Rheumatology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Persistent reduction of spinal inflammation as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with ankylosing spondylitis after 2 yrs of treatment with the anti-tumour necrosis factor agent infliximab.
Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) benefit from anti-TNF therapy both on a clinical basis and as depicted by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is not known whether spinal inflammation remains suppressed over time. Our objective was to assess spinal inflammation by MRI in AS patients after 2 yr of continuous infliximab treatment. ⋯ Spinal inflammation in MRI was persistently reduced in all patients constantly treated with infliximab, but it was not completely eradicated. Disease activity parameters did not directly correlate with MRI, but both pointed in the same direction. Both types of information may be useful for the definition of response to anti-TNF therapy.