Clinical Trials

Inclusion Criteria

• Have a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis as defined by either the 1987 ARA or 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria 
  • data for both criteria will be recorded
• Must have been 18 years of age or older at the time of diagnosis of RA
• At least one joint swollen and thought to be due to active RA
  • Joint should be amenable to minimally invasive ultrasound guided synovial tissue biopsy (MIUGSTB) including elbow, wrist, MCP, PIP, knee, ankle, or shoulder 
• Screening laboratory tests must meet the following criteria
  • Hemoglobin ≥ 9 g/dL
  • Platelets ≥ 100 x 109 cells/L
• Able to adhere to the study visit schedule, understand and comply with other protocol requirements
• Capable of giving informed consent, which will be obtained prior to any screening procedures
• Control subjects must be arthritis-free
• Surgical osteoarthritis patients must have a clinical diagnosis of osteoarthritis and are undergoing a clinically directed surgical procedure
• Surgical rehumatoid arthritis patients must have a diagnosis of RA (as defined by the either 1987 ARA or 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria – data for both criteria will be recorded ) and are undergoing a clinically directed surgical procedure
• All subjects must have given signed, informed consent prior to registration on study

Exclusion Criteria

• Pregnant or lactating women
• Active infections such as hepatitis, pneumonia, pyelonephritis or chronic skin infections
• Current signs or symptoms of uncontrolled renal, hepatic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, endocrine, pulmonary, cardiac, neurologic or cerebral disease
• History of bleeding disorder
• History of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, or hepatitis C
• Documented diagnosis of SLE or seronegative spondyloarthropathy
• Soft tissue, or intra-muscular corticosteroid injections during the 4 weeks prior to screening
• Corticosteroid injection into joint to be biopsied (within 8 weeks)
• Previous arthroplasty on the target joint
• Current use of warfarin, clopidogrel or other anticoagulant
• Prednisone or equivalent > 10 mg daily
• Exclusion criteria are the same for controls