Up to 1 % of the population world-wide, or 78 million people, get diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at some point in their lives. This makes rheumatoid arthritis the most common condition out of the group of inflammatory rheumatic diseases. While rheumatoid arthritis mostly affects the body’s joints, there are many other types of inflammatory rheumatic diseases of which some can also lead to inflammation of the inner organs, muscles and blood vessels. Even though the symptoms can vary, the underlying reason for all these diseases lies within the immune system which attacks the body’s own (= endogenous) cells. Inflammatory rheumatic diseases are thus characterized as autoimmune diseases.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis can be rather nonspecific making it difficult to comprehend the disease – even more so if one is newly diagnosed and is just learning to understand the body’s signals. Tiredness, low fever, slightly sore muscles and loss of appetite can be difficult to track and interpret without additional guidance.

With the multitude of symptoms that come with such a disease, it is reasonable that treatment is also based on many pillars: Medication, sports or physical therapy, thermo therapy and reducing stress and anxiety can all be part of the treatment plan and can in the best case also complement each other.

We at Bloom Diagnostics want to support people with chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Read on to learn more about how one simple biomarker can help to understand inflammatory symptoms in a simple and time-efficient way.

What is CRP?

CRP is the abbreviation for C-reactive protein. It is a so-called acute-phase protein and as such part of the body’s immune response. When the immune system is triggered, e.g. during an infection, or an injury, CRP is released into the bloodstream. The increase corresponds to the body’s inflammatory status, whether it is battling a severe or a mild inflammation.

The rise of CRP in the blood is often faster than the change of clinical symptoms. This means that CRP can give information about the ongoings of an infection or disease on a molecular level, faster and more reliably than by purely looking at symptoms.

How is CRP used in inflammatory rheumatic diseases by professionals?

By measuring the CRP concentration in blood, professionals can get an overview about somebody’s inflammatory status. This can be helpful in acute diseases, e.g. a bacterial infection, but also in chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. CRP measurements are performed during the diagnostic process but also after a diagnosis to assess treatment efficacy.  As the treatment goal is to reduce the inflammation in the body, successful treatment results in lower CRP levels, among other things.

By regularly measuring inflammatory markers like CRP, professionals can gain important information and adapt the dose of a certain medication or prescribe a different drug, accordingly.

Please note that you should never change your medication without consulting your physician or a relevant specialist first.

How can persons with an inflammatory rheumatic disease use CRP?

Especially shortly after getting a diagnosis for an inflammatory rheumatoid disease, understanding symptoms can be difficult. “Am I just tired due to lack of sleep or is my body telling me to slow down?” and “Are my muscles sore because of the workout I did or is it due to rheumatoid arthritis?” could be regular thoughts.

Measuring CRP during such uncertainties can help to better understand the signals the body sends. The feeling or mood experienced can be linked to a number which not only helps to relieve stress caused by the unclear situation but over time also leads to a better understanding of the disease.

Are you curious to test your CRP? Read more about the Bloom Inflammation test here.

If you are a doctor, physical therapist or other medical professional wanting to partner with Bloom to provide more help to people with an inflammatory rheumatic disease, reach out to us and become a Bloom partner.

It shall be noted here that not everybody who has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis sees their CRP levels rise with their symptoms. Thus, individual testing of CRP should never be used as a replacement for specialist care and treatment but rather as an additional helping factor.

References

1. C-Reactive Protein Why Get Tested? American Association of Clinical Chemistry. https://labtestsonline.org.uk/tests/c-reactive-protein, accessed: 02/10/2024.
2. Lothar T. Labor Und Diagnose Online Edition, 2024, Release 8, https://www.labor-und-diagnose.de/index.html
3. Jameson JL, Fauci AS, Kasper D, Hauser S, Longo DL, Loscalzo J, eds. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. McGraw-Hill Education; 2018.
4. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adults: Management.; 2018. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100.
5. Combe B, Landewe R, Daien CI, et al. 2016 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of early arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017;76(6):948-959. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-210602 
6. https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/rheumatoid-arthritis
7. Gwinnutt JM et al. 2021 EULAR recommendations regarding lifestyle behaviours and work participation to prevent progression of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023 Jan;82(1):48-56. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-222020. Epub 2022 Mar 8. PMID: 35260387. https://ard.bmj.com/content/82/1/48
8. Janet E. Pope, Ernest H. Choy, C-reactive protein and implications in rheumatoid arthritis and associated comorbidities, Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, Volume 51, Issue 1, 2021, Pages 219-229, ISSN 0049-0172, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2020.11.005.