Use and significance of anti-CCP autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis

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Abstract
One of the most common autoimmune diseases is rheumatoid arthritis (RA), affecting 0.5–1% of the population. This systemic disease is marked by chronic inflammation of synovial joints, which leads to destruction of cartilage and bone and eventually to disability of the patient [1]. Though not directly life-threatening, RA severely affects the quality of life of a patient and also has major economic consequences for society. Therefore, every attempt should be made to prevent the erosive processes to occur. Currently, the classification of RA relies mainly on the criteria described by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) [2]. These criteria, originally formulated 50 yr ago and last adjusted in 1987, are based mainly on clinical parameters. Since these parameters are often only sufficiently fulfilled when the damaging effects of the inflammatory process are already in progress, this set of criteria is not very suitable for the early diagnosis of RA [3].

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