The presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody is associated with magnetic resonance imaging detection of bone marrow oedema in early stage rheumatoid arthritis

Early prediction of erosive joint damage is very important in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) because significant articular damage in patients is evident radiologically within the first few years of the disease.1 This study was designed to confirm whether anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP Ab) define the subset of patients with early stage RA who have bone marrow oedema, observed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patients were referred from the Early Arthritis Clinic, started in 2001 at the First Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University. After prospective follow up, diagnosis of RA was made by the 1987 criteria for RA of the American College of Rheumatology.2 Eighty patients who gave their informed consent to the protocol that was approved by the Institutional Review Board …