Antimycoplasma Approach to the Mechanism and the Control of Rheumatoid Disease

An infectious etiology of rheumatoid arthritis has been suspected for many years; however, there is little agreement as to the involved microorganisms. It is generally believed by many investigators that the initiating agent is probably a viral-like agent or mycoplasma. The parasitic nature of some mycoplasmas makes them logical suspects to cause a systemic chronic disease and yet remain undetected. While there is an accumulation of evidence to indicate mycoplasma involvement in the disease process, the failure to isolate a common microbial agent appears to be the greatest deterrent to establishing an antecedent.