Key clinical point: Patients with anticitrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA)-positive and ACPA-negative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) show different magnetic resonance imaging-detected joint inflammation trajectories based on the sustained disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)-free remission (SDFR) status.
Major finding: Patients with ACPA-positive RA who achieved vs. did not achieve SDFR had lower inflammation levels at disease presentation and subsequent follow-up ( P = .02). However, although all patients with ACPA-negative RA had similar inflammation levels at disease presentation, those who achieved vs. did not achieve SDFR had significantly lower inflammation levels in the first year of DMARD treatment ( P < .01).
Study details: This study included 198 patients with RA (ACPA-positive [n = 104] and ACPA-negative [n = 94]) treated with DMARD and 174 patients with ACPA-positive RA from the AVERT-1 trial.
Disclosures: The study was funded by the Dutch Arthritis Foundation and the European Research Council. TWJ Huizinga reported receiving research support, lecture fees, and consulting fees from various sources. Two authors reported being shareholders and employees of Bristol Myers Squibb.
Source: Verstappen M et al. ACPA-negative and ACPA-positive RA patients achieving disease resolution demonstrate distinct patterns of MRI-detected joint-inflammation. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022 (May 18). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac294