Dennis McGonagle1, Sibel Z Aydin2, Helena Marzo-Ortega3, Lihi Eder4, Coziana Ciurtin5. 1. The Leeds Institute of the Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease, University of Leeds, Chapeltown Road, Leeds LS7 4SA, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research, Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom. Electronic address: D.G.McGonagle@leeds.ac.uk. 2. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada. 3. The Leeds Institute of the Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease, University of Leeds, Chapeltown Road, Leeds LS7 4SA, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research, Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, United Kingdom. 4. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. 5. Department of Rheumatology, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis, Department of Medicine, University College London, Rayne Building, London, United Kingdom.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence surrounding the pathophysiology of enthesitis in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), its prevalence and contribution to the overall disease burden, and response to treatment at axial and peripheral sites. METHODS: Literature searches of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase / Medline using the terms "enthesitis", "enthesopathy", "spondyloarthritis", "axial spondyloarthritis", and "ankylosing spondylitis" were conducted. Publications mentioning enthesitis or enthesopathy in the context of pathophysiology, diagnosis, or treatment were included. RESULTS: Enthesitis is a common symptom of axSpA, occurring with high prevalence at axial and several peripheral sites. Inflammation at the site of enthesis is an early key manifestation of axSpA. Clinically evaluable enthesitis contributes significantly to the burden of disease, correlating with worse symptomatology and downstream structural damage. Despite its importance in driving axSpA disease processes, enthesitis is somewhat neglected in current approaches to disease assessment and management. Enthesitis is excluded from some commonly used disease activity measures, is not routinely assessed in clinical practice, and many methods of clinical assessment omit key accessible axial sites, such as the spinous processes. CONCLUSION: Enthesitis plays a central role in driving the pathophysiology of axSpA. There is a need for a renewed focus on the early detection, measurement and treatment of enthesitis.
OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence surrounding the pathophysiology of enthesitis in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), its prevalence and contribution to the overall disease burden, and response to treatment at axial and peripheral sites. METHODS: Literature searches of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase / Medline using the terms "enthesitis", "enthesopathy", "spondyloarthritis", "axial spondyloarthritis", and "ankylosing spondylitis" were conducted. Publications mentioning enthesitis or enthesopathy in the context of pathophysiology, diagnosis, or treatment were included. RESULTS: Enthesitis is a common symptom of axSpA, occurring with high prevalence at axial and several peripheral sites. Inflammation at the site of enthesis is an early key manifestation of axSpA. Clinically evaluable enthesitis contributes significantly to the burden of disease, correlating with worse symptomatology and downstream structural damage. Despite its importance in driving axSpA disease processes, enthesitis is somewhat neglected in current approaches to disease assessment and management. Enthesitis is excluded from some commonly used disease activity measures, is not routinely assessed in clinical practice, and many methods of clinical assessment omit key accessible axial sites, such as the spinous processes. CONCLUSION: Enthesitis plays a central role in driving the pathophysiology of axSpA. There is a need for a renewed focus on the early detection, measurement and treatment of enthesitis.