CLIA - Acronym stands for "Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act". It was established in 1988 to standardize lab specimen testing.

COLA - Acronym stands for "Clinical Office Lab Accreditation" and they are the governing body responsible for the inspection process of laboratory sites.

Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies (Anti-CCP) - Traditionally tests such as IgM rheumatoid factor have been the mainstay of serologic tests in evaluating patients for suspected rheumatoid arthritis (RA). IgM rheumatoid factor actually has a reasonable sensitivity (75-80%) in detecting auto-immune diseases but it is weak in early detection of early stage rheumatoid arthritis. Furthermore, a substantial number of arthropathies still exist as a possibility despite testing as seronegative.

This new FDA approved anti-ccp assay's significance lies in the fact that it has 96% specificity to disease type and 78% sensitivity for RA that occurs in 70% of the early RA synovitis cases. Anti-CCP is also predictive of erosive disease. By the presence of a positive rheumatoid factor and the anti-CCP, rheumatologists have a higher specificity tool for identifying RA.

OK, so what does all that mean to the patient? For one, early detection of rheumatoid arthritis on patients with sudden onset of symptoms. This in turn leads to better therapies administered before RA has the opportunity to destroy the joints and control the varied other related symptoms. With a tool that helps define the type of arthritis,the physician will have the opportunity to tailor a more specific treatment plan already proven to work better with that specific arthropathy.