Dr. Norman B. Gaylis, M.D., world renowned in the field of arthritis, autoimmune diseases and osteoporosis, recently presented his abstract at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2004) at the International Congress Centre in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Gaylis’ abstract, number THU0247, profiles his research into the use of in-office MRI in the evaluation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis on Infliximab therapy. Dr. Gaylis is one of the few rheumatoid arthritis specialists in the United States to perform in-office MRI’s to enable an earlier diagnosis of the disease than was ever possible with standard X-ray technology. By administering one of the new classes of biological drugs, such as Infliximab, patients can be treated more aggressively in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis. The earlier treatment combined with the more aggressive drug therapy makes it possible to retard and in some cases even reverse the disease.
“I am honored that the EULAR Scientific Programme Committee accepted my abstract to be one of the poster presentations at EULAR 2004,” said Dr. Gaylis. “I am excited to have the opportunity to share my discoveries with the medical community so that we can work together for the advancement of new treatments that will offer substantial relief to those who suffer from RA and its debilitating effects.” The objective of Dr. Gaylis’ abstract is to demonstrate superior performance of in-office MRI procedures over X-ray technology in the diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis. The results of Dr. Gaylis’ study showed clinical improvement in all of the subjects, and the most exciting outcome is that there was reversal of joint damage after initiation of treatment. This is one of the first times that any form of therapy has been shown to actually reverse the damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis. This work has very significant implications for the future treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and will possibly reduce the devastating effects of rheumatoid arthritis from occurring.
