Author Description

The term Spondylarthitides refers to a group of common rheumatic disorders affecting the spine and peripheral joints. The distribution of this disease is world-wide, with both men and women affected (the average age of onset being below 30 years). These also serve as a model system for understanding the interaction between disease-inducing micro-organisms, and genetically-susceptible host, since both of these components are particularly well defined in the spondylarthopathies. They are therefore of great interest from the point of veiw of understanding the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimune diseases, such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, all of which involve an interplay of microbial and genetic factors. The Spondylarthritides provides up to date, in depth reviews of the current state of knowledge of the genetic, epidemiologic, microbiologic, and immunologic aspects of these disorders.The book provides extensive clinical descriptions of the spondylarthritides, as well as reviews of the clinical features of these diseases. Written by an international team comprised of leading authorities in the field, the book will be of considerable interest to researchers and clinicians investigating these specific disorders, as well as related inflammatory disorders.