Medical & Clinical Research

Author(s): Suhasishray

The diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis is often delayed due to ambiguous clinical manifestations and strict diagnostic criteria. However, imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging have been found effective for the early diagnosis of nonradiographic sacroilitis. New tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors have good efficacy for patients with persistently high disease activity despite conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment which are effective in low diseases cores. Thus, early diagnosis and aggressive treatments are essential for ankylosing spondylitis patients. Though the disease can be stayed with conventional DMARDs and NSAIDs in low score diseases, in high score diseases TNF-α inhibitors are more effective. In this review, we discuss new diagnostic criteria for ankylosing spondylitis, administration methods of TNF-α inhibitors, comparative review between conventional AS drugs and TNF-α inhibitors and the long-term follow-up results for patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors.