The current role of biomarkers in rheumatologic diseases is controversial. A few molecular indicators have been adopted into clinical practice, while others need extensive validation. Newer technologies enable their discovery and study in relation to the disease stage. A biomarker is an objectively measurable medical characteristic which has been evaluated as an “indicator of normal biological processes, pathological states or pharmacological responses to therapeutic interventions.” It may be a functional, physiological or biochemical response.
Biomarkers may predict the incidence, natural course or outcome of a disease, the effects of intervention and also the influence of environmental exposures. In rheumatology, most diseases involve long standing ongoing damage and most imaging modalities give a cumulative picture of this. Disease specific molecular markers provide a quantifiable…
