Patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) demonstrate altered immune responses to Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), but the presence and roles of EBV have not been fully explored during the pre–clinical disease period. This study was undertaken to determine if EBV infection, as evidenced by an altered anti-EBV antibody response, either plays an important role in driving the development of RA or is a result of expanded RA-related autoimmunity.

中文翻译：

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类风湿性关节炎临床前期对 EB 病毒的抗体反应表明存在增加的病毒再激活周期

患有类风湿性关节炎 (RA) 的患者表现出对 EB 病毒 (EBV) 的免疫反应发生了改变，但在临床前疾病期间尚未充分探索 EBV 的存在和作用。进行这项研究是为了确定 EBV 感染（如抗 EBV 抗体反应的改变所证明）是否在推动 RA 的发展中发挥重要作用，或者是 RA 相关自身免疫扩大的结果。