READ ABOUT THIS IN ANOTHER POST. I AM SERONEGATIVE FOR RF AND AM CURIOUS IF THIS IS A SPECIFIC BLOOD TEST A RD CAN ORDER? HOW DOES ONE GET THIS TEST?
Hi Karen,
HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) tests are still in their infancy, and not a whole lot is known about the overall effect of their results. From what i can gather having a strong HLA DR4 in the blood means theres a risk of having severe RA. Certainly asking your DOC to provide the test shouldnt be a problem, I'd imagine most labs would be able to. Heres a few links on the subject
http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00051650.html
http://www.arthritis.co.za/ra.html
Hope this helps
DAGDA, THANKS MUCH! KAREN