If you are plagued with rheumatoid arthritis, a recent study may have the key to better treatment for your condition. An international team of researchers led by Jeffrey R. Curtis, MD of the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported online in Arthritis Care & Researchthat their findings "establish the criterion and discriminant validity of a novel multi-biomarker test as an objective measure of RA disease activity to aid in the management of RA patients."
A biomarker is a substance in your body that indicates a change that correlates with the risk or progression of a disease, or with the susceptibility of the disease to a given treatment. According to MedPageToday, Curtis and colleagues wrote: "The [multiple biomarker disease activity] score emphasizes the activity of underlying biological pathways rather than external signs and symptoms and should therefore provide information that is different from, and complementary to, clinical assessment."
