 Palindromic rheumatism is a disease of unknown cause.It has been suggested that it is an abortive form of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), since anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) and antikeratin antibodies (AKA) are present in a high proportion of patients, as is the case in rheumatoid arthritis.Unlike RA and some other forms of arthritis, palindromic rheumatism affects men and women equally.