Predicting and preventing the development of rheumatoid arthritis

A desire to cure and even prevent RA has led to an increased interest in its earliest phases—those clinically apparent phases of disease before patients have developed the full set of characteristics that allow them to be classified as having RA and the phases of disease prior to the onset of symptoms. The series of review articles [1–4] that are featured in this and the next few issues of Rheumatology addresses key aspects of the transition to RA: the genetic factors that increase the risk of and protect against RA development [1]; the interactions between these genetic factors and environmental exposures in the initiation of RA and its very early pathogenesis [2]; strategies to predict RA development in at-risk populations, many of which integrate data relating to genetic and environmental risk factors [3]; and strategies to prevent RA in those at risk [4].