Lymphocyte activation in rheumatoid synovial effusion

A rapid method based upon increase in intranuclear birefringence occurring in early stages of lymphocyte activation was used to examine whether there is any difference in lymphocyte activation between lymphocytes from synovial fluid and those from peripheral blood in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other joint diseases. Increased activation of synovial fluid lymphocytes compared with peripheral blood lymphocytes was seen only in synovial effusions obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis.