Background: To measure circulating anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) and cytokines pre- and 6 months post-therapy as a strategy to predict and optimize responses to traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in early RA, which is an unmet need in developing countries. Patients and methods: A cohort of 140 predominantly (88.5 %) black female South African patients with early RA was treated with synthetic DMARDs, mostly methotrexate (MTX) alone, or in combination with low-dose oral corticosteroids (CS). Circulating ACPA and a panel of circulating cytokines/chemokines/growth factors were measured at baseline and after 6 months of therapy in relation to disease activity and Shared Epitope (SE). Results: Following 6 months of therapy, the median simplified disease activity index (SDAI) declined from a baseline of 41.4 to 16.0 (p∈=∈0.0001) for the entire cohort, which was paralleled by significant falls in median serum ACPA levels (516.6 vs. 255.7 units/ml, p∈=∈<0.0001) and several of the circulating cytokines (IL-4, IL-7, IL-8, G-CSF, VEGF; p∈
CITATION STYLE
Ally, M. M. T. M., Hodkinson, B., Meyer, P. W. A., Musenge, E., Tintinger, G. R., Tikly, M., & Anderson, R. (2015). Circulating anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies, cytokines and genotype as biomarkers of response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy in early rheumatoid arthritis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-015-0587-1
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