Emerging therapies for pre-RA

Abstract

The field of rheumatology has made major contributions to medicine through the identification of cellular and molecular targets and the development of therapies for the treatment of an impressive range of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. In recent years, new milestones have been achieved. These include the recognition of an at-risk state, characterized by disease specific autoantibodies in serum and inflammatory joint pain, and the initiation of studies seeking to prevent high-risk individuals from progressing to a state of clinically apparent arthritis. Here, the current state of the art of rheumatoid arthritis prevention is described, highlighting the importance of risk stratification and reporting on a growing portfolio of therapeutic interventions targeting different stages of the preclinical syndrome.

Keywords: ACPA; Arthralgia; At risk; RA prevention; Risk stratification.