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Preface
New treatment strategies in ankylosing spondylitis: Proceedings of the Ankylosing Spondylitis Workshop, Berlin, Germany, 18–19 January 2002
  1. J Sieper1,
  2. J Braun2
  1. 1Department of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, Free University, Berlin, Germany
  2. 2Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne, Germany and Department of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, Free University, Berlin, Germany
  1. Correspondence to:
    Professor J Braun, Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Landgrafenstr. 15, 44652 Herne, and UKBF, Free University, Berlin, Germany;
    j.braun{at}rheumazentrum-ruhrgebiet.de

https://doi.org/10.1136/ard.61.suppl_3.iii1

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    This Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases supplement is the official Proceedings of the Ankylosing Spondylitis Workshop held in Berlin, Germany earlier this year. The workshop was a remarkable assembly of international experts on ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the other spondyloarthropathies, organised to discuss numerous aspects of diagnosis, clinical management, and treatment of the disease. The supplement consolidates information from 26 formal presentations given by the workshop participants.

    AS is a complex disease in which several years typically elapse before radiological signs permit a definite diagnosis. Thus, diagnosis is often made only after significant structural damage has occurred. Patients with severe AS can face a lifetime of pain, disability, spinal deformity, reduced functioning, and subsequently, lower quality of life. At present, treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms and improving function, but no currently approved treatment alters the natural course of the disease.

    Although AS is the prototypical spondyloarthropathy (SpA), the latter term also refers to reactive arthritis, arthritis/spondylitis in inflammatory bowel disease, psoriatic arthritis/spondylitis, and undifferentiated SpA (uSpA). These diseases share the same pattern of peripheral and axial joint involvement, certain extra-articular manifestations such as anterior uveitis, association with human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B27, and an overlapping aetiology and symptomology. The search for an effective treatment for the SpAs has been neglected until recently. Presently, there are no disease modifying treatments available, similar to the situation that existed with rheumatoid arthritis two generations ago. Current opinion holds that only non-steroidal …

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