Purpura hyperglobulinaemia in association with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

Five patients with purpura hyperglobulinaemia are reviewed. One patient developed ulcerative colitis; female members of this patient's family suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. The family showed immunoglobulin abnormalities. Although the clinical picture of purpura hyperglobulinaemia and Henoch-Schönlein purpura can show some common features, the former may well be separated as a ‘disturbed-tolerance’ disease with a different prognosis.