INTRODUCTION Osteoclasts play a key role in the pathogenesis of bone erosion and systemic bone mass loss during rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of methotrexate (MTX) and zoledronic acid (ZA), used alone or in combination, on osteoclast-mediated bone erosions and systemic bone mass loss in a rat model of collagen induced arthritis (CIA). We hypothesized...

There are limited data on the reliability of extremity magnetic resonance imaging (E-MRI) in the longitudinal evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Our aim was to assess the interreader reliability of the OMERACT RA MRI score in the assessment of change in disease activity and bone erosion scores using 0.2 T E-MRI hand and wrist images from 2 timepoints, evaluated by 3 readers at different i...

Nodular fasciitis is a benign, reactive myofibroblastic tumor that is often mistaken for a sarcoma because of its histological appearance and rapid growth. Involvement of a finger is extremely rare. We report a case of nodular fasciitis of the thumb, accompanied by bone erosion. Magnetic resonance findings suggested the possibility of a malignancy, which could have led to misdiagnosis as a mali...

The first reported case of mucoid degeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament (MDACL) was provided by Kumar et al in 1999.1 The pathogenesis is still unclear, but this condition is thought to be secondary to ACL degeneration. A 2004 study reported theprevalence ofMDACL as 0.043%,2 but a 2008 study found a prevalence of 5.3%.3 Although MDACL is not as rare as previously thought, it is not sti...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful tool for evaluating disease activity and therapeutic efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, conventional whole-body MRI is inconvenient on several levels. We have therefore developed a new low-field extremity MRI (compact MRI, cMRI) and examined its clinical utility. Thirteen RA patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) biologic...

The effect of intranasal salmon calcitonin on pain, erosion progression, and bone loss in 40 women with rheumatoid arthritis was investigated. The study design was double blind, placebo controlled for the first four months and open for the next 36 months, allowing for cross over to active drug treatment or to the control group. Morning stiffness was reduced in the group treated with salmon calc...

Glomus jugulare is a rare slow growing tumor occurring within the jugular foramen that rarely presents with isolated symptoms. Although histologically benign, these tumors are locally destructive because of their proximity to the petrous bone, the lower cranial nerves, and the major vascular structures (Miller et al. (2009) and Silverstone (1973)). We wish to report a glomus jugulare tumor erod...

A 26-year-old male patient with pachydermoperiostosis is reported. He had severe anemia with myelofibrosis. Treatment with iron, prednisolone, oxymethorone and 1 alpha (OH)D3 were not satisfactory. But steroid pulse therapy with parenteral iron improved his anemia and pancytopenia, but was not sufficient to relieve the bone marrow fibrosis or splenomegaly. The mechanism of anemia which was cons...

This article gives a short overview of the development and characteristics of the OMERACT rheumatoid arthritis MRI scoring system (RAMRIS), followed by an introduction to the use of the EULAR-OMERACT rheumatoid arthritis MRI reference image atlas. With this atlas, MRIs of wrist and metacarpophalangeal joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be scored for synovitis, bone oedema, and bon...

Local areas of subarticular bone erosion occurring in rheumatoid arthritis are a typical manifestation of the disease (Cruickshank, Macleod, and Shearer, 1954; Steven 1949). Occasionally they may be large enough to produce mechanical weakness, although the majority of spontaneous fractures in rheumatoid arthritis occur through uneroded areas of bone (Badley and Ansell, 1960). Such large osteoly...