PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Exploring the role of AI in early RA

Can a computer replace human interpretation?

2023-05-31
(Press-News.org) Early inflammatory arthritis is often undifferentiated, but it may develop into established RA or another arthropathy.1 Alternatively, it may resolve spontaneously, or remain undifferentiated for indefinite periods. Erosion is a key prognostic factor which can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).2 In addition, MRI allows direct visualization and assessment of (teno-) synovitis and bone marrow edema.3

Predicting early RA from MRI images of the hands and feet can help people access timely treatment, which may possibly change the disease course. Traditionally this is done by radiologists and rheumatologists using a scoring sheet to manually identify key features from the MRI scans. But now, artificial intelligence (AI) interpretations of MRI images could provide more accurate predictions than visual scoring by medical staff.

An abstract presented by Li and colleagues from Leiden University Medical Center details how deep-learning AI can automatically analyze scans in order to predict RA at an early stage in patients with clinically suspect arthralgia. The model was first trained to understand anatomy, then to distinguish patients from healthy controls, and finally to find image features predictive of RA development. The AI analyzed scans of the hands and feet from 1,974 people with either early-onset arthritis or clinically suspect arthralgia, of whom 651 went on to develop RA. Results from a held-out test set showed the model could predict RA with accuracies close to those achieved by human experts. This worked for scans of either hands or feet.

The authors conclude that AI interpretation of MRI scans could provide automatic RA prediction. Further training for the model using MRI data from healthy controls will probably improve the accuracy, and future research will focus on predicting RA in specifically undifferentiated arthritis, as a subgroup of the early onset arthritis group. Additionally, this new method not only confirms the significance of known inflammatory features such as synovial inflammation, but in the long term may also be able to identify new imaging biomarkers, further enhancing our understanding of the underlying disease process in early RA.

Source:

Li Y, et al. Exploring the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Predicting Rheumatoid Arthritis, Based on Extremity MR Scans in Early Arthritis and Clinically Suspect Arthralgia patients. Presented at EULAR 2023; Abstract OP0002.

References:

1. Combe B, et al. 2016 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of early arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2017;76:948–59.

2. Matthijssen, XME, et al. A search to the target tissue in which RA-specific inflammation starts: a detailed MRI study to improve identification of RA-specific features in the phase of clinically suspect arthralgia. Arthritis Res Ther 2019;21:249.

3. Østergaard M, et al. An introduction to the EULAR–OMERACT rheumatoid arthritis MRI reference image atlas. Ann Rheum Dis 2005;64 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):i3–7.


About EULAR

EULAR is the European umbrella organisation representing scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). EULAR aims to reduce the impact of RMDs on individuals and society, as well as improve RMD treatments, prevention, and rehabilitation. To this end, EULAR fosters excellence in rheumatology education and research, promotes the translation of research advances into daily care, and advocates for the recognition of the needs of those living with RMDs by EU institutions.


Contact

EULAR Communications, communications@eular.org

Notes to Editors
EULAR Recommendations
EULAR School of Rheumatology
​​​​​​​EULAR Press Releases

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Smoking cessation and changes in anxiety, depression in adults with and without psychiatric disorders

2023-05-31
About The Study: In this study of 4,260 adults with and without psychiatric disorders, smoking cessation, sustained for at least 15 weeks, was associated with improved mental health outcomes in observational analyses, but the instrumental variable analysis provided inconclusive evidence. Findings like these may reassure people who smoke and their clinicians that smoking cessation likely will not worsen and may improve mental health.  Authors: Angela Difeng Wu, M.Sc., of the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.16111) Editor’s ...

Landmark study finds that the shape of the brain influences the way it works

Landmark study finds that the shape of the brain influences the way it works
2023-05-31
For over a century, researchers have thought that the patterns of brain activity that define our experiences, hopes and dreams are determined by how different brain regions communicate with each other through a complex web of trillions of cellular connections. Now, a study led by from researchers at Monash University's Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health has examined more than 10,000 different maps of human brain activity and found that the overall shape of a person’s brain exerts a far greater influence on how we think, feel and behave than its intricate neuronal connectivity. The study, published ...

New ‘designer’ titanium alloys made using 3D printing

New ‘designer’ titanium alloys made using 3D printing
2023-05-31
A team of researchers has created a new class of titanium alloys that are strong and not brittle under tension, by integrating alloy and 3D-printing process designs. The breakthrough, published in the top journal Nature, could help extend the applications of titanium alloys, improve sustainability and drive innovative alloy design. Their discovery holds promise for a new class of more sustainable high-performance titanium alloys for applications in aerospace, biomedical, chemical engineering, space and energy technologies. RMIT University and the University of Sydney led the innovation, in collaboration with Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the company Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence ...

