Blood marker in RA
November 15, 2012
A PROMISING set of new bloodbased
markers, 14-3-3η, may aid in
the diagnosis of rheumatoid
arthritis (RA), according to research
presented at the 2012 Annual
Meeting of the American College of
Rheumatology held in Washington.
The 14-3-3η blood-marker is not
usually found in blood, and as such
when it is present in patients with
RA, it appears that the body tries to
clear it by mounting an immune
response creating "auto-antibodies"
which can be measured in blood.
“The data that we have previously
presented over the past two years
indicates that 14-3-3η on its own,
and in combination with blood
tests currently used, such as RF and
anti-CCP, can increase the diagnosis
rate of patients with rheumatoid
arthritis,” said Dr Walter
Maksymowych, co-inventor of
14-3-3η, and Medical Research
Professor of Medicine at the
University of Alberta.
“Also, in both rheumatoid arthritis
and psoriatic arthritis, it marks joint
damage which is an irreversible
process contributing to the physical
debilitation associated with these
diseases,” he added.
Interestingly, research from the
University of Amsterdam, also
presented at the conference, found
that in psoriatic arthritis with joint
damage 14-3-3η was particularly
elevated, and that its expression
marked likelihood of response to a
therapy called adalimumab.
In addition, researchers found
that when the levels of 14-3-3η
decrease twelve weeks after the
treatment is started, that it marks
response to therapy.
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