Rheumatoid arthritis: Erosion defined: back to basics

Abstract

Targeted biologic therapies markedly slow the progression of structural damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); thus, the presence of bony erosion suggests that had treatment been initiated earlier, joint damage might have been prevented. Some patients with early inflammatory arthritis, the group most likely to benefit from prompt initiation of treatment, are not classified as having RA using the 1987 American Rheumatism Association classification criteria.