Rheumatology Medical News about ankylosisng spondylitis;inflammation and new bone formation

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The relationship between inflammation and new bone formation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis
Arthritis Research & Therapy, 09/05/08

Baraliakos X et al. – In patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), treated with anti-TNF agents, linkage and some dissociation of inflammation and new bone formation was found. More effective suppression of spinal inflammation may be required to inhibit structural damage in ankylosing spondylitis.

Methods

Study to investigate whether and how spinal inflammation is associated with new bone formation in AS
Spinal MRI and conventional radiographs from 39 AS pts treated with anti-TNF agents at baseline and after 2 yrs were analysed

Results

922 vertebral edges at the cervical and lumbar spine were analysed
At baseline, the proportion of vertebral edges with and w/o inflammation that showed structural changes was similar
From the perspective of syndesmophyte formation after 2 yrs, there were more vertebral edges w/o than with inflammation at baseline
From the perspective of spinal inflammation at baseline more syndesmophytes developed at vertebral edges with than w/o inflammation
Inflammation persisted in 31% of the initially inflamed vertebral edges, and new lesions developed in 8% of the vertebral edges w/o inflammation at baseline
From the perspective of spinal inflammation after 2 yrs, 5.6% of the vertebral edges showed syndesmophyte development, vs 1.9% of the vertebral edges with new syndesmophytes w/o inflammation