Influence of Rheumatoid Arthritis on Amyloidosis of Aging: Comparison of 47 Rheumatoid Patients with 47 Controls Matched for Age and Sex

Amyloidosis, both human and experimental, is allied with a multiplicity of predisposing factors. This study was designed to determine whether the presence of one such factor, rheumatoid arthritis, would enhance the tendency for amyloid accumulation in aged persons. With the use of sensitive histologic methods, the autopsy prevalence of amyloidosis in 47 patients with documented severe rheumatoid arthritis was compared to that in 47 nonrheumatoid subjects appropriately matched for sex and age. Contrary to expectations, the frequency and, with one exception, the distribution and amount of amyloid deposition were identical. Only one rheumatoid patient exhibited ‘secondary’ amyloidosis. In this study, the rheumatoid patients exhibited an unexpectedly high frequency of gallstones and relatively low frequency of cancer in comparison to the control group.