Elevated IgA-RF, Pyridinoline Linked to Joint Erosion

These factors can predict erosion at two years in early arthritis patients

THURSDAY, Dec. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with early arthritis who have high levels of both IgA rheumatoid factor (IgA-RF) and pyridinoline are much more likely to develop one or more erosions within two years, according to a study published in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

Xavier Le Loët, M.D., of the Rouen University Hospital in France, and colleagues investigated which factors can predict joint erosion in patients with early arthritis. For two years, the researchers studied 310 patients with early arthritis. The patients were evaluated based on clinical questionnaires, C-reactive protein levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, autoantibodies, bone and cartilage markers, hand densitometry, and HLA class II shared epitopes.

At the end of two years, 31.3 percent of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 10.6 percent of those with undifferentiated arthritis had one or more erosions. Investigators found serum IgA-RF and pyridinoline levels to be strongly associated with the development of one or more erosions. When IgA-RF was ≥5 IU/mL and pyridinoline was ≥10 nM/liter, patients' odds ratio for one or more erosions at two years reached 50.75.

"Two easily obtainable parameters, serum IgA-RF and pyridinoline levels, constitute risk factors for erosion(s)," the authors write.

Abstract
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