Developments in Brief : Bacteria Suspected in Rare Form of Arthritis

Bacteria that cause the most common sexually transmitted disease also appear to be responsible for an unusual and previously unexplained form of arthritis that strikes both men and young women, British researchers say.

Dr. Josh Dixey, a rheumatologist at Westminster Hospital in London, said he and colleagues have demonstrated that Chlamydia bacteria enter the joints of some people with a form of arthritis that attacks suddenly and disappears within six months.

The research provides evidence that other forms of arthritis may be caused in a similar way, Dixey said. “Clearly the cause of arthritis is complicated and depends on a number of factors,” such as genetic heritage and environmental factors such as exposure to bacteria or viruses, he said.

Chlamydia, the No. 1 sexually transmitted disease, is a bacterial infection that strikes up to 10 million Americans a year. The infection often has no symptoms and is still difficult to identify despite development of new tests. In women, it can lead to infertility if untreated.

Dixey and his team, using antibodies that home in on part of the bacteria, found evidence of chlamydia in joints of four out of nine subjects--eight men and one woman--in one study, and in four of eight women in another study. But they could not tell if what they found was whole bacteria or only fragments, Dixey said during the recent annual meeting of the American Rheumatism Assn. in Washington