Arthritis and rheumatism
-
Arthritis and rheumatism · Apr 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialMagnetic resonance imaging examinations of the spine in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, before and after successful therapy with infliximab: evaluation of a new scoring system.
To evaluate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scoring system for the assessment of spinal inflammation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who participated in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of infliximab, and to examine whether infliximab is also effective for the reduction of MRI-proven spinal inflammation. ⋯ This novel MRI scoring system performed well in assessing acute inflammation by using STIR and post-Gd-DTPA sequences. In correlation with clinical improvement in patients with active AS who were treated with infliximab, significant regression of spinal inflammation was shown by using the MRI activity scores.