Current Rheumatology Reviews - Volume 5, Issue 3, 2009

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common rheumatic disorder in Chinese and other Asia populations. The prevalence of AS in Chinese is 0.2 to 0.3%, and the positive rate of B27 in AS is ranged from 90% to 97%. Undifferentiated spondloarthropathy (USpA) is classified as a form of SPA that does not meet the criteria for other SPA including AS, Reiter's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or inflammatory bowel disease related arthrit Read More

Many controlled studies have been conducted to prove the safety and efficacy of biologics in the treatment of psoriasis. However, only limited data are available in Asia-Pacific region. Open label studies of efalizumab and alefacept have been conducted in Taiwan. A placebo controlled trial of adalimumab had been done in Japan. For etanercept, the only published data in Asia-Pacific region was a retrospective study in South Ko Read More

Spondyloarthropathy defines a group of diseases characterized by chronic inflammation of axial or peripheral joints with a variety of mucocutaneous, ophthalmic lesions. Evidence showed that these disorders are autoimmune in origin with T cells, B cells and monocytes/macrophages playing major roles. In addition, cytokines secreted by these immune cells also were considered indispensible t Read More

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the prototype of spondyloarthritides. The diagnosis of AS is often delayed until late stage with radiographic damage. The development of anti-TNFα therapy has been an important therapeutic advance in AS. The efficacy of anti-TNFα therapy is indubitable in short term and up to five years in published studies in both western countries and Asia. Whether anti-TNFα therapy in AS has disease modifyin Read More

Although the etiology of ankylosing spondylitis is unknown, it is necessary to develop tools for evaluating the patient response to the new therapeutic drugs. AS is mediated by chronic inflammation and characterized by bone destruction and formation. Recently, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blockade has been widely used for treatment of AS, and the patient response is evaluated by examining the levels of Read More

Until a decade ago, treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) used to be quite unsatisfactory. However, the advent of TNF blockers has brought about a dramatic change in clinical approach to this disease. The long diagnostic delay- typically 7 to 10 years in the past- is no longer considered acceptable. AS and axial uSpA are probably part of the same disease spectrum. There is great interest currently in making an early diag Read More

Undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (USpA) include incomplete forms or early phases of definite seronegative spondyloarthritis (SpA) and cases of spondyloarthritis that remain undifferentiated. The treatment of SpA is more conditioned by the disease localization. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are the main therapeutic agents for the treatment of peripheral arthriti Read More

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An extensive histopathogical analysis of synovial tissues is a good method to understand how specific cellular or molecular events developed in spondyloarthropathy (SpA). Although it is difficult to take biopsy sampling (the axial skeleton, sacroiliac joint, the enthesis, etc.), some histologic studies of peripheral syovial specimen (knee, hip etc.) have demonstrated the specific cellular or molecular features in SpA. The immun Read More