Hi all found this of interest..
Boney......
Malignant rheumatoid arthritis (MRA) is designated as rheumatoid
arthritis with vasculitis, but MRA is commonly called rheumatoid
vasculitis in western countries. Patients with MRA show a variety of
symptoms and signs based on vasculitis. The clinical features include
subcutaneous nodule, skin ulcer, pericarditis, myocarditis, pleuritis,
pneumonitis, intestinal infarction, mononeuritis multiplex and other
involvements. The cause of the various vascular lesions in MRA has not
been clearly defined, but a number of observations suggest that they
result from injury induced by immune complexes, especially, those
containing rheumatoid factor (RF). The theory of self-associated IgG RF
has been proposed. MRA is usually treated with steroid, and steroid
pulse therapy and immunosuppressants are highly useful for sever MRA
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