Glossary
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
A
Autoimmune diseases:
Autoimmune diseases stem from a malfunction of the immune system that attacks its own cells abnormally. The immune system is supposed to protect us against the pathogens, but can sometimes become deregulated and lead to autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease. These chronic diseases are the consequence of a loss of the body’s immunological tolerance to its own constituents.
B
Big Data:
Big Data refers to a range of large data produced by the use of new technologies. This data is very varied and may be generated, among other things, by the content published on the web (images, photos, sounds, etc.), e-mails, documents, exchanges published on social networks... The exploitation of big data has opened new prospects in many areas, in particular in the health sector. Thanks to the new analytical tools and to data modelling, companies now have the ability to establish trends, forecasts, and even anticipate phenomena.
Thanks to the advent of Big Data, mYXpression has been able to exploit a large volume of genomic data from clinical studies from prestigious international universities such as Oxford, Berkeley and Cambridge. This data has been processed and modelled to extract its quintessence and constitute the sole basis of genomic data specific to rheumatoid arthritis.
Biomarkers:
A biomarker is a biological characteristic that can be accurately measured. In the medical sector, a biomarker is used to establish diagnoses, detect pathologies, evaluate the response of a patient to a treatment, and establish the toxicity of a molecule. For the RA, there is a multitude of biomarkers that signal the inflammatory state with precision.
Biotherapy:
Biotherapies refer to a new generation of drugs made from living cells. They have the particularity that they act in a precise manner on the mechanism of inflammation. Biotherapies are very effective, and have the ability to alleviate the patient’s symptomatic pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis and offer hope of lasting remission for the disease. Anti TNF alpha appeared from 2000, and was the 1st class of biotherapies, constituting a veritable revolution!
Other classes then made their appearance (non-exhaustive list):
- anti IL1
- anti IL6
- anti CD20
- anti JAK
C
Clinical remission:
Clinical remission means the absence of signs and symptoms of significant articular inflammatory activity. The rheumatologist must rely on validated composite scores to see whether the patient is in clinical remission. These criteria are defined as follows (EULAR): A patient is in remission if the DAS28 is lower than 2.6 or the lower DAS validated is lower than 1.6. The DAS is a composite index which takes into account the number of painful and swollen joints (28 for DAS28 and 44 for DAS), the patient’s assessment of inflammatory activity of RA, the sedimentation rate and the level of C-reactive protein.
D
DNA:
DNA means deoxyribonucleic acid. Structured in a double helix, DNA contains, in coded form, all the information relating to a living organism and is transmitted in whole or in part during reproduction (heredity). It is composed of a succession of four different nucleotides: adenosine, cytidine, guanosine and thymidine, whose sequence is very precise and contains genetic information. Find out more: DNA
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M
Machine learning :
Machine learning is a technology able to analyse large volumes of data and exploit the potential of Big Data fully. This technique has the particularity of being able to learn and progress thanks to all the data it acquires.
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M
P
Precision medicine:
Precision medicine is based on a simple principle: “The right treatment, at the right time, for the right patient." This new medical practice takes into account individual genetic variability, the environment and the lifestyle of each person to provide a therapeutic course perfectly suited to each individual, thereby increasing the efficacy of a treatment.
Q
R
RNA:
RNA ( ribonucleic acids) are molecules composed through the assembly of the ribonucleotides, (adenine, cytosine, guanine, uracil which replaces the thymidine in DNA). There are many families of RNA, each with a specific role. Let us look more closely at messenger RNA (mRNA) that serve as the matrix for the synthesis of proteins. RNA is ephemeral biological data. As soon as its work has been done, it is destroyed.
RNA is one of the elements on which we need to carry out analyses to determine which biotherapy is suitable for you. By sequencing your RNA, we will be able to identify biomarkers responsible for your biological deregulation, compare it with our huge databases, and then determine the biotherapy that is most suited to your biological profile.
Rheumatologist:
Rheumatology is the medical discipline for diagnosing, monitoring and treating the pain and diseases of the bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. Rheumatologists also work on all inflammatory rheumatism and autoimmune diseases, which are sometimes responsible for extra-articular manifestations: kidneys, skin, lungs etc.