Measurements of humoral immunity during treatment with levamisole in rheumatoid arthritis--a review.

Treatment with levamisole in patients with rheumatoid arthritis reduced significantly titers of rheumatoid factor and the amount of circulating immune complexes as determined by the Clq binding activity. It took between three and six months to observe a significant effect. Levamisole treatment had less effect on the amount of immunoglobulins in serum: the values were rarely abnormal before treatment and the changes were small, but reached statistical significance at six months. The effect on complement and complement components could not be evaluated as properly controlled studies were lacking.