Genes: Futuristic Tool to Assess Arthritis Treatment

Specific genes may help predict treatment responses to arthritis, as per a study at the Queen Mary University of London. It was published in Nature Medicine. Despite progress in the treatment of arthritis over the past decades, a significant number of patients (approximately 40%) do not respond to specific drug therapies, and 5% to 20% of people with the disease are resistant to all current forms of medication.

The team revealed that molecular profiling of the diseased joint tissue (evident in Rheumatoid Arthritis, RA) can significantly impact the working of specific drug treatments as the study revealed 1,277 genes that specifically had resistance to most available drugs therapies (either rituximab or tocilizumab).

Molecular Profiling in Arthritis

The team applied a data analysis technique called machine learning models to develop computer algorithms that could predict drug response in individual patients and correlated it with gene profiling from biopsies, tissue pathology, or clinical factors.

“Incorporating molecular information prior to prescribing arthritis treatments to patients could forever change the way we treat the condition. Patients would benefit from a personalised approach that has a far greater chance of success, rather than the trial-and-error drug prescription that is currently the norm. These results are incredibly exciting in demonstrating the potential at our fingertips, however, the field is still in its infancy and additional confirmatory studies will be required to fully realise the promise of precision medicine in RA,” says Prof. Costantino Pitzalis, at the Queen Mary University of London.

The incorporation of these signatures in future diagnostic tests will be a necessary step to translate these findings into routine clinical care.

Source-Medindia