Vooruitgang door genetisch onderzoek naar reumatoïde artritis: hype of hoop?

Thanks to progress in genetic research, various genetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been discovered.

There is a difference in genetic risk factors for RA in patients with or without antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptides. This has led to the idea that RA is not a single disease, but a heterogeneous syndrome.

Currently known genetic risk factors are not suitable for prediction of the risk of individual patients developing RA, nor for early diagnosis, nor for determining the therapeutic strategy.

Research into functional defects of gene products of genetic risk variants will increase the understanding of the pathogenesis of RA. This could lead to insights for the development of new specific medication.

In the future, research into genetic factors correlated with the severity of RA disease progression or with the effect of antirheumatic medication is expected to yield interesting and hopefully clinically relevant results.