Blood Test Predicts Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis
AMSTERDAM — A blood test for people at risk for rheumatoid arthritis can identify those who will develop the disease within 3 years, new research shows. "Our data support a new biomarker that demonstrates better predictive power than other biomarkers evaluated so far," said investigator Anne Musters, MD, from the Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center. The findings confirm results from a study of 21 people with autoantibodies indicating risk for rheumatoid arthritis (Ann Rheum Dis. 2017;76:1924-1930). The presence of at least five dominant B-cell receptor (BCR) clones in peripheral blood predicted the short-term onset of rheumatoid arthritis. "We think that peripheral BCR clones can be used to identify at-risk individuals who will go on to develop arthritis," Musters said in a statement. This information could be used to evaluate "early interventions to prevent the onset of disease."
Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/898214?src=WNL_infoc_180907_MSCPEDIT_TEMP2&uac=220253FZ&impID=1732253&faf=1