This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Anti-CCP antibodies more specific as rheumatoid arthritis marker in American Indians
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies might serve as a better biomarker than other typical autoantibodies for rheumatoid arthritis in American Indians, researchers found in a study.
Researchers evaluated Oklahoma tribal patients enrolled at tribal-based clinics (110 patients with suspected or confirmed rheumatic disease, 110 control participants). The rheumatic disease cohort was assessed for clinical features, disease criteria and activity measures. Common autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-Ro, anti-La, anti-SM, anti-nRNP, anti-ribosomal P, anti-dsDNA and anticardiolipins, were tested through blood samples.
Judith A. James
Seventy-two percent of the rheumatic disease group satisfied American College of Rheumatology criteria for: rheumatoid arthritis (n=40), systemic lupus erythematosus (n=16), scleroderma (n=8), osteoarthritis (n=8), fibromyalgia (n=4), seronegative spondyloarthropathy (n=2), Sjögren’s syndrome (n=1) and sarcoidosis (n=1). RA patients’ sera were more likely than sera among controls to contain anti-CCP (55% vs. 2%; P<.001) or RF IgM antibodies (57% vs. 10%; P<.001). Greater Disease Activity Score 28 was associated with anti-CCP antibody positivity in the RA subgroup (5.6 vs. 4.45, P=.021) or both anti-CCP and RF IgM and/or IgG antibodies (5.7 vs. 4.64, P=.039).
“Oklahoma tribal members failed to exhibit all of the typical rheumatic disease-specific autoantibody markers” and may be more difficult to diagnose and treat because of a “disconnect between serologic markers and clinical disease,” researcher Judith A. James, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, told Healio.com. “Anti-CCP responses are strongly associated and may be a more specific marker for rheumatoid arthritis in tribal members.”
“Further studies are needed to better define more reliable biomarkers to help guide treatment and improve outcomes in [American Indian] patients with rheumatic disease,” the researchers concluded.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts