Overview
A rheumatoid component take a look at measures the amount of rheumatoid component in your blood. Rheumatoid factors are proteins produced by your immune design that might well assault wholesome tissue in your physique.
Excessive levels of rheumatoid component in the blood are most in most cases associated to autoimmune diseases, similar to rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome. But rheumatoid component might well be detected in some wholesome folk, and folk with autoimmune diseases in most cases hang original levels of rheumatoid component.
Why it’s done
A rheumatoid component take a look at is knowing of as one of a team of blood tests mature basically to lend a hand pinpoint a prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis. These other tests will even consist of:
- Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)
- Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies
- C-reactive protein (CRP)
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, or sed rate)
The amount of rheumatoid component in your blood might well lend a hand your doctor steal the treatment capacity that will work ideally suited for your divulge.
What it is seemingly you’ll perchance also question
Correct via a rheumatoid component take a look at, a small sample of blood is drawn from a vein in your arm. This in most cases takes only a short time. Your blood sample is despatched to a laboratory for attempting out.
Results
A definite rheumatoid component take a look at consequence implies that a excessive level of rheumatoid component used to be detected in your blood. A bigger level of rheumatoid component in your blood is carefully associated to autoimmune illness, particularly rheumatoid arthritis. But a range of other diseases and prerequisites can lift rheumatoid component levels, together with:
- Most cancers
- Chronic infections
- Inflammatory lung diseases, similar to sarcoidosis
- Blended connective tissue illness
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
Some wholesome folk—particularly older folk—hang definite rheumatoid component tests, despite the indisputable fact that it’s now not definite why. And some folk which hang rheumatoid arthritis might well hang low levels of rheumatoid component in their blood.
Updated: 2016-05-21
E-newsletter Date: 2008-10-21
