text_1: Blood Test May Predict Rheumatoid Arthritis
text_2: "There has been recognition that RA results in gradual, cumulative destruction of joints and other parts of the body. Since we now have powerful treatment options, there has been a push to begin using them earlier. However, it’s harder to identify RA in its early stages, when diagnostic techniques such as RF testing aren’t as helpful. Therefore, there is a need for new diagnostic techniques for the identification of patients with joint problems in the early stages of RA. That’s the context, and the social problem, described in the article. The study in question, however, is a little different. It’s about understanding the processes that lead to RA and techniques that may, in the future, lead to a test for patients who may develop RA in the future. There is no available evidence that treatment can stave off RA in patients who don’t have symptoms yet. We would have liked to have seen the article use additional sources besides the press release. Where it does not rely on the press release, it seems to stray too far. The article claims that the investigators ""say the finding paves the way for developing a blood test for early diagnosis of the mysterious disease."" We don’t believe they said that, neither in the published study nor even the press release. The authors say the technique could help identify people at risk for developing RA in the future — people who are not yet patients — as opposed to patients who have an early stage of the disease. Contrary to the article’s headline, the study in question did not assess a blood test for RA, and there is no blood test now. After the headline, the story really never improved."