Anemia associated with rheumatoid disease

Cell culture techniques were used to evaluate the number of erythroid colonies formed by circulating progenitor cells from 24 patients with rheumatoid disease and controls. A highly significant inverse correlation was demonstrated between erythroid colony counts and serum IgM and rheumatoid factor concentrations in the rheumatoid patients. The potential role of these factors in the pathogenesis of the anemia of rheumatoid disease is discussed.