Selecting Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Outcome Measures for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) Clinical Trials: First Report of the MRI in JIA Special Interest Group

• Published in: Journal of rheumatology 2014-02, Vol.41 (2), p.354-358
• Main Authors: HEMKE, Robert, DORIA, Andrea S, TZARIBACHEV, Nikolay, MAAS, Mario, VAN DER HEIJDE, Désirée M. F. M, VAN ROSSUM, Marion A. J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antirheumatic Agents - therapeutic use; Arthritis, Juvenile - drug therapy; Arthritis, Juvenile - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical Trials as Topic; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Humans; Inflammatory joint diseases; Joints - pathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Medical sciences; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Synovitis - drug therapy; Synovitis - pathology
• ISSN: 0315-162X; 1499-2752
• DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.131081

Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have substantially improved the evaluation of joint pathologies in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Because of the current availability of highly effective antirheumatic therapies and the unique and useful features of MRI, there is a growing need for an accurate and reproducible MRI assessment scoring system for JIA, such as the rheumatoid arthritis MRI Scoring (RAMRIS) for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To effectively evaluate the efficacy of treatment in clinical research trials, we need to develop and validate scoring methods to accurately measure joint outcomes, standardize imaging protocols for data acquisition and interpretation, and create imaging atlases to differentiate physiologic and pathologic joint findings in childhood and adolescence. Such a standardized, validated, JIA-MRI scoring method could be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials.