Hot Topics in Spondyloarthritis: Statins & Imaging

December 10, 2018

Recent studies assessed the impact of statins on disease activity and compared plain radiography vs MRI for early diagnosis of axSpA.

Two studies presented at the 2018 American College of Rheumatology (ACR 2018) annual meeting in Chicago, IL, provide updates on statin use in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the role of imaging in screening for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). In the first study, Dau and colleagues in Texas found that statins taken with NSAIDs significantly reduce AS disease activity.¹ In the second study, Maksymowych and fellow researchers in Canada confirmed that MRI is helpful for ruling out SpA and reducing false-positives.² Scroll through the slides for the details of the studies and the take-home points for clinicians.

Image credit: ©Lightspring/Shutterstock.com; photo credit: ©Igorstevanovic/Shutterstock.com.

NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

AHA/ACC, American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology; BASDAI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index.

BASDAI, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.

NSAID dosages quantified by Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society NSAID index.

NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.

MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.

axSpA, axial spondyloarthritis; CRP, C-reactive protein; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.

axSpA, axial spondyloarthritis; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.

References

1. Dau J, Gensler LS, Lee M, et al. Associations of statin usage with disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10).

2. Maksymowych WP, Carmona R, Chan J, et al. What is the impact of imaging on diagnostic ascertainment of patients presenting with undiagnosed back pain in routine practice and the impact of central reading? Data from the Screening in Axial Spondyloarthritis in Psoriasis, Iritis, and Colitis Cohort [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018;70(suppl 10).