[Juvenile rheumatoid artritis (a single or various diseases?].

Some characteristics of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that appeared in recent literature have led us to think that it can be divided into the following four groups: I. Seronegative poliarthritis, with more or less systemic symptoms. With the same characteristics it may appear in adulthood. II. Seropositive poliarthritis, identical to the adult rheumatoid arthritis. III. B-27 negative oligoarthritis, complicated frequently with chronic uveitis and autolimited course. IV. B-27 positive oligoarthritis evolving to ankylosing spondylitis. These groups may represent different diseases.