The coexistence of active classic rheumatoid arthritis and AIDS.

The lack of previous reports documenting the coexistence of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) despite an abundance of other HIV associated autoimmune phenomena has generated a hypothesis regarding the necessity of the T4 cell for the development or continued activity of RA. We are the first to describe a patient in whom AIDS did not induce a remission of active synovitis. This observation emphasizes the complexity of the pathogenesis of RA.