Rheumatoid factor (RF), i.e. a family of autoantibodies against the Fc part of IgG, is an important seromarker of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Traditional particle agglutination without disclosing the antibody isotype remains the predominating diagnostic method in clinical routine. Although IgG-RF attracts pathogenic interest, its detection remains technically challenging. The present study aimed...

British Journal of General Practice, October 2013 553 BACkground And AdvAntAges over exIstIng teChnology Early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is important in preventing long-term damage and disability. RA should be suspected largely on the basis of clinical findings, such as persistent joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. Further investigations, particularly in primary car...

OBJECTIVE To ascertain whether being a carrier of an autosomal recessive disease, aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU), predisposes to chronic arthritis, as does AGU disease. METHODS A group of 173 unrelated patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but with no family members with AGU each gave a blood sample for AGUFin major mutation DNA analysis. A group of 131 AGU carriers who were parents of patien...

Early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is necessary to prevent joint damage and long-term disability. High rates of false-negative and false-positive results of the rheumatoid factor (RF) test make it generally unhelpful in the early diagnosis of RA. A new clinical test for RA--the anti-citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA) test--is now widely available in Australia. Owing t...

rheumatoid arthritis is the most common inflammatory joint disease with 1 percent prevalence in community which presents with symmetrical polyarthritis of hands with inflammatory behavior. several studies in recent years were conducted for evaluation of inflammatory cytokines such as il1-α (interlukin 1α) and tnf- α (tumor necrosis factor) in rheumatologic disorders including rheumatoid arthrit...

Tests for antikeratin antibodies (AKA) were performed on 2152 disease-associated and control sera by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) on rat oesophagus substrate. The incidence of AKA was significantly raised in rheumatoid arthritis (37%) in comparison with systemic sclerosis (8%), psoriasis (7%), ankylosing spondylitis (6%), systemic lupus erythematosus (3%), and normal controls (2%). AKA were...

Rowells syndrome is a rare disease, combining Lupus Erythematosus (LE) and Erythema Multiforme (EM) like lesions with characteristic immunological pattern, including speckled pattern of Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA), positive anti Ro SSA or La SSB antibodies Rheumatoid Factor (RF)

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether determination of a set of laboratory markers at baseline provides prognostic information on joint damage in hands and feet in rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS 183 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis included in a prospective study were examined. Radiographic changes in hands and feet at 5 and 10 years after inclusion were evaluated (Larsen). The markers anal...

OBJECTIVE We investigated whether rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related autoantibodies were associated with systemic inflammation in a prospective cohort of first-degree relatives (FDRs) of RA probands, a population without RA but at increased risk for its future development. METHODS We studied 44 autoantibody positive FDRs, of whom 29 were rheumatoid factor (RF) positive, 25 were positive for th...

UNLABELLED The primary objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the immunodiagnostic significance and utility of anti-RA33 with anti-CCP, RF, and CRP in Saudi patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS This was a prospective controlled clinical study conducted at King Abdul Aziz University Tertiary Medical Centre. The sera of 41 RA patients, 31 non-RA patients, and 29 healthy cont...