Effect of very early treatment in rheumatoid arthritis on bone oedema and synovitis, using magnetic resonance imaging

To evaluate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of hand involvement before and 1 year after treatment in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

MRI of the dominant hand was performed in 22 patients fulfilling the new criteria for early RA. The patients were divided into three groups. Nine had very early RA (VERA; disease duration < 3 months), seven had early RA (ERA; disease duration < 6 months), and six had established RA (ESTRA; disease duration > 12 months). The MRI protocol consisted of fat-suppressed T2, and plain and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted sequences. Assessment of bone marrow oedema, synovitis, and bone erosions was performed by the OMERACT RA MRI scoring system. Patients were treated with methotrexate (MTX) 0.2 mg/kg/body weight/week and prednisone 7.5 mg/day. Clinical assessment was evaluated using the Disease Activity Score for 28 joint indices (DAS28).

After treatment, a significant decrease was observed: (a) in DAS28 of VERA (6.2 ± 0.9 vs. 2.4 ± 1.2), ERA (5.3 ± 0.8 vs. 2.8 ± 1.0), and ESTRA patients (5.7 ± 8.0 vs. 2.7 ± 0.7; p < 0.05); (b) in bone oedema (16.77 ± 13.78 vs. 5.88 ± 6.31) and synovitis (12.44 ± 6.44 vs. 2.88 ± 3.25) of VERA patients; and (c) in synovitis (7.57 ± 6.32 vs. 1.42 ± 1.81) of ERA patients (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found in erosions in any group.

Bone marrow oedema and synovitis decrease significantly when RA is diagnosed and treated early. MRI is useful in the early detection of these changes. MTX treatment resulted in a significant decrease in DAS28 score and significant improvement in bone oedema and synovitis.