for ginai - antiCCP to diagnose early RA

[kageyd]

ginai, here's a direct quote from the American College of Rheumatology website. Sounds as though your elevated CCP could be an early sign of RA, pre-symptoms, so your doc may well be on the right track. Bold letters mine. Kageyd


"The Use of Anti-cyclic Citrullinated Peptide (anti-CCP) Antibodies in RA

Bottom line:

Anti-CCP antibodies are potentially important surrogate markers for diagnosis and prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), because they:

* are as sensitive as, and more specific than, IgM rheumatoid factors (RF) in early and fully established disease
* may predict the eventual development into RA when found in undifferentiated arthritis
* are a marker of erosive disease in RA
* may be detected in healthy individuals years before onset of clinical RA"

[ginai54]

Thanks, Kageyd- she did give me a definitive diagnosis of RA- between the the 2 indicators, she seemed quite sure, despite the lack of joint damage. My main question now is about treatment. I want to treat it as aggressively as neccessary to avoid being disabled. I have alot of inflammation around the joints and am having surgery on Tuesday to fix a tear in my right rotator cuff.
Anyway, I appreciate your post-