Early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and monitoring of the disease during therapy have attracted considerable interest over the past decade. Imaging studies of seronegative spondyloarthropathies, however, are few and far between, even though these disorders occur as frequently as rheumatoid arthritis. Now the potential promise of biological therapy to treat ankylosing spondylitis, one of the most disabling seronegative spondyloarthropathies, is focusing attention on techniques capable of detecting the disease early and tracking its progress through treatment.
