In individuals without radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA), Chang et al. investigated whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) defined knee OA at baseline was associated with incident radiographic and symptomatic disease during up to 11 years of follow-up. The researchers found the two current MRI definitions of knee OA may not adequately predict the development of radiographic and symptomatic disease.
2 Markers May Help Predict Who will Progress to Sjögren’s
Physicians already know a great deal about Sjögren’s syndrome’s symptoms and potential complications, and a new study confirms data on two long-suspected predictors of progression (i.e., measurable phenotypic findings) that could show which patients are likely to progress to active disease: hypergammaglobulinemia and hypocomplementemia. Published in the February issue of Arthritis Care & Research, “Natural…
MIF Cytokine May Impact Inflammation, Bone Formation in Ankylosing Spondylitis
What factors drive inflammation and progressive disease in ankylosing spondylitis (AS)? The answers have long eluded rheumatologists. Although 90% of patients with AS test positive for the HLA-B27 gene, pieces remain missing in our understanding of this chronic, inflammatory disease, which often leads to pain, spinal fusion and, in about half of patients, gut involvement,…