Focus Rheums| Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? (video)

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Researchers Seek to Predict & Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis

Jeffrey A. Sparks, MD, MMSc, & Kevin D. Deane, MD, PhD  |  Issue: June 2018  |  

Jeffrey A. Sparks, MD, MMScJeffrey A. Sparks, MD, MMSc, is an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. He uses patient-oriented and epidemiologic research studies to investigate the etiology, outcomes and public health burden of rheumatoid arthritis.

Kevin Deane, MD, PhDKevin Deane, MD, PhD, is a rheumatologist at the University of Colorado in Denver. His research interest is in the natural history of rheumatoid arthritis. He is the principal investigator on the NIH/NIAID-sponsored StopRA study, which is evaluating the role of hydroxychloroquine in the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis in individuals who are positive for antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens, but do not yet have synovitis.

ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Grant Funding/Disclosures

Drs. Sparks and Deane’s work on this manuscript was supported by NIH/NIAID Autoimmunity Center of Excellence (AI110503). Dr. Sparks is supported by NIH/NIAMS (K23 AR069688 and L30 AR066953). Dr. Deane has served as a consultant to Inova Diagnostics Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dr. Sparks has no relevant financial disclosures.

References

  1. Gerlag D, Safy M, Maijer K, et al. Prevention of clinically manifest rheumatoid arthritis by B cell directed therapy in the earliest phase of the disease (PRAIRI) (abstract OP0182). Ann Rheum Dis. 2016 Jun 9. 75(Suppl 2):125.3–126.
  2. Aletaha D, Neogi T, Silman AJ, et al. 2010 Rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria: An American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism collaborative initiative. Arthritis Rheum. 2010;62(9):2569–2581.
  3. Deane K, Holers M, Striebich C (investigators). Strategy to prevent the onset of clinically-apparent rheumatoid arthritis (StopRA). ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02603146.
  4. Al-Laith M (investigator). Arthritis prevention in the pre-clinical phase of RA with abatacept (APIPPRA). ISRCTN No. 46017566.
  5. van Schaardenburg D (investigator). Statins to prevent rheumatoid arthritis (STAPRA) prevention of rheumatoid arthritis by atorvastatin in seropositive arthralgia patients: A multicenter double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial.
  6. van der Helm A (investigator). Treat early arthralgia to reverse or limit impending exacerbation to rheumatoid arthritis (TREAT EARLIER): A randomized clinical trial in recent-onset arthralgia patients that are suspect to progress to rheumatoid arthritis evaluating the efficacy of intervention with a single dose of IM corticosteroids and methotrexate.
  7. Rantapaa-Dahlqvist S, de Jong BA, Berglin E, Hallmans G, et al. Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide and IgA rheumatoid factor predict the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Oct;48(10):2741–2749.
  8. Nielen MM, van Schaardenburg D, Reesink HW, et al. Specific autoantibodies precede the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis: A study of serial measurements in blood donors. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Feb;50(2):380–386.
  9. Deane KD, O’Donnell CI, Hueber W, et al. The number of elevated cytokines and chemokines in preclinical seropositive rheumatoid arthritis predicts time to diagnosis in an age-dependent manner. Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Nov;62(11):3161–3172.
  10. Rakieh C, Nam JL, Hunt L, et al. Predicting the development of clinical arthritis in anti-CCP positive individuals with non-specific musculoskeletal symptoms: A prospective observational cohort study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2015 Sep;74(9):1659–1666.
  11. van de Stadt LA, Witte BI, Bos WH, van Schaardenburg D. A prediction rule for the development of arthritis in seropositive arthralgia patients. Ann Rheum Dis. 2013 Dec;72(12):1920–1926.
  12. Ramos-Remus C, Castillo-Ortiz JD, Aguilar-Lozano L, et al. Autoantibodies in prediction of the development of rheumatoid arthritis among healthy relatives of patients with the disease. Arthritis Rheum. 2015 Nov;67(11):2837–2844.
  13. Gan RW, Bemis EA, Demoruelle MK, et al. The association between omega-3 fatty acid biomarkers and inflammatory arthritis in an anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive population. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2017 Dec 1;56(12):2229–2236.
  14. Schett G, Emery P, Tanaka Y, et al. Tapering biologic and conventional DMARD therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: Current evidence and future directions. Ann Rheum Dis. 2016 Aug;75(8):1428–1437.
