High Disease Perception in Brain Predicts TNF Inhibitor Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis
High central nervous system pain activation, as measured by functional MRI, predicts treatment response to TNF inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.
This study addresses a new concept of RA, as it shows that patients with high disease perception in the brain are more likely to respond to treatment with TNF inhibition.
Georg Schett, MD, of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, in Germany, noted that this insight emphasizes the complexity of RA, not only as a disease of the joints, but also of the central nervous system (CNS).
Author's summary: High brain activity predicts response to TNF inhibitors.