Juvenile Chronic Arthritis – New Classification

Overview

The authors describe the clinical pictures of different types of juvenile arthritis, which are dividedaccording to the newly recommended classification of ILAR (International League of Associationsfor Rheumatology). Thus seven homogeneous groups are obtained into which the children areincluded after a 6-month persistence of the disease. Each group is clearly defined according toclassification criteria. It is assumed that in the pathogenesis of different types of juvenile arthritisdifferent genetic factors participate. Most is known about the association with HLA genes, but theparticipation of other genes is also probable, e.g. genes which code for pro-inflammatory cytokinesand their inhibitors. In the authors’ patients a significantly higher ratio of allele 2 of the gene forthe interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) was found.

Key words:
juvenile idiopathic arthritis