Publications by authors named "Massimiliano Parodi"

Objective: This open-label study evaluated the effects of combined tocilizumab (TCZ) and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes in synovial membrane enhancement, bone marrow edema (BME), and erosions in the wrist and hand joints of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients inadequately responding to DMARDs alone.

Methods: The efficacy of intravenous TCZ 8 mg/kg administered every four weeks for 48 weeks was evaluated on six occasions. The primary endpoints were the changes in the extent and degree of wrist synovitis as measured using the RA MRI Score (RAMRIS) and dynamic, gadolinium-enhanced 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess prospectively the effect of rituximab (RTX) on MRI features of wrist joint disease in patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Ten patients (6F/4M, mean age 52.9±15.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Dynamic, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), the quantification of enhancement within the synovial membrane and bone by extracting curves using fast T1-weighted sequences during intravenous administration of contrast agent, evaluates synovitis and bone marrow edema in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In this pilot study, we looked at possible differences between joint synovitis and tenosynovitis in PsA as compared with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Seven patients with PsA and 10 with RA were studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Modern imaging techniques are becoming increasingly important in assessing the course of arthritis and in permitting measurement of response to treatment as part of the follow-up of patients. They include ultrasonography (US), MRI, PET/CT, and biofluorescence. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, clinical evaluation is significantly less sensitive than either US or MRI in detecting synovitis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: the mainstay of treatment of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is oral glucocorticoids, but randomized controlled trials of treatment are lacking. As a result, there is no evidence from controlled studies on the efficacy of different initial doses or glucocorticoid tapering. The aim of this study is to test if 12.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To study with MRI the hands of consecutive PMR patients, who were not selected on the basis of peripheral arthritis, with a correlation to clinical and laboratory findings.

Methods: Twenty-six hands of 15 PMR patients and 26 hands of 13 healthy controls were studied by extremity-dedicated MRI for the presence of synovitis, tenosynovitis, soft-tissue oedema, bone marrow oedema and erosions.

Results: Sixteen (61.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Traditional methods for assessment of synovial inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis such as clinical examination, immunohistology of bioptic samples, scintigraphy, and radiography have several limitations, including lack of sensitivity, need of invasive techniques, and administration of radioactive material. MRI lacks on standardisation and the data are often analysed using laborious, relatively rigid scoring methods.

Materials And Methods: This study introduces a standardized computer-aided method for quantitative analysis of MRI of the wrist on a dedicated scanner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are fewer than those of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), interest in this field is growing. The type and site of the lesions, rather than the mere severity of synovitis, can help differentiate PsA from other arthritides. Extracapsular enhancement and enthesitis are features emphasized as typical of PsA, but their relevance for the diagnosis is more quantitative than qualitative.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) has a marked preponderance in women. The female sex has been claimed to be a risk factor for longer-course corticosteroid therapy and to be associated with more severe systemic symptoms and lower hemoglobin levels. Eighty consecutive patients affected by PMR, seen at two tertiary referral centers, were followed-up for a mean period of 14.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study is concerned with a prospective evaluation of wrist synovitis in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in comparison with patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy controls. Fifteen consecutive patients with PsA, 49 consecutive patients with RA, 30 RA patients matched for disease severity with those with PsA, and 8 healthy controls were studied. MRI was performed with a low-field (0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF