[Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (Grönblad-Strandberg syndrome) and rheumatoid arthritis]

A 72-year-old woman, not previously known to have coronary heart disease, was admitted to hospital with an acute anterior wall myocardial infarction. The history revealed that, when about 40 years of age, a coarse skin-fold and yellowish-white xanthoma-like efflorescences had been noted around her umbilicus, the inguinal regions and axillae. These changes subsequently developed into a pathognomonic picture of pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PE), which was a significant factor in the myocardial infarction. At the age of 69 years, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), stage II after Steinbrocker, had been diagnosed on the basis of morning stiffness, symmetrical arthritis in more than three joint regions and the radiological appearance of narrowed joint spaces with erosions. Different pathological mechanisms of PE and RA change the connective tissue metabolism, thus affecting the same target tissue, but there is no known connection between the two diseases.