A new study has paved way for developing a blood test to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at an early stage.

This blood test would find out increased levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines present in the blood that may be an early warning sign of RA.

Researchers have found that much before the symptoms of RA show the levels of cytokines in the blood rise prior to the development of RA.

Researcher Solbritt Rantapää-Dahlqvist, MD, of University Hospital in Umea, Sweden, said, "Our findings present an opportunity for better predicting the risk of developing RA and possibly preventing disease progression."

For conducting a study, researchers in Sweden analyzed blood samples from 86 people. These people did not show RA symptoms when they gave blood. They developed RA later and their blood samples were compared with samples from 256 healthy individuals.

The results depicted increased levels of several cytokines and related factors years before RA’s diagnosis.

Researchers stated that developing a blood test that could detect RA at an early stage would be beneficial as RA if detected early had better chances of being treated.