الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 1S a generalized disorder which predominantly affects synovial joints. Cytokines are thought to play an important role in this disease process (Cope et al., 1992 and Manicourt et Methotrexate (MTX) is currently considered by many as the drug of choice in the treatment of RA (Willkens, 1990). Although the role of its action remains unclear, some studies with MTX have shown inhibitory effects on some serum cytokilies (Segal et al., 1989). The aim of this study was:- • To assess some of the serum cytokines and cytokine receptors (IL-1~, sIL-1R II, IL-1Ra, sIL-2R, IL-6, TNFa and sTNFRII) in rheumatoid patients before and after MTX therapy . • To correlate the level of these serum Gytokines with disease activity parameters . • To evaluate the efficacy ofMTX therapy in rheumatoid patients. The present study comprised 40 adult patients suffering from RA, (34 females and 6 males), their age ranged from 18-64 years, with a mean of 39.9±10.6 years. Disease duration ranged from 1.5-12 months with a mean of 6±3.99 months. Patients were selected from the outpatients clinic of Rheumatology & Rehabilitation Department, Mansoura University Hospital.