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Letter
Magnetic resonance imaging of the hand in mixed connective tissue disease
  1. M A Cimmino1,
  2. A Iozzelli2,
  3. G Garlaschi2,
  4. E Silvestri2,
  5. C Montecucco3
  1. 1Clinica Reumatologica, DI.M.I., Università di Genova, Genova, Italy
  2. 2Sezione di Diagnostica per Immagini, DI.ME.S., Università di Genova, Genova, Italy
  3. 3Clinica Reumatologica, IRCCS S.Matteo, Università di Pavia, Italy
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr M A Cimmino, Clinica Reumatologica, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Viale Benedetto XV, 6, 16132 Genova, Italy;
    cimmino{at}unige.it

https://doi.org/10.1136/ard.62.4.380

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    Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a systemic disease identified by Sharp and coworkers in 1972,1 which shows some of the clinical and pathological features of other connective tissue diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SS), and polymyositis. Although it is characterised by high concentrations of anti-U1RNP antibodies, the very definition of MCTD as a distinct entity is still under debate despite the number of immunogenetic, immunological, and clinical studies that have been carried out.2,3

    Imaging of the joints in MCTD is based on traditional radiology. Features characteristic of SS (soft tissue atrophy, calcifications, tuftal resorption, distal interphalangeal joint erosions), of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (juxta-articular osteoporosis, joint space narrowing, marginal erosions), and of SLE (joint deformities without erosions, osteonecrosis) have been described.4 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is better than conventional radiology in many instances because of its multiplanar capacity and higher sensitivity.5 We describe here the MRI appearance of …

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