Autoantibody Status

Rheumatoid arthritis is divided into autoantibody-positive and autoantibody-negative subtypes with different clinical and molecular profiles. Autoantibody-positive patients respond better to rituximab than autoantibody-negative patients. Prior research found hydroxychloroquine comparable to methotrexate in autoantibody-negative rheumatoid arthritis, but not in autoantibody-positive disease. Autoantibody-positive rheumatoid arthritis has a worse prognosis and more destructive course than autoantibody-negative disease.