Vosse D et al. - In ankylosing spondylitis (AS), cartilage degradation plays a role in explaining radiological-damage and -progression in the spine. Methods
Aim was to investigate whether urinary C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I (CTX-I) and type II (CTX-II) collagen, are specific markers of bone and cartilage degradation, respectively, and are associated with radiological damage and progression
83 pts with AS were assessed for urinary CTX-I and –II
Results were compared with baseline scores for radiological damage and with scores for radiological progression after 2 yrs f/u
Markers were also associated with disease activity parameters and BMD
Results
Mean duration of complaints was 28.6 yrs
At that time, 54% of pts had signs of radiological damage, and 35% of them showed radiological progression after 2 yrs
Baseline radiological damage correlated with CTX-II, but not with CTX-I
CTX-II correlated with serological markers of inflammation but not with baseline BASDAI or BMD
There was a negative correlation between CTX-I and BMD of the trochanter
CTX-II independently contributed to explaining variation in radiological damage and progression
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