title: Aspects of early arthritis. Definition of disease states in early arthritis: remission versus minimal disease activity.
abstract: With regard to rheumatoid arthritis, remission as currently used in the literature can have two meanings: either a state with persistent absence of clinical and radiological signs of disease activity without being treated for a specific time period, or it may point to a disease state with minimal disease activity during antirheumatic treatment. A risk factor for the first is absence of autoantibodies, with the anti-CCP-antibodies as best predictors, whereas risk factors for achieving a drug-induced state of minimal disease activity are not well defined. These definitions of remission refer to different disease states; therefore, we propose that the term remission is reserved for patients that are not treated with antirheumatic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Annette H M
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: van der Helm-van Mil
authors.forename: Ferdinand C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Breedveld
authors.forename: Tom W J
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Huizinga
mesh_terms: D001168:Arthritis / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001175:Arthrography; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D015897:Comorbidity; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000209:etiology; D012042:Registries; D012074:Remission Induction