Cell discovery could give vital warning of rheumatoid arthritis attacks

CRIPPLING rheumatoid arthritis attacks could be stopped with a simple blood test, according to new research.

Scientists have discovered a “never-before-seen” type of cell that forewarns of attacks up to seven days in advance.

The breakthrough opens the door to developing more effective drugs and could boost management strategies such as being more active.

Lead author Professor Robert Darnell said: “Prime cells are one thing you might want to target to arrest the flare before it happens.”

His team dubbed them Prime (pre-inflammation mesenchymal) cells, a form of stem cell that turn into bone or cartilage. The study found the week prior to disease flare-upsthey accumulate in the blood.

Mr Darnell said: “A never-beforeseen cell type could forewarn of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.”

It offers hope of more accurate diagnosis before irreversible damage has occurred, improving the lives of millions of sufferers.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease of the immune system that causes inflammation in the joints, affecting more than 500,000 people in the UK.

Steroids offer relief but there is no cure. It frequently strikes those in their 30s or 40s. Symptoms come in waves, with stretches of relative quiet interspersed with agonising “flares”.

Mr Darnell, a neuro-oncologist, and colleagues examined blood samples sent from patients, who kept a record of symptoms to identify when flares occurred.

In the patients, Prime cells gathered in the bloodstream a week before the attack but disappeared during it. This, combined with previous work, suggests a possible role for Prime cells in rheumatoid arthritis flares, explained Mr Darnell.

His team are now recruiting more patients to check if the presence of the cells forecast a flare.

Mr Darnell added: “Understanding the unique aspects of Prime cells might enable us to target them with a drug and get rid of them.”

The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.