Contrast-enhanced MRI may help physicians differentiate between rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis in the hand and wrist, enabling more targeted therapies, according to a study in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
The study, performed at the University Hospital of Tubingen in Tubingen, Germany, included 45 patients (31 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 14 with psoriatic arthritis) who were imaged using contrast-enhanced MRI.
The study found a significant difference in perfusion between those patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis after 15 minutes. However, since it was a small group of patients and there was an overlap in perfusion values between both types of arthritis, a diagnosis could not be led by contrast-enhanced MRI alone.
Despite that apparent deficiency, the study group described the results as promising.
"As our study suggests, the use of contrast-enhanced MRI could play an important role in differentiating psoriatic arthritis from rheumatoid arthritis," wrote the research team led Dr. Nina Schwenzer.
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