title: Prevention of new osteitis on magnetic resonance imaging in patients with early axial spondyloarthritis during 3 years of continuous treatment with etanercept: data of the ESTHER trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the degree of fluctuation of osteitis on MRI during long-term treatment with etanercept (ETN) in patients with early axial SpA (axSpA) with active inflammation (osteitis) on whole-body MRI in the spine and/or the SI joints at baseline.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed MRI data from 328 SI joint quadrants and 943 spine vertebral units (VUs) in terms of osteitis in the pooled data set of 41 patients who were treated with ETN for 3 consecutive years. Scoring was performed by two blinded radiologists at baseline, year 2 and year 3.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Through years 2 and 3, osteitis on MRI resolved completely in 56 of 144 (38.9%) SI joint quadrants and in 20 of 40 (50%) VUs affected at baseline, while persistent osteitis was found in 24 of 144 (16.7%) SI joint quadrants and in 8 of 40 (20.0%) spine VUs. The development of new osteitis in sites that were free of osteitis at baseline only occurred in 2 of 131 (1.5%) SI joint quadrants and in 3 of 862 (0.4%) spine VUs in both year 2 and year 3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a consistently small amount of osteitis on MRI in patients with early axSpA compared with baseline values, and only a very low rate of new-onset osteitis was found during 3 years of continuous treatment with ETN.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00844142.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: In-Ho
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Kay-Geert
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Hildrun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haibel
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Althoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poddubnyy
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Listing
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiß
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ekkehard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Freundlich
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rudwaleit
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Charité Medical University, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Department of Radiology, Charité Medical University, Campus Charité Mitte, German Rheumatism Research Center, Pfizer Germany, Berlin, Germany, Division of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA and Endokrinologikum, Berlin, Germany joachim.sieper@charite.de.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sieper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068800:Etanercept; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013166:Spondylitis / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D000068800:Etanercept
keywords: TNF-α blocker; active inflammation; ankylosing spondylitis; axial spondyloarthritis; clinical trial; magnetic resonance imaging; non-radiographic axial SpA; osteitis; radiographic progression; treatment