Radionuclide methods in rheumatology 
Prokhorova E.G.¹, Zhilyaev G.E.², Zhilyaev E.V.<sup>3

1</sup> Chief Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Moscow
² A.I. Evdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry
³ European Medical Center, Moscow

The paper reviews radionuclide methods used to diagnose rheumatic disorders from early 1970s till present days. Early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of back pains (including inflammatory pains, sacroiliitis, ankylosing spondylitis, and infectious spondylitis) are highlighted. The (dynamic) assessment of arthritis and spondyloarthritis activity, treatment efficacy monitoring, the prediction of arthritis course and their potential diagnosis are uncovered. The paper demonstrates the role of scintigraphy in the assessment of perfusion and metabolism in pediatric musculoskeletal disorders. Dynamic bone scintigraphy with Тс-99m pyrophosphate which assesses bone mineralization is useful in differential diagnosis of reduced mineral bone density. The role of radionuclide methods in the diagnosis of systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders using novel technologies of nuclear medicine (SPECT, SPECT/CT, PET) and radiopharmaceuticals is highlighted. Bone scintigraphy with Тс-99m is of special importance for the diagnosis of relatively rare musculoskeletal disorders (i.e., osteonecrosis, SAPHO syndrome, Paget's disease, Erdheim–Chester disease, osteogenic fibrodysplasia etc.).

Key words: bone scintigraphy, Тс-99m pyrophosphate, assessment of arthritis activity, treatment monitoring, rare musculoskeletal disorders.

For citation: Prokhorova E.G., Zhilyaev G.E., Zhilyaev E.V. Radionuclide methods in rheumatology // RMJ. 2016. № 22. P. 1470–1475.