Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune connective tissue disease of unknown etiology. RA affects about 1% of the human
population, women suffer three times more often than men, with the peak incidence between the age of 40 to 50. The up-to-date
criteria from 2010 for the diagnosis of RA include: occurrence and duration of clinical signs, indicators of inflammation and serological
tests. Neopterin, a protein released by macrophages, is a sensitive indicator of inflammation and the severity of RA. Regarding the
serological tests, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies represent a well-known marker with the specificity for RA of about 98%.
The antibodies may be present in the serum of patients even a few years before the first clinical signs of the disease, heralding erosive
changes in the joints and more severe course of RA. The literature also contains reports about autoantibodies anti-CarP and anti-Sa/
anti-MCV, which may occur in people with pain and swelling of joints and precede full-blown development of RA as well as reflect disease
activity. Serological diagnosis of RA may be supported by some genetic tests based on PCR for detecting mutations e.g. C1858T
in the PNPN22 gene. In turn, the quantitative analysis of different classes of miRNAs seems justified in order to better classify patients
showing symptoms of RA. Further studies are needed that take into account the role of different markers in the development of RA,
and confirm the high sensitivity and specificity of these markers in the diagnosis of the disease.
FRI0085 Number of peptide-specific anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies in synovial fluid and in synovial fluid immune complexes associate with degree of radiological destruction and response to triamcinolone hexacetonide for knee synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis
