A case of rheumatoid arthritis complicated with secondaly amyloidosis and myelodysplastic syndrome

Abstract

In this report, we described a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who complicated with secondary amyloidosis and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The patient was a 65 years-old woman. She was diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis at 50 years old.
In August, 1987, she admitted our hospital for proteinuria and edema. She was diagnosed the complication of secondary amyloidosis by gastric and rectal biopsy. Her anemia progressed rapidly, since march, 1988, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia also appeared. Then she was diagnosed MDS by bone marrow examination.
Using a set of synthetic oligonucleotide probe, we found the point mutation at codon 13 of N-ras gene in bone marrow cells from the patient.
It was suggested that the activated N-ras gene by this point mutation is closely related to the pathogenesis of MDS in this patient.