This week we bring you a number of spondylitis-related stories from around the World Wide Web, including: MRI for earlier diagnosis, highlights from EULAR, Mick Mars from Motley Crue and more…

First, Rheumatology News reports from EULAR in regards to using MRI to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis earlier. "Earlier diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis has emerged as a high priority, and MRI is vital in accomplishing it, according to Dr. Martin Rudwaleit." The article includes a picture demonstrating x-ray versus MRI imaging. You can read the full story by clicking here.

A short video posted on Medscape's Rheumatology section discusses highlights from the 2008 EULAR congress in Paris. EULAR is the European League Against Rheumatism. This year, according to attendee Dr. Dan Furst, highlights include the genetic research breakthroughs, such as the discovery of ARTS1 and IL23R [editor's note: ARTS1 is called the 'artist's' gene in the video transcription], of which SAA played an integral role. He goes on to discuss some of the new medications on the way, including Golimumab, which has been submitted to the FDA for approval in treating ankylosing spondylitis. You can watch the video and read the transcript by clicking here.

Hard rock band Motley Crue's guitarist, Mick Mars, has severe ankylosing spondylitis. Here is an interview with him, including a bit about his AS: "It's no walk in the park. In fact, it's why I kind of walk like Frankenstein. [laughs] The thing about Ankylosing Spondylitis is, it's caused by a gene [editor's note: ankylosing spondylitis susceptibility has genetic roots, but the cause is yet unknown]; you first start noticing pain in your hips, usually when you're in your teens. What it does is it slowly fuses your bones together - your spine, your ribs…" You can read the interview by clicking here.

Here are links to additional items:

Sacroiliitis, PsA Often Linked - Sacroiliitis is considered the hallmark of AS, but this brief article at Rheumatology states that it is often prevalent in psoriatic arthritis as well.

Data Watch: Patients With Severe Psoriasis More Likely To Have Psoriatic Arthritis as Well - an interesting chart that shows that 26.8% of people with severe psoriasis also have psoriatic arthritis.

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