RESUMEN
There are a group of rheumatoid arthritis [RA] patients for whom traditional markers of outcome are unhelpful. Despite of absence of these markers; still they have progressive damaging arthritis. Expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinases as MMP-3 [stromolysin-1] and MMP-1 [collagenase-1] are increased in RA patients. There are contradictory results of their role as predictors of joint damage. To study the role of MMP-3 and MMP-1 as predictors of joint damage in early RA. Seventy early RA patients of less than 12 months duration fulfilling the ACR criteria for classification of RA were enrolled in this study. They were 65 females and 5 males with mean age [30.5 +/- 3.2] years. Also 30 apparently healthy persons were studied as a control group, 15 males and 15 females with mean age of [33.5 +/- 2.8] years. All patients and control volunteers were tested for MMP-3 and MMP-1 basal serum level, using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay [ELISA]. The subsequent change of Larsen Radiological Score [delta Larsen] and Health Assessment Questionnaire [delta HAQ] were recorded and correlated with MMP-3 and MMP-1 over a 12 months period. The mean basal serum level of MMP-3 and MMP-1 were significantly higher in RA patients than controls [p<0.05]. MMP-3 and MMP-1 serum levels at presentation of RA patients correlated significantly with basal CRP presentation [r = 0.40, r=0.47 and p<0.05], with delta Larsen Score [r = 0.24, r = 0.31 and p<0.05], and with delta HAQ [r = 0.33, r = 0.31 and p<0.05]. The group of patients with normal CRP at presentation [