A blood test for arthritis is on the way, say researchers from the University of Warwick in the UK. The team, led by Naila Rabbani, Ph.D. of the university’s medical school, has identified a biomarker linked to both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.
The research team investigated what is known as citrullinated proteins (CPs), a biomarker thought to be present in blood of people with early stage rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Dr. Rabbani said in the March 20, 2015 news release, “It has been long established that the autoimmunity of early-stage RA leads to antibodies to CPs, but the autoimmunity, and hence antibodies, are absent in early-stage OA. Using this knowledge and applying the algorithm of biomarkers we developed provides the basis to discriminate between these two major types of arthritis at an early stage.”
“Detection of early stage-OA made the study very promising and we would have been satisfied with this only—but beyond this we also found we could detect and discriminate early-stage RA and other inflammatory joint diseases at the same. This discovery raises the potential of a blood test that can help diagnose both RA and OA several years before the onset of physical symptoms.”
Dr. Rabbani told OTW, “The most surprising for us was that high level of CP was present in people with OA. No one believed CPs were present in OA, maybe thinking that as antibodies to CPs were only in RA then CPs were limited to RA too.”
Regarding future work, Dr. Rabbani commented to OTW, “This test is useful as a marker of disease activity in the early-stages of OA (before joint damage has occurred). Acting on this, likely beneficial lifestyle and dietary changes may be implemented to slow or stop development of advanced, disabling OA. Further research is required to confirm a link of these biochemical markers in early-stage OA to risk and rate of development of severe OA. When confirmed the test could also be a useful tool in studies of evaluating effectiveness of drug treatments in OA. A marker of early-stage OA may provide for much more rapid evaluation of prospective new drugs and identify for whom the drug works well to provide for personalised, effective treatment.”
