RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Inflammatory joint disease: a comparison of liposome scanning, bone scanning, and radiography.
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP 485
OP 491
DO 10.1136/ard.47.6.485
VO 47
IS 6
A1 M M O'Sullivan
A1 N Powell
A1 A P French
A1 K E Williams
A1 J R Morgan
A1 B D Williams
YR 1988
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/47/6/485.abstract
AB Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis were assessed by clinical evaluation, radiography, and joint scintigraphy using technetium labelled methylene diphosphonate (MDP) and technetium labelled liposomes. Although both scanning techniques were more sensitive than radiographs in detecting joint disease, the liposomes scans were positive only in clinically active inflammatory disease. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis liposome scintigraphy was also able to discriminate between different grades of joint tenderness. In inactive inflammatory polyarthropathies, although the MDP bone scans continued to show increased activity, the liposome scans did not and were therefore a more accurate reflection of the clinical state. The increased uptake in the liposome scans may be due to incorporation of the liposomes into the phagocytic cells of the synovium. This scan may, therefore, by reflecting the activity of cells involved in the disease process, provide a useful way of assessing disease activity and progression.