Polymyalgia rheumatica and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis may be the same entity

Of 159 patients with either polymyalgia rheumatica, seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or an undifferentiated syndrome with features of both who were followed for at least 30 months, synovitis recurred in 57. Twenty of the 57 patients had one episode of polymyalgia and another that looked like RA. Recurrences responded to prednisone and no joint destruction was seen. Temporal arteritis was seen with both diagnoses. These observations suggest that a benign symmetric synovitis occurs in older patients and may present as polymyalgia or as a polyarthritis that resembles RA.