Clinical and Molecular Advances in Ankylosing Spondylitis

The first section of the book entitled Clinical and Molecular Advances in Ankylosing Spondylitis is a review of the clinical manifestations of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Spondyloarthritis (SpA). The book includes chapters on Bone Mineral Density measurements, two chapters on the temporomandibular joints, axial fractures, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment. Molecular genetics and immune response are analyzed in the second section of the book; information on HLA-B*27, other MHC genes and the immune response of AS patients to bacteria is reviewed and updated. Two chapters are dedicated to recent information on non-MHC genes in AS susceptibility, and to new data on disease pathways generated from gene expression studies on peripheral blood.