Objective: This study combined ultrasonography of the Achilles tendon enthesis at different stages of spondylarthritis (SpA) with microanatomic studies of normal cadaveric entheses, with the aim of exploring the relationship between bone erosion and new bone formation in enthesitis.
Methods: Thirty-seven patients with SpA and Achilles tendon enthesitis (20 with early SpA and 17 with chronic SpA) and 10 normal control subjects underwent ultrasound scanning. The presence of bone erosion and spur formation was recorded at 3 sites: the proximal and distal halves of the enthesis and the adjacent calcaneal superior tuberosity. Parallel histologic analysis was performed on cadaveric Achilles tendon entheses to determine whether regional variations in bone density and trabecular architecture in relation to fibrocartilage distribution are related to disease patterns.
Results: Bone erosion in patients with early SpA occurred at either the proximal insertion or the superior tuberosity (11 of 20 patients; P < 0.001 versus distal enthesis). Very small spurs, which were present almost exclusively at the distal enthesis, were evident in patients with early SpA and in normal control subjects. However, large spurs were evident distally only in patients with chronic SpA (9 of 17 patients, compared with none of 20 patients with early SpA; P < 0.0001). Histologic studies showed that aged normal individuals had small spurs at the corresponding location. The bone-to-marrow ratio was also significantly lower in the regions prone to erosions (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Bone erosion in association with Achilles tendon enthesitis in SpA is anatomically uncoupled from bone formation-the 2 processes are topographically and temporally distinct. We thus conclude that disease patterns in SpA are related to normal enthesis structure and biomechanics.