A protein mines, sorts rare earths better than humans, paving way for green tech

A protein mines, sorts rare earths better than humans, paving way for green tech
2023-05-31
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Rare earth elements, like neodymium and dysprosium, are a critical component to almost all modern technologies, from smartphones to hard drives, but they are notoriously hard to separate from the Earth’s crust and from one another. Penn State scientists have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria can select between different rare earth elements, using the ability of a bacterial protein to bind to another unit of itself, or “dimerize,” when it is bound to certain rare earths, but prefer to remain a single unit, or “monomer,” ...

First-of-its-kind open-analysis platform for pediatric brain tumors provides robust data resource for childhood cancer research

2023-05-31
Philadelphia, May 31, 2023 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Childhood Cancer Data Lab, the Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN), the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC), and more than 20 additional institutions have partnered to create a first-of-its-kind open-source, reproducible analysis platform for pediatric brain tumors. With the help of thousands of genomically sequenced samples, researchers have used this platform to identify initial findings about genetic variants associated with poorer outcomes that could help guide future diagnostic and therapeutic advances. The ...

Scientists’ report world’s first X-ray of a single atom in Nature

Scientists’ report world’s first X-ray of a single atom in Nature
2023-05-31
A team of scientists from Ohio University, Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Illinois-Chicago, and others, led by Ohio University Professor of Physics, and Argonne National Laboratory scientist, Saw Wai Hla, have taken the world’s first X-ray SIGNAL (or SIGNATURE) of just one atom. This groundbreaking achievement was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences and could revolutionize the way scientists detect the materials. Since its discovery by Roentgen ...

Phenomenal phytoplankton: Scientists uncover cellular process behind oxygen production

Phenomenal phytoplankton: Scientists uncover cellular process behind oxygen production
2023-05-31
Take a deep breath. Now take nine more. According to new research, the amount of oxygen in one of those 10 breaths was made possible thanks to a newly identified cellular mechanism that promotes photosynthesis in marine phytoplankton. Described as “groundbreaking” by a team of researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, this previously unknown process accounts for between 7% to 25% of all the oxygen produced and carbon fixed in the ocean. When also considering photosynthesis occuring on land, researchers estimated that this mechanism could be responsible for generating ...

The world's fastest electron microscope

2023-05-31
Electron microscopes give us insight into the tiniest details of materials and can visualize, for example, the structure of solids, molecules or nanoparticles with atomic resolution. However, most materials in nature are not static. They constantly interact, move and reshape between initial and final configurations. One of the most general phenomena is the interaction between light and matter, which is omnipresent in materials such as solar cells, displays or lasers. These interactions are defined by electrons pushed and pulled around by the oscillations of light, and the dynamics are extremely fast: light waves oscillate at attoseconds, the billionth of a billionth ...

Can we learn to think further ahead?

Can we learn to think further ahead?
2023-05-31
Chess grandmasters are often held up as the epitome of thinking far ahead. But can others, with a modest amount of practice, learn to think further ahead?  In addressing this question, a team of cognitive scientists has created a computational model that reveals our ability to plan for future events. The work enhances our understanding of the factors that affect decision-making and shows how we can boost our planning skills through practice. The research, conducted by scientists in New York University’s Center for Neural Science and ...

Further link identified between autoimmunity and schizophrenia

Further link identified between autoimmunity and schizophrenia
2023-05-31
Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) identify a protein in some people with schizophrenia that causes schizophrenia-like features in mice   Tokyo, Japan – Links have been reported between schizophrenia and proteins produced by the immune system that can act against one’s own body, known as autoantibodies. In a study published last month in Brain Behavior and Immunity, Japanese researchers identified autoantibodies that target a ‘synaptic adhesion protein’, neurexin 1α, in a subset of patients with schizophrenia. When injected into mice, the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas

Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model

Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label

Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year

Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes

Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome

New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away

Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms

Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers

Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity

Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued

Unraveling the power and influence of language

Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice

TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies

Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light

Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription

Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems

Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function

Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire

Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality

Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology

'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds

Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization

New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease

Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility

Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity

[Press-News.org] Exploring the role of AI in early RA
Can a computer replace human interpretation?