Genetics to Explain Triggers of Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis

A team involving scientists from 15 different institutions at the Arthritis Research UK Center for Genetics and Genomics believe their findings can better diagnose and treat the many forms of rheumatoid arthritis. The center is located at the University of Manchester and the team has published their findings in the American Journal of Human Genetics; they say more clinical testing is needed to identify the less known types of rheumatoid arthritis and prevent it from being misdiagnosed. Rheumatoid arthritis is inflammation of the joints that causes severe pain and swelling and sometimes disability; it is known to have strong genetic and environmental components and no other gene besides the HLA-DRB1 has been demonstrated more clearly with the disease. A good portion of rheumatoid arthritis patients tested positive for auto-antibodies while about 30% tested negative, sero-negative and sero-positive are the two types of rheumatoid arthritis. Different genetic variants of a protein that is very important to the role of the immune systems ability to fight infection are associated with the two forms listed. This gave clues as to how different infections triggered different forms of rheumatoid arthritis and since sero-negative is less understood than sero-positive, many people can become less misdiagnosed and given the correct treatment. 
I believe these findings could really help people who not only have but people who will have arthritis in their lifetime. I personally will probably have arthritis in the future because it is a disease that runs in my family so knowing that there is more research being done eases my mind knowing that there a chance I will not have to truly suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or if I do it won't be as painful as it could have been without these studies and many more.