Abstract
Summary and conclusions
The temporal relationship of various physiological and biochemical alterations in adjuvant arthritis was presented. The parameters measured included hindleg edema volume, local hyperpyrexia, grip function, serum lysozyme, peripheral blood leukocytes, and body weight. The injection of M. butyricum (in oil) into the hindpaw of Lewis rats produced increases in the injected hindleg volume and temperature, elevation of serum lysozyme, and loss of body weight gain. These alterations occurred in a biphasic pattern which corresponded temporally to the primary and secondary phases of adjuvant arthritis. Increases in the uninjected hindleg volume and temperature, impairment of grip function, and increases in peripheral blood leukocytes occurred mainly in the secondary phase of the disease. Local hyperpyrexia, elevated polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and impairment of body weight gain were the earliest detectable signs of the onset of the secondary phase in adjuvant arthritis. Edema volume, local hyperpyrexia, impairment of grip function, and elevated serum lysozyme levels appear to be diverse expressions of the inflammatory process in adjuvant arthritis as well as the human disease. The assessment of these parameters in the animal model may have utility in defining the profile of potential antiarthritic agents.
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