Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học General Psychiatry cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: Does a positive anti-CCP test identify a distinct arthritis entity? | Arthritis Research Therapy December 2005 Vol 7 No 6 Skogh Commentary Does a positive anti-CCP test identify a distinct arthritis entity Thomas Skogh Division of Rheumatology AIR Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences Linkoping University Hospital Linkoping Sweden Corresponding author Thomas Skogh Published 16 September 2005 Arthritis Research Therapy 2005 7 230-232 DOI ar1836 This article is online at http content 7 6 230 2005 BioMed Central Ltd See related research by van der Helm-van Mil et al. in issue http content 7 5 R949 Abstract The introduction of tests recognizing anti-citrullinated protein antibodies ACPA has caused a revolution in rheumatology. Immunization against citrullinated proteins is a feature almost unique for rheumatoid arthritis although ACPA may occur long before the onset of symptoms. Even if the presence of ACPA does not seem to reveal a distinct arthritis phenotype at symptom onset it predicts an aggressive disease course with unfavourable outcome. Despite the very high diagnostic specificity for rheumatoid arthritis ACPA-positivity does not always accord with a traditional diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis at clinical presentation. However even when these patients are judged to suffer from mild undifferentiated arthritis they call for follow-up and special attention by rheumatologists. Introduction A new era began when analyses identifying anti-citrullinated protein antibodies ACPA were introduced for the diagnosis of arthritis. The question of whether ACPA-positive patients constitute a distinct clinical entity presently attracts great interest. In a previous issue of Arthritis Research and Therapy Annette van der Helm-van Mil and colleagues give a detailed description of clinical characteristics in very early rheumatoid arthritis RA at presentation and during 4 years comparing patients with and without antibodies to cyclic .
