Question: Do we know of any genes that predispose someone to developing rheumatoid arthritis?
Answer: We do know or at least believe that rheumatoid arthritis has a genetic component to it. There are genes that have been identified that may predispose some patients to getting rheumatoid arthritis and other genes that actually may make the arthritis worse if you do get it.
A lot of this is preliminary at this point, and it's not ready to be used in clinical practice. So in effect, there are no genes that we can test for to see if a patient is going to develop rheumatoid arthritis or have rheumatoid arthritis on a routine basis just yet. That may be something we'll be doing in the future however.
Previous: How Does Family History Affect My Risk Of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis?