Hepatitis C and RA

 

Question  my question is although I have had high rf tests of 441 ect... for probably 7 years now with no systoms of ra, can this be doing internal damage just by being in your blood? i understand i may experience it my future, but does this wreak havoc if unseen? with high rf numbers, also can the fact im a carrier of tb and did have hep c which I will always test positive for both antibodies, (was treated for and cures of both) (tb )being a carrier, as I came in contact with someone as a child and had hep non a & b in the 80;s and given meds that I was one of the 10% of pop that it cured. Are there other tests that
 
Answer 

HI Donna,

Great questions and complicated.  Yes, the positive rheumatoid factor could be from hepatitis C but usually it is positive with hep C when you have arthritis and something called vasculitis.  Doesn't sound like the case for you.  The positive RF could also represent pre-clinical RA.  In other words, the blood test (RF) can be positive for years before the joint pain develops.  One other test that can help is the anti-CCP antibody test.  If that is positive, that makes the diagnosis of RA much more likely -- meaning that the patient, even if aymptomatic now, is likely to develop it down the road. The anti-CCP test is usually negative in hepatitis C.

Last update: 09:39 AM Wednesday, April 8, 2009

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Joan Bathon, MD

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