Novel Analytical Method Tracks Progression of Autoimmune Diseases

Patients with autoimmune diseases often have lifelong contact with doctors and hospitals. The typical patient diagnosed is a woman in her fifties and the disease requires lifelong treatment. But it is important to ensure the medication dosage is neither too high nor too low. A dosage that is too low causes joint deformity, too high causes side effects and the risk of complications. Tracking disease progression is crucial for ensuring optimal treatment. Researchers have now developed a novel analytical method for tracking disease progression in patients that shows great potential for healthcare implementation.

A team of researchers from Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark) has developed a method that offers doctors quicker and easier access to valuable information regarding disease progression. Published in the Journal of Translational Autoimmunity, their study introduces a promising biomarker to monitor disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis, and potentially other autoimmune conditions. In previous research, the team highlighted the importance of monitoring large proteins in blood samples from patients with conditions like Lupus and Alzheimer’s to track disease progression. Their latest work presents an analytical approach with strong potential for large-scale clinical applications. In the current study, the team analyzed blood and synovial fluid samples from rheumatoid arthritis patients, developing assays to examine the samples.

Image: New research has revealed a novel biomarker for autoimmune diseases (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

The new method identifies large immuno-active complexes in patients suffering from inflammation, exemplified here by rheumatoid arthritis. Unlike traditional methods, this approach allows for parallel measurement of patient samples, rather than serial testing, significantly increasing capacity. This technique offers a more precise evaluation of disease progression and facilitates more tailored treatment adjustments for individual patients. The next step for the researchers is to apply the same method to different patient cohorts. Expanding the testing to other autoimmune diseases seems to be a logical next step, with potential applications in autoimmune kidney diseases using urine samples, or autoimmune intestinal diseases using stool samples. These findings are not only promising for patients and healthcare providers, but they also hold significant interest for immunologists working to better understand immune system mechanisms.

"We have shown that large proteins are a marker for disease activity in both neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. The key point is that we have developed an entirely new kind of biomarker that isn’t measured today," said Assistant Professor Kristian Juul-Madsen from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University, who is the last author of the study.