Clinical studies of seven patients with rheumatoid arthritis and uniquely large amounts of rheumatoid factor

Large amounts of the rheumatoid factor were found in the serum of patients with far advanced, active rheumatoid disease, many of whom had “Felty's syndrome,” and all of whom had subcutaneous nodules. A large part of the associated elevated gamma globulin was due to the abnormal 22 S rather than the 7 S component found in other diseases. Whether this 22 S component is but another manifestation of the disease or plays an active role in pathogenesis of various complications is not known at present.