Question
I have been recently diagnosed with RA, but am also having symptoms that relate to AS–plus I have HLA-B27 marker. Is it possible to have both RA and AS?
Answer
Hi Mardi,
There are patients like yourself who have positive tests for RA and have the gene associated with AS. The final diagnosis depends on the pattern of the arthritis, whether it is more like RA or AS. I have patients where it is not clear, so I call them RA/AS overlap. Fortunately, when it comes to treatment, it may not matter a great deal since some drugs are effective for both conditions.
