Systemic diseases of connective tissue, including chronic juvenile arthritis are associated with a number of metabolic disorders such as e.g. lipid disturbances. The purpose of the present work was to analyse the composition of fatty acids in erythrocyte phospholipids of children with juvenile chronic arthritis and to determine a correlation between the composition of these acids and patients' clinical status. The study was conducted on 47 children with juvenile chronic arthritis (jca) and 29 healthy subjects. The following fractions of phospholipids were obtained with the help of thin-layer chromatography: phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidyloinositol, cardiolipin, sphingolipin. Fatty acids were analysed with the use of gas chromatograph (Hewlett-Packard 5890). Saturated fatty acids as well as mono- and polyunsaturated (n-3 and n-6) fatty acids were identified. The decrease in the percentage of linolenic acid, PUFA n-6 and PUFA n-3 was found in all the phospholipid fractions in children with jca when compared with control group. There was a concurrent increase in saturated fatty acids, mainly stearic and palmitic acids. The differences in the distribution of fatty acids in erythrocyte phospholipids were observed at early stage of the disease and they became more conspicuous as inflammatory process proceeded.

Keywords: juvenile chronic arthritis, erythrocyte membranes phospholipids, unsaturated fatty acids, saturated fatty acids