Arthritis Clinical Trials

Studies with intestinally asymptomatic patients with spondyloarthritis showed that approximately 1/3 had visible ulcers in the colon by scopic examinations and 2/3 had changes detectable by microscopy. Only those patients who improved in arthritis symptoms showed improvement in colonic changes. In these studies only colon and the terminal ileum was examined. Inflammation of the small intestine was not examined. Newer studies have shown an immunological link between Crohns disease and spondyloarthritis but not ulcerative colitis. The investigators wish to examine the small intestine in these patients before and after treatment, since they expect to find ulcers there linking spondyloarthritis to Crohns disease and healing after treatment.