PhD project which will investigate different markers related to RA before disease onset and their relation to disease progression.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic progressive autoimmune disease that primarily affects the body's joints. The disease is characterized by swollen and tender joints, as well as morning stiffness. If left untreated, it could lead to joint destruction, loss of function in the joints, and a diminished quality of life. This PhD project aims to investigate various markers related to RA before the onset of the disease and their relationship with disease progression.
The project involves the analysis of inflammation-related protein markers in plasma before symptom onset, exploring the role of synovitis in the foot and/or ankle in RA disease activity, examining genetic markers for the radiologic progression of RA, and assessing the presence of joint-related autoantibodies in early RA.
Two cohorts will be examined: pre-symptomatic samples and matched control samples from Biobank Norr, along with a cohort of newly diagnosed RA patients. Various techniques, including genotyping, multiplex autoantibody analysis, and multiplex protein analysis, will be employed to analyze the collected samples.
The material used in this study is derived from the early arthritis reception cohort (TRAM), where approximately 1600 patients from the northern region have been continuously included since 1996, as well as pre-symptomatic individuals identified in the medical biobank in Umeå.
