Effect of oral D-penicillamine treatment on experimental arthritis and associated immune responses in rabbits. III: Reduction of the monoarticular arthritis.

Treatment of rabbits with D-penicillamine at doses up to 30 mg/kg, beginning either before or after the onset of antigen-induced experimental arthritis, diminished the severity of the inflammatory synovitis in a considerable proportion of animals as judged by both external joint measurements and terminal histopathological assessment. D-penicillamine treatment had no effect on serum haptoglobin concentration, haemoglobin concentration, or platelet count. The venous blood white cell count was raised when D-penicillamine treatment was started before immunisation but not when treatment began after the onset of arthritis. A transient loss of appetite was observed in animals starting D-penicillamine treatment.