New directions in management of SAPHO syndrome

To talk about SAPHO syndrome means to discuss its entity. It is a great honour to me as guest editor to greet you and to present to you the following scientific articles dealing with different aspects of the SAPHO syndrome. We are pleased to welcome experts in the fields of epidemiology, etiology, clinical aspects, imaging procedures and treatment modalities. Furthermore, I have been grateful to be able to invite a review board to read the articles and to support the authors with scientific remarks and interesting corrections. First, we will start with the introduction by Prof. Dr. Koