatory nature].

A statistical method was used in the evaluation of alpha-1-antitrypsin, acid alpha-1-glycoprotein, and haptoglobin in patients with rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, periarthritis, arthrosis with inflammation, and primary arthrosis. A highly significant increase was noted in rheumatic fever and rheumatoid arthritis, less so in arthrosis with inflammation and acute gout, while increases were poorly significant for periarthritis and not significant for primary arthrosis. It can be concluded that the determination of these serum sialoglycoproteins serves to distinguish inflammatory and degenerative rheumatism. Haptoglobin proved the most sensitive of the three. Moreover, there was a distinct correlation between ESR and the three indices. It is felt that sialoglycoproteins act as an indirect pointer to acute inflammation, since their degree of increase is related to the formation of inflammatory proteases.