Review

Magnetic resonance imaging in psoriatic arthritis: a review of the literature

Fiona McQueen¹ , Marissa Lassere² and Mikkel Østergaard³

¹  Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

²  Department of Rheumatology, St George Hospital, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia

³  Department of Rheumatology, Copenhagen University Hospitals at Hvidovre and Herlev, Copenhagen, Denmark

author email corresponding author email

Arthritis Research & Therapy 2006, 8:207doi:10.1186/ar1934

Published:	23 March 2006

Abstract

Psoriatic arthritis is a diverse condition that may be characterized by peripheral inflammatory arthritis, axial involvement, dactylitis and enthesitis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows visualization of soft tissue, articular and entheseal lesions, and provides a unique picture of the disease process that cannot be gained using other imaging modalities. This review focuses on the literature on MRI in psoriatic arthritis published from 1996 to July 2005. The MRI features discussed include synovitis, tendonitis, dactylitis, bone oedema, bone erosions, soft tissue oedema, spondylitis/sacroiliitis and subclinical arthropathy. Comparisons have been drawn with the more extensive literature describing the MRI features of rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.