Do You Need This RA Test?
Arthritis Today|July/August 2016

What your doctor – and you – can learn from different lab tests.

Emily Delzell
Do You Need This RA Test?

If you have rheumatoid arthritis(RA), your rheumatologist may conduct different types of tests to gauge your disease activity and see how well your medications are working. These results give your doctor information that guides treatment decisions.

One mode of testing looks at your blood for biomarkers of inflammation linked to RA. Most biomarker tests look at only one factor, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or “sed rate”) or C-reactive protein (CRP) level. A relatively new test called the multibiomarker disease activity (MBDA, called Vectra DA commercially) test checks 12 proteins, hormones and growth factors linked to RA. About 50 percent of rheumatologists in the U.S. have used it, according to a spokesperson for the manufacturer, Crescendo Bioscience.

But do more measurements provide more insight? Sometimes.

When Could MBDA Help?

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Denne historien er fra July/August 2016-utgaven av Arthritis Today.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.