griseofulvin and Arthritis--Rheumatoid

Topics: Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Erythema Nodosum; Femur Head; Gout; Griseofulvin; Hip; Humans; Joint Diseases; Knee; Osteoarthritis; Osteoporosis; Purpura; Rheumatic Diseases; Rheumatic Fever; Rheumatology; Sciatica; Spinal Diseases

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) chemotaxis is thought to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. PMN chemotaxis is in part sensitive to microtubule antagonists (MAs), e.g. colchicine. The antimycotic antibiotic griseofulvin inhibits the MA-sensitive PMN chemotaxis in vitro in concentrations far below those obtained in serum during antimycotic therapy. The role of the MA-sensitive chemotaxis in rheumatoid arthritis could thus be elucidated by a clinical trial of griseofulvin treatment. Griseofulvin (n = 20) was tested in a randomized double-blind study versus placebo (m = 19) during one year in patients with rheumatoid arthritis of mild-moderate activity. No beneficial effect of griseofulvin treatment was noted on clinical symptoms or laboratory parameters of rheumatoid arthritis. Moreover, the placebo-treated patients showed more improvement than the griseofulvin-treated patients. It is therefore suggested that the MA-sensitive chemotaxis plays a reparative role in the inflammatory lesions of rheumatoid arthritis.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Chemotaxis; Clinical Trials as Topic; Double-Blind Method; Female; Griseofulvin; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neutrophils; Random Allocation

We discuss a patient with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) who developed severe scalp pruritus that was initially attributed to the cicatricial alopecia and ultimately diagnosed as tinea capitis. The rarity of severe pruritus in CCCA should prompt a search for a fungal infection in these patients.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Alopecia; Antifungal Agents; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Child; Child, Preschool; Cicatrix; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Griseofulvin; Humans; Immunocompromised Host; Immunosuppressive Agents; Middle Aged; Naphthalenes; Pruritus; Terbinafine; Tinea Capitis

Griseofulvin at 2-17 micrograms/ml in in vitro inhibited the proliferation of scleroderma skin fibroblasts and rheumatoid synovial cells. The inhibition was concentration-dependent, with little difference between the two types of cells. Mean ID50 values from the four strains of each group were 9.2 for fibroblasts and 9.5 for synovial cells. The results show that griseofulvin at therapeutic concentrations can have a direct effect on the growth of cells cultured from diseased human connective tissues.

Topics: Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Cell Division; Cells, Cultured; Fibroblasts; Griseofulvin; Humans; Scleroderma, Systemic; Skin; Synovial Membrane

Topics: Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Female; Griseofulvin; Humans; Male; Nucleic Acids; Scleroderma, Systemic; Sjogren's Syndrome

Topics: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Analgesics; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Antipyretics; Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Bone Marrow; Cartilage; Catalase; Gout; Griseofulvin; Indoles; Rheumatology; Tissue Extracts; Uricosuric Agents

Topics: Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Gout; Griseofulvin; Humans; Periarthritis; Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy; Rheumatic Diseases; Rheumatology