Not all treatments work for every patient, with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) medications being the perfect example. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the standard of care for RA despite the fact that about half of patients do not respond to them. Doctors have no way of knowing whether DMARDs will work for a patient until they try them, which can waste time and result in difficulties for the patient. That is, until now. A new study conducted by a team at Queen Mary University of London has discovered biomarkers that can help predict a patient’s responsiveness to medications.

About Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the joints that causes symptoms like pain in the joints, back, and muscles, lumps and redness in the skin, bumps and swelling of the fingers, fatigue, anemia, stiffness, swelling, weakness, tenderness, a sensation of pins and needles, dry mouth, and physical deformity. All of these symptoms occur because the body’s immune system attacks the lining of the membranes around the joints. This results in the characteristic inflammation. Fortunately, there are a number of treatments for RA. These include medications for inflammation, massages, exercise, acupuncture, pain medication, weight management, a healthy diet, orthoses, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

About the Study

The study, which was published in Nature Communications, has shown that fatty acids produce small molecules in the blood, and when the levels of these molecules are measured, they can help to predict if a patient will respond to medication.

These biomarkers are extremely helpful to physicians, as evaluating DMARDs effectiveness in an RA patient can take up to six months. These medications can also have side effects; this new information can help many patients avoid them.

The next step for the researchers is to conduct a larger study. Hopefully it maintains the results of this study, as these biomarkers have the potential to better the lives of many RA patients.

Find the source article here.