Baeten D et al. - Case history of 2 male HLA-B27-positive patients who had active SpA despite absence of B cells. First patient developed SpA with sacroiliitis and asymmetric oligoarthritis thus illustrating that functional B cells and/or gamma globulins are not strictly required for SpA pathogenesis. The second patient had severe axial and peripheral SpA that was treated successfully with etanercept. These clinical observations provide evidence that active SpA can occur in the absence of functional mature B cells.
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