Description
Rheumatoid Factor - Elevated RF is found in collagen vascular diseases such as SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjogren`s syndrome, and in other conditions such as leprosy, tuberculosis, syphilis, malignancy, thyroid disease and in a significant percentage of otherwise normal elderly patients.This blood test detects and measures rheumatoid factor (RF) in the blood to help diagnose the presence of an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid factor is an autoantibody, a protein which attacks a person’s own tissue. This is because the body’s immune system has misidentified its own tissue as a foreign threat, like a bacteria or virus. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic and destructive autoimmune disorder in which a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks their own joint tissue, causing painful swelling, stiffness, and decreased joint mobility. This causes inflammation in the synovium, a layer of soft tissue on the joints’ inner surface.
Over time, rheumatoid arthritis can damage cartilage, the firm but flexible tissue that covers and protects the ends of bones at the joints. Joints can loosen and become unstable, and the inflammation can cause joint damage and deformity.c
