Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Tarrytown, NY, has been given FDA clearance to offer US laboratories an anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) IgG assay to aid diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic, progressive autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1.3 million Americans¹.
Available on the company’s IMMULITE® 2000/2000 XPi immunoassay systems, the anti-CCP IgG assay affords labs the ability to integrate RA testing onto an automated, random-access analyzer.
RA causes joint inflammation and, without early diagnosis and aggressive treatment, may lead to joint destruction, organ damage, and deformity. Currently, the anti-CCP antibody is considered the most specific RA marker and is critical for early diagnosis. High levels of the anti-CCP antibody also indicate more aggressive RA and higher joint damage risk compared to patients with lower levels.
With a clinical specificity of 97%, the IMMULITE anti-CCP IgG assay offers labs and clinicians a highly accurate diagnostic tool for fast and early RA diagnosis. The assay also helps rule out other inflammatory and arthritic conditions, enabling physicians to determine an appropriate treatment path.
¹ Arthritis Foundation. Disease Center. Rheumatoid Arthritis. Available at: http://www.arthritis.org/conditions-treatments/disease-center/rheumatoid-arthritis/. Accessed 2/21/13.
[Source: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics]
