sE-selectin for stratifying outcome in rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the usefulness of sE-selectin as a marker for early diagnosis and stratification of rheumatoid arthritis.


METHODS
We investigated several markers of disease activity, including circulating adhesion molecules and other standard laboratory tests, in a 2-3 year followup analysis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.


RESULTS
The mean +/- SD levels of sE-selectin (91.68 +/- 31.8 ng/ml versus 49.83 +/- 14.76 ng/ml) and rheumatoid factor (375.7 +/- 394.4 U versus 44.66 +/- 37.63 U) were strongly elevated in severe (n = 15) versus mild (n = 7) courses of disease. Statistical calculation of mean and standard deviation revealed that sE-selectin represents a highly significant marker for the presence of persistent and aggressive disease over time, regardless of therapeutic intervention and observation time points (P = 0.0004). Notably, regression analysis identified constant values for all parameters analyzed and, therefore, a stable course of the disease could be predicted from the beginning.


CONCLUSIONS
sE-selectin appears to be a powerful marker to predict the severity of rheumatoid arthritis.
Egerer
Karl
K
Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Hertzer
Julia
J
Feist
Eugen
E
Albrecht
Anja
A
Rudolph
Paul Eberhard
PE
Dörner
Thomas
T
Burmester
Gerd-Rüdiger
GR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019040:E-Selectin / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D015415:Biomarkers; D019040:E-Selectin