Antinuclear antibodies in juvenile chronic arthritis.

One hundred patients with juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) were studied with respect to granulocyte-specific and organ-nonspecific antinuclear antibodies (GS- and ON-ANA) in relation to clinical features of disease. Seventy-two were girls and 28 boys. Sixty-seven patients had IgG ANA, 31 IgM, 10 IgA, 6 IgD, 19 IgE and 35 had ANA, which fixed complement C3. Sixteen of 17 sera containing IgG GS-ANA were from girls. The prevalence of IgG GS-ANA increased with the number of joints affected. No patient with the acute febrile type of the disease had IgG GS-ANA or CS fixing ANA. The prevalence of IgG ON-ANA did not differ significantly in the mono-, pauci-, polyarticular and acute febrile types of JCA. Patients showing clinical activity more frequently had IgG and IgM ANA and C3 fixing ANA. The high titers of ANA were most often seen in girls. Chronic uveitis occurred in 10 of the patients and IgG ANA were present in sera from all of these.