RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Relationship Between Synovial Pathobiology and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Abnormalities in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review JF The Journal of Rheumatology JO J Rheumatol FD The Journal of Rheumatology SP 1311 OP 1324 DO 10.3899/jrheum.161314 VO 44 IS 9 A1 Frances Humby A1 Arti Mahto A1 Muaaze Ahmed A1 Andrew Barr A1 Stephen Kelly A1 Maya Buch A1 Costantino Pitzalis A1 Philip G. Conaghan YR 2017 UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/44/9/1311.abstract AB Objective. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been increasingly recognized as a critical tool for the assessment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is able to reliably identify synovitis, bone marrow edema, bone erosion, and joint space narrowing (JSN)/cartilage loss. Understanding the exact relationship between each MRI feature and local synovial pathobiology is critical to dissect disease pathogenesis as well as develop future predictive models.Methods. A systematic review was performed of the current published literature examining the relationship between MRI abnormalities and synovial pathobiology in patients with RA.Results. Eighteen studies were identified; most focused on validation of MRI as a tool to detect and quantify synovitis, with a significant relationship demonstrated. Additionally, from the limited data available, a critical role seems likely for synovial pathways, at least in driving joint damage. However, there was a lack of data examining the relationship between synovial pathobiology and bone marrow abnormalities and JSN.Conclusion. Although understanding the interrelationship of these disease biomarkers offers the potential to enhance the predictive validity of modern imaging with concomitant synovial pathobiological analysis, further studies integrating MRI with synovial tissue analysis in well-controlled cohorts at distinct disease stages before and after therapeutic intervention are required to achieve this.