Clinical aspects, outcome assessment, disease course, and extra-articular features of spondyloarthropathies

Much has been written over the years regarding the clinical aspects and disease course of the spondyloarthropathies, but publications relating to outcome assessment that attempt to relate measures of process with outcome are few. Extra-articular features of the spondyloarthropathies, eg, uveitis, colitis, and aortitis, are well described, but in the past few years there has been an increasing interest in the incidence of osteoporosis in this group of patients, particularly those with ankylosing spondylitis. In rheumatoid arthritis functional indices have been developed, such as the Health Assessment Questionnaire score, which has been shown to be robust in monitoring response to therapy, but the situation is quite different in a condition such as ankylosing spondylitis. In the last few years a number of functional indices have been developed that are now beginning to be applied to monitor response to treatment in the spondyloarthropathies. The impact of ankylosing spondylitis in women is an area that has been neglected in the past, and a recent review addresses the effects of the disease on the reproductive capacity in women. This overall review of the past year's publications from the clinical aspects of ankylosing spondylitis confirms that clinical research still has much to contribute to this fascinating group of disorders.