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Diagnostics
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Advanced Imaging Tools in Rheumatology
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Advanced Imaging Tools in Rheumatology

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 4852

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mislav Radić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Center of Excellence for Systemic Sclerosis in Croatia, University Hospital Split, Split, Croatia
Interests: vitamin D; systemic sclerosis; malnutrition; body composition; arterial stiffness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Imaging plays a fundamental role in the diagnosis, monitoring, and prognosis of rheumatic diseases. Progress in the clinical practice of rheumatology is primarily fueled by hi-tech innovations. Although conventional radiography exists as the primary widely used imaging modality by rheumatologists, musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS), computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have provided a non-invasive modality with a promising interventional role. Nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) has developed into an indispensable tool for rheumatologists in the evaluation of rheumatic diseases. It offers various advantages, including being rapid, noninvasive, and inexpensive. With NFC, we can visualize the microcirculatory changes in the nail beds. Microvascular ultrasonographic imaging is the most recent and unique Doppler ultrasound technique. It uses an advanced clutter filter that can remove clutter artifacts and preserve the low-velocity microvascular flow signal. Assuming the central contribution of imaging in the appraisal of therapy, in certain situations, more than one modality may be required. Alongside with CT, MRI allows differentiation of doubtful sacroiliitis and degeneration of the spine, and positron emission tomography (PET) was chiefly requested to settle a diagnosis of large-vessels vasculitis.

Therefore, this Special Issue seeks original articles and reviews that focus on how different imaging modalities could be used in diagnosis, follow-up, and therapy response in different rheumatic diseases. 

Prof. Dr. Mislav Radić
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • imaging in rheumatology
  • imaging score
  • musculoskeletal ultrasound
  • capillaroscopy
  • computerized tomography
  • magnetic resonance imaging
  • posi-tron emission tomography
  • connective tissue diseases

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1665 KiB  
Article
[18F]FDG-PET/CT in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies: Retrospective Data from a Belgian Cohort
by Halil Yildiz, Charlotte Lepere, Giulia Zorzi, Olivier Gheysens, Fabien Roodhans and Lucie Pothen
Diagnostics 2023, 13(14), 2316; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13142316 - 8 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2594
Abstract
[18F]FDG-PET/CT is a useful tool for diagnosis and cancer detection in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), especially polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). Data deriving from Europe are lacking. We describe [18F]FDG-PET/CT results in a Belgian cohort with IIMs, focusing on [...] Read more.
[18F]FDG-PET/CT is a useful tool for diagnosis and cancer detection in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), especially polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). Data deriving from Europe are lacking. We describe [18F]FDG-PET/CT results in a Belgian cohort with IIMs, focusing on patients with PM and DM. All of the cases of IIMs admitted between December 2010 and January 2023 to the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc (Belgium) were retrospectively reviewed. In total, 44 patients were identified with suspected IIMs; among them, 29 were retained for final analysis. The mean age of the retained patients was 48.7 years; 19 patients were female (65.5%). Twenty-two patients had DM and seven had PM. The mean serum creatinine kinase (CK) and the mean CRP levels were 3125 UI/L and 30.3 mg/L, respectively. [18F]FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed for 27 patients, detecting interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) in 7 patients (25.9%), cancer in 3 patients (11.1%), and abnormal muscle FDG uptake compatible with myositis in 13 patients (48.1%). All of the patients who were detected to have ILDs via PET/CT imaging were confirmed using a low-dose lung CT scan. Among the patients who were detected to have abnormal muscle FDG uptake via PET/CT scans (13/28), the EMG was positive in 12 patients (p = 0.004), while the MRI was positive in 8 patients (p = 0.02). We further observed that there was a significantly higher level of CK in the group with abnormal muscle FDG uptake (p = 0.008). Our study showed that PET/CT is useful for detecting cancer and ILDs. We showed that the detection of abnormal muscle uptake via PET/CT was in accordance with EMG and MRI results, as well as with the mean CK value, and that the presence of dyspnea was significantly associated with the presence of ILDs detected via PET/CT imaging (p = 0.002). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Imaging Tools in Rheumatology)
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12 pages, 1111 KiB  
Communication
Cathepsin S Upregulation Measured in the Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Prior to Surgery Points to Postoperative Pain Development in Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis
by Elena Tchetina, Kseniya Glemba, Anna Yunitskaya, Galina Markova, Maksim Makarov and Aleksandr Lila
Diagnostics 2023, 13(10), 1739; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13101739 - 15 May 2023
Viewed by 1820
Abstract
Disability caused by hip osteoarthritis has increased due to population aging, obesity, and lifestyle behaviors. Joint failure after conservative therapies results in total hip replacement, which is considered to be one of the most successful interventions. However, some patients experience long-term postoperative pain. [...] Read more.
Disability caused by hip osteoarthritis has increased due to population aging, obesity, and lifestyle behaviors. Joint failure after conservative therapies results in total hip replacement, which is considered to be one of the most successful interventions. However, some patients experience long-term postoperative pain. Presently, there are no reliable clinical biomarkers for the prognosis of postoperative pain prior to surgery. Molecular biomarkers can be considered as intrinsic indicators of pathological processes and as links between clinical status and disease pathology, while recent innovative and sensitive approaches such as RT-PCR have extended the prognostic value of clinical traits. In light of this, we examined the importance of cathepsin S and proinflammatory cytokine gene expression in peripheral blood in addition to the clinical traits of patients with end-stage hip osteoarthritis (HOA) to predict postoperative pain development prior to surgery. This study included 31 patients with radiographic Kellgren and Lawrence grade III–IV HOA who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) and 26 healthy volunteers. Before surgery, a visual analog scale (VAS), DN4, PainDETECT, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index scores were used for pain and function assessment. Three and six months post-surgery, VAS pain scores of 30 mm and higher were reported. The intracellular protein levels of cathepsin S were measured using ELISA. The expression of the cathepsin S, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-1β, and cyclooxygenase-2 genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was assessed using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Pain persisted in 12 (38.7%) patients after THA. Patients who developed postoperative pain demonstrated significantly higher cathepsin S gene expression in the PBMCs and higher rates of neuropathic pain based on the DN4 testing compared to the other HOA subjects that were examined. No significant differences in proinflammatory cytokine gene expression were noted in either patient cohort prior to THA. The development of postoperative pain in patients with hip osteoarthritis might be associated with disturbances in pain perception, while increased expression of cathepsin S in the peripheral blood prior to surgery may serve as its prognostic biomarker and could be used in clinical settings to improve medical service for patients with end-stage hip OA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Imaging Tools in Rheumatology)
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