TY - JOUR
T1 - Clinical, imaging, and pathological suppression of synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis
T2 - Is the disease curable?
AU - Bugatti, Serena
AU - Sakellariou, Garifallia
AU - Luvaro, Terenzj
AU - Greco, Maria Immacolata
AU - Manzo, Antonio
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - The management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has witnessed a dramatic revolution in recent years, and disease remission has become an increasingly achievable outcome. Rheumatologists are now facing the urgent question of whether, once remission has been achieved and stably maintained, drugs can be tapered, and even discontinued. The concept of disease remission however encompasses progressive layers of complexity, all of which need to be disentangled before considering RA as a "curable" condition. As the synovial membrane represents the ultimate target of the pathological process of RA, a critical issue remains whether disease remission coincides with true suppression of inflammation and definitive tissue "healing." In this short review, we will provide a critical summary of recent studies investigating the possibility of controlling RA synovitis at the clinical, imaging or pathological level. Potential advantages and limitations of these perspectives in the definition of remission are also discussed.
AB - The management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has witnessed a dramatic revolution in recent years, and disease remission has become an increasingly achievable outcome. Rheumatologists are now facing the urgent question of whether, once remission has been achieved and stably maintained, drugs can be tapered, and even discontinued. The concept of disease remission however encompasses progressive layers of complexity, all of which need to be disentangled before considering RA as a "curable" condition. As the synovial membrane represents the ultimate target of the pathological process of RA, a critical issue remains whether disease remission coincides with true suppression of inflammation and definitive tissue "healing." In this short review, we will provide a critical summary of recent studies investigating the possibility of controlling RA synovitis at the clinical, imaging or pathological level. Potential advantages and limitations of these perspectives in the definition of remission are also discussed.
KW - Drug-free remission
KW - Remission
KW - Rheumatoid arthritis
KW - Synovitis
KW - Ultrasonography
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U2 - 10.3389/fmed.2018.00140
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2018.00140
M3 - Short survey
AN - SCOPUS:85050124506
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers of Medicine
JF - Frontiers of Medicine
SN - 2095-0217
IS - MAY
M1 - 140
ER -