Complement studies in adipose patients treated with intestinal bypass.

Seventeen consecutive patients subjected to jejunoileostomy for obesity have been investigated for complement abnormalities and cryoglobulinaemia. The study took place 1-9 1/2 years after the operation. A concomitant clinical examination revealed recurrent arthritis in 6 (30%) of the patients. In 6 of the patients complement abnormalities were found, as activation of the classical pathway in 3 and activation of the alternative pathway in another 3 could be suspected from immunochemical data. One patient showed activation of both the classical and the alternative pathway. Two of the patients with arthritic symptoms belonged to the group showing activation of the alternative pathway. It is suggested that deficient inactivation of bacterial products from intestinal bacteria (lipopolysaccharides) have a role in the complement abnormalities found. No patient exhibited the cryoprotein complexes found earlier in this type of patients.