A new study in the journal Arthritis Care and Research demonstrates that the levels of 12 serum biomarkers can be measured and combined, using an algorithm, to assess a patient’s rheumatoid arthritis disease activity. Researchers found that their newly developed objective metric, the composite multi-biomarker disease activity (MBDA) score, was significantly associated with the common disease activity measurements currently in use, such as the Disease Activity Score that evaluates the inflammation of 28 joints. These data offer promise that the MBDA may be useful as a clinical tool to help physicians diagnose and monitor the progression of the disease and possibly a predictor of future joint damage.
