New approaches to imaging of early rheumatoid arthritis

P.G. Conaghan, D. McGonagle, R. Wakefield, P. Emery

Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Unit, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.

ABSTRACT
Conventional radiology (CR) is a major tool for the diagnosis and assessment of early arthritis. However, CR does not image the primary pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), i.e. the synovium, and is insensitive for radiological erosions. New techniques, particularly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) have shown their potential to improve on the sensitivity of CR. This article reviews the current status of this approach in early disease.

Key words
Early rheumatoid arthritis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), sonography, x-ray, ultrasonography (US), dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Prof. Paul Emery, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, University of Leeds, 36 Clarendon Road, Leeds LS2 9NZ, UK.

Clin Exp Rheumatol 1999; 17 (Suppl. 18): S37 - S42.
© Copyright Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 1999.