A Function of Synovial Membrane of Normal and Diseased Humans in Relation to the Movement of Small-Molecular-Weight Ions

1. In a series of thirteen patients with rheumatoid arthritis and eleven control subjects clearance rates of ¹³³Xe and ^99mTc from the knee joint were monitored before and after oral administration of the anion-transport inhibitor potassium perchlorate.

2. The clearance rate of ^99mTc was reduced following perchlorate administration although there was no change in the ¹³³Xe clearance rate. This suggests the presence of a perchlorate-blockable anion-transport mechanism across the synoviocyte.