Early Cortical Bone Loss Seen in Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis

October 12, 2018

Be aware that changes in geometry, bone mineral density, and micro-structure appear early in the disease course of axSpA.

Reference1. Neumann A, Haschka J, Kleyer A, et al. Cortical bone loss is an early feature of nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis. Arthritis Res Ther. 2018;20:202. doi: 10.1186/s13075-018-1620-1.

Neumann and fellow investigators from Germany, Austria, and Brazil found a pattern of cortical bone loss in patients with early non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).¹ Scroll through the slides for the details of their study and the take-home points for physicians.

(Image: ©Lightspring/Shutterstock.com)

axSpA, axial spondyloarthritis.

Systemic inflammation is closely linked to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and axial spondyloarthritis as evidenced by the role of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in treating AS.

CRP, C-reactive protein; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HR-pQCT, high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography; nr-axSpA, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; SpA, spondyloarthritis; vBMD, volumetric bone mineral density.

vBMD, volumetric bone mineral density.

axSpA, axial spondyloarthritis; BMD, bone mineral density; DXA, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry; nr-axSpA, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

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Early Cortical Bone Loss Seen in Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis

Gregory M. Weiss, MD