Researchers say they have a "definitive" list of genes involved in rheumatoid arthritis.
Details of some 42 new genes linked to the disease were unveiled yesterday.
It brings the number of genes known to be linked to the disease to more than 100.
The findings, reported in Nature, come from a study of more than 100,000 people of European and Asian descent, studied in 70 institutions worldwide.
Researchers hope the findings will lead to new treatments for the disease as well as new insights into its causes. The research has also provided new explanations of how existing drugs work.
Researcher Peter Gregersen, of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, of Manhasset, New York, USA, said: "This study is the culmination of over a decade of work by an extraordinary group of collaborative scientists from around the world.
"It provides us with a definitive list of the major common genetic variation involved in this disease, and points the way forward to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this illness."
Dr Robert Plenge, who led the research from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, said: "Our study provides a compelling link between human genetics in rheumatoid arthritis and approved therapies to treat rheumatoid arthritis."
Okada et al. Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discovery. Nature 25 December 2013; doi: 10.1038/nature12873
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