Periarticular bone erosions are a central feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their exact assessment is crucial for diagnosis, monitoring responses to therapy and aiding decision-making. High-resolution peripheral quantitative CT and MRI—two imaging modalities with the potential to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of RA—have now been compared.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References
Geusens, P. & Lems, W. F. Osteoimmunology and osteoporosis. Arthritis Res. Ther. 13, 242 (2011).
Srikhum, W. et al. Quantitative and semiquantitative bone erosion assessment on high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography in rheumatoid arthritis. J. Rheumatol. 40, 408–416 (2013).
Ejbjerg, B. et al. Magnetic resonance imaging of wrist and finger joints in healthy subjects occasionally shows changes resembling erosions and synovitis as seen in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 50, 1097–1106 (2004).
Burghardt, A. J., Link, T. M. & Majumdar, S. High-resolution computed tomography for clinical imaging of bone microarchitecture. Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 469, 2179–2193 (2011).
Stach, C. M. et al. Periarticular bone structure in rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy individuals assessed by high-resolution computed tomography. Arthritis Rheum. 62, 330–339 (2010).
Fouque-Aubert, A. et al. Assessment of hand bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis by high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 69, 1671–1676 (2010).
Finzel, S. et al. Repair of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis treated with tumour necrosis factor inhibitors is based on bone apposition at the base of the erosion. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 70, 1587–1593 (2011).
Finzel, S. et al. Interleukin-6 receptor blockade induces limited repair of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: a micro CT study. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 72, 396–400 (2013).
Haavardsholm, E. A., Bøyesen, P., Østergaard, M., Schildvold, A. & Kvien, T. K. Magnetic resonance imaging findings in 84 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: bone marrow oedema predicts erosive progression. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 67, 794–800 (2008).
Harre, U. et al. Induction of osteoclastogenesis and bone loss by human autoantibodies against citrullinated vimentin. J. Clin. Invest. 122, 1791–1802 (2012).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Geusens, P., Finzel, S. Bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: better to see more?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 9, 385–386 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2013.89
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2013.89