Biomarkers of Remission in Rheumatoid Arthritis (BioRRA)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-08-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Rheumatoid arthritis is a common condition affecting approximately 1% of the United Kingdom
populationÍž it is an autoimmune disease where the body's natural defences (the immune system)
attack the body itself resulting, most notably, in joint damage and arthritis. To help
prevent this, patients with rheumatoid arthritis need to take disease-modifying
anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). As rheumatoid arthritis is a life-long condition, these drug
treatments are prescribed as long-term medications taken for many years.
With successful drug treatment, many patients are able to achieve an excellent control of
their disease and their arthritis can go in to remission. At present, there are no markers
which can reliably predict which of these patients can reduce their drug treatment, and hence
benefit from a lower risk of side effects and inconvenience, without an increase in their
arthritis activity.
We invite patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis to participate in this study conducted by
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in collaboration with Newcastle University
and funded by the Wellcome Trust. Patients whose arthritis is confirmed as being in remission
will be able to stop their DMARD medication and be monitored for a period of 6 months.
Patients whose arthritis activity increases during this time will be able to restart their
DMARD medication, whereas those patients whose arthritis remains in remission will be able to
stay off DMARD medication.
The main aim of this study is to identify clinical, ultrasound and blood markers that can
predict which patients will remain in remission after stopping DMARD medication. If
identified, these markers could be a useful guide to doctors and patients in the future when
deciding whether to stop DMARD therapy.