  15. Hemminki K, Li X, Sundquist J, Sundquist K. Familial associations of rheumatoid arthritis with autoimmune diseases and related conditions. Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Mar;60(3):661–668.
  16. Ferucci ED, Schumacher MC, Lanier AP, et al. Arthritis prevalence and associations in American Indian and Alaska Native people. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Aug 15;59(8):1128–1136.
  17. Kolfenbach JR, Deane KD, Derber LA, et al. A prospective approach to investigating the natural history of preclinical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using first-degree relatives of probands with RA. Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Dec 15;61(12):1735–1742.
  18. El-Gabalawy HS, Robinson DB, Smolik I, et al. Familial clustering of the serum cytokine profile in the relatives of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Jun;64(6):1720–1729.
  19. Hu Y, Sparks JA, Malspeis S, et al. Long-term dietary quality and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Aug;76(8):1357–1364.
  20. Costenbader KH, Feskanich D, Mandl LA, Karlson EW. Smoking intensity, duration, and cessation, and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women. Am J Med. 2006 Jun;119(6):503.e1–e9.
  21. Qin B, Yang M, Fu H, et al. Body mass index and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2015 Mar 29;17:86.
  22. Di Giuseppe D, Crippa A, Orsini N, Wolk A. Fish consumption and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: A dose-response meta-analysis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2014 Sep 30;16(5):446.
  23. de Pablo P, Romaguera D, Fisk HL, et al. High erythrocyte levels of the n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid are associated with lower risk of subsequent rheumatoid arthritis in a southern European nested case-control study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018 Feb 7. pii: annrheumdis-2017-212274.
  24. Bos WH, Dijkmans BA, Boers M, et al. Effect of dexamethasone on autoantibody levels and arthritis development in patients with arthralgia: A randomised trial. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010 Mar;69(3):571–574.
  25. Finckh A, Escher M, Liang MH, Bansback N. Preventive treatments for rheumatoid arthritis: Issues regarding patient preferences. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2016 Aug;18(8):51.
  26. Prado MG, Iversen MD, Yu Z, et al. Effectiveness of a web-based personalized rheumatoid arthritis risk tool with or without a health educator for knowledge of RA risk factors. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2018 Jan 5. [Epub ahead of print].
  27. Sparks JA, Iversen MD, Yu Z, et al. Disclosure of personalized rheumatoid arthritis risk using genetics, biomarkers, and lifestyle factors to motivate health behavior improvements: A randomized controlled trial. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2017 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print].
  28. Tabak AG, Herder C, Rathmann W, et al. Prediabetes: a high-risk state for diabetes development. Lancet. 2012 Jun 16;379(9833):2279–2290.
  29. Gerlag DM, Raza K, van Baarsen LG, Brouwer E, Buckley CD, Burmester GR, et al. EULAR recommendations for terminology and research in individuals at risk of rheumatoid arthritis: Report from the Study Group for Risk Factors for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 May;71(5):638–641.
  30. Olsen N (investigator). Study of anti-malarials in incomplete lupus (SMILE). clinicaltrials.gov. NCT03030118.

Related Articles

    Antibodies Can Spot RA in the General Population

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), particularly high anti-CCP2 titers, can diagnose rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the general population with a high degree of accuracy, a Swedish study suggests. ACPA are highly specific for RA, but until now the diagnostic accuracy of ACPA in the general population has not been “thoroughly assessed,” note Dr….

    Plasma Cells, Synovial Compartment Implicated in Tenacity of Rheumatoid Arthritis

    LONDON—New research shows that the synovial compartment appears to have a special role in the chronic nature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), providing refuge for plasma cells and giving them an ideal environment in which to produce antibodies against citrullinated protein antigens (ACPA). The findings were presented at the Annual Congress of the European League Against…

    Preclinical Phases of Rheumatoid Arthritis Better Understood

    LONDON—Research continues to advance in understanding the causes, prediction and management of the stages of early arthritis before full-blown clinical disease, and an expert highlighted some of the latest of these encouraging findings at the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) 2016. Many of the genetic and environmental risk factors are known,…