APPROACH TO ANTI-CCP AS A NEW SEROLOGICAL MARKER IN THE EARLY DETECTION OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) a severe, progressive, systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease of unknown etiology with commonly occurring severe joint damage and overall debility. Furthermore treatment of RA is limited till date. Hence the necessities of early diagnosis and treatment have been emphasized to search better molecular marker, so that effective treatment can be initiated before irreversible erosive damage occurs. Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody in comparison to RF is particularly useful in the early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, with high specificity and sensitivity. Moreover significantly elevated levels of Anti-CCP antibodies have not been found in other diseases. Thus this review focuses on the diagnostic and prognostic potential of Anti-CCP with relevance to possible etiopathogenesis in RA.