The immune system of our body is like the safe keeper of our health. When it comes to diseases and illnesses, our body’s immune system works to ensure we stay safe.
However, sometimes, our very own security system could be at fault for our health declining causing conditions like Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). At times like these, we often see symptoms like fever, or pain in body parts arise. However, a new study has revealed that this may be the case for Rheumatoid Arthritis.
The study showed that the disease doesn’t start when your joints begin to hurt or swell up. Instead, it begins quietly, years before you have any symptoms at all.
Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz and other institutes spent seven years on this work. They found out exactly how the body’s defense system (the immune system) changes in people who are at risk, long before they feel any pain.
Why Do Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis Show Up Late?
Dr. Kevin Deane, who helped lead the study, said to think of RA like a volcano building pressure underground. You can’t see what’s happening, but the power is building up until it finally “erupts” as joint pain.
The scientists studied people who had a special marker in their blood called anti-CCP (cyclic citrullinated peptide) antibodies, which means they are highly likely to get RA. They found that the body starts fighting an invisible battle long before any joint swelling appears.
How Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Affect The Body?
The study found several important things happening in the body before symptoms start:
Whole-Body Red Flag
Even without swollen joints, people at risk had inflammation all over their body, just like someone who already has full-blown RA.
Defense
Cells
Go Rogue
The body’s main defense cells, like B (mature in the bone marrow) cells and T cells (mature in the thymus), started to turn bad. Instead of protecting the body, they started causing inflammation and attacking healthy tissue.
Cells Get Prepped to Attack
Even brand-new, or “naive,” T cells already had their genes changed. This made them ready to cause the autoimmune disease.
How Does The Immune System’s Mistake Affect Our Body
Cells in the blood were already acting like cells found inside painful, swollen joints, showing the body was preparing to attack the joints.
These discoveries give doctors new early warning signs to predict who will actually get RA. This means doctors might be able to step in and try to prevent the disease before any joint damage occurs.
How Can We Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis?
In a different study, the same researchers tested a drug called hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which is often used to treat RA. They wanted to see if it could stop RA from starting in people who were at high risk.
The trial found that the drug did not prevent the disease. People who took the HCQ got RA at the same rate as those who took a fake pill (placebo). This is important because it tells researchers and doctors to look for other, more effective ways to stop the disease before it begins.
Can We Cure Rheumatoid Arthritis
These two studies are part of a bigger effort to understand and ultimately stop RA before it starts.
By finding out exactly how RA begins, researchers now have new targets to focus on for prevention drugs. The goal is to eventually make preventing RA and maybe other diseases where the immune system attacks the body a normal part of healthcare.