The Journal of the Korean Rheumatism Association  1995;2(1):92-97

A Case Of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Anteceded By Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Pyoung Nam KIM 1 ; Tae Hwan KIM ; Seong Yoon KIM ; Jae Bum JUN ; Dong See HAN ; Sung See JUNG ; In Hong LEE ; Sang Cheol BAE ; Dae Hyun YOO ; Kyung Bin JOE ; Seung Young KIM

Affiliations

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Keywords

Rheumatoid arthritis; Primary biliary cirrhosis

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Primary biliary cirrhosis is a chronic, progressive liver disease characterized by inflammatory destruction of septal and intralobular bile ducts which results in intrahepatic cholestasis. Although the cause remains obscure, it is frequently associated with a variety of disorders presumed to be autoimmune in nature. We report a case of early primary biliary cirrhosis which was anteceded by rheumatoid arthritis. The patient was a 54-year-old female who was admitted due to arthralgia and joint deformity. She had been diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis 10 years before. On admission, she had elevated serum ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-GTP and positive serum antimitochondrial antibody test. Microscopic findings of the liver were consistent with the early stage of primary bi]iary cirrhosis.