As per the researchers at the Rockefeller University, a new type of cell- known as the "PRIME cells" that dramatically increases in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 7 days prior to a disease flareup, can help to advise the RA patients that their symptoms are about to get worse!

These researchers examined hundreds of blood samples from 4 RA patients, who accumulated the blood at home via finger pricks and sent them for analysis. Each of these patients kept a note of their symptoms to recognize when flares arose. The molecular changes in the blood prior to the onset of symptoms were carefully studied. An increase in immune cells 14 days before a flare was found.

On the other hand, the samples collected just 7 days before a flare, had an increase in cells that didn't match the genetic signature of any known type of blood or immune cell. The RNA signature of the cells looked like that of bone, cartilage or muscle cells, unlike the ones found in blood cells.

Interestingly, the genes expressed right before a flare are normally active in the bone, muscle, and extracellular matrix, peculiar pathways to find in blood cells. These cells were named as PRIME cells i.e. pre-inflammation mesenchymal cells, a type of stem cell that can grow into bone or cartilage.

“If these novel cells can be recognized in patients, flares can easily be predicted and so the patients can prepare themselves, thereby making the flares less troublesome and easily treated,” concluded the lead study researcher.