Altered fatty acid, cholesterol and Na+/K+ ATPase activity in erythrocyte membrane of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease whose cause remains obscure. Blood from 15 RA patients and controls was taken and their ghosts separated. The ghosts were analysed for cholesterol content, Na+/K+ ATPase activity and eicosapentaenoic acid. The cholesterol content in the ghosts of RA patients was significantly lower as compared with the set of controls. There was a major difference in the activity of Na+/K+ ATPase between the two groups with RA patients showing significantly elevated activity. The ghosts of the RA patients exhibited major abnormality in the polyunsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids with the level of eicosapentaenoic acid (omega-3, 20:5) being significantly reduced.