title: sE-selectin for stratifying outcome in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Egerer
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hertzer
authors.forename: Eugen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Feist
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Paul Eberhard
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Rudolph
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dörner
authors.forename: Gerd-Rüdiger
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Burmester
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019040:E-Selectin