RESEARCH - MRI and ultrasound reveal early signs of RA

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MRI and ultrasound reveal early signs of rheumatoid arthritis

DiagnosticImaging.com

ECR 2009

By a Gould

10 Mar 2009

Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects approximately 2.9 million people

in Europe, can be difficult to differentiate from other forms of

arthritis. Without an early diagnosis, however, it is impossible to

assess the true effect of promising early intervention strategies.

Could an alternative diagnostic imaging strategy be the answer?

Speakers at a special focus session addressed the value of ultrasound

and MRI in diagnosing RA and monitoring the effects of therapy. Both

of these modalities are used in the research setting to characterize

inflammatory arthropathies, detect changes in disease progression,

and/or identify responses to treatment before such changes become

clinically apparent.

Routine implementation is now just a matter of time, according to the

session's chair, Dr. Grainger, a musculoskeletal radiologist at

the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in the U.K.

Studies have shown that ultrasound can demonstrate the hallmarks of

inflammatory arthropathy with good sensitivity and specificity, said

Dr. Philip O'Connor, also a musculoskeletal radiologist at the Leeds

Teaching Hospitals. A definitive diagnosis of RA is typically made

when these imaging findings are combined with clinical signs, patient

history, and biochemical information.

" I have been using ultrasound in rheumatoid arthritis since 1996, " he

said. " It adds a lot to the clinical examination and to clinical

management and decision making in these patients. If you had a close

relative with early inflammatory arthritis, you would want them to

have an ultrasound scan to determine what was going on inside those

joints. "

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Read the full article here:

http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/conference-reports/ecr2009/article/113619/13874\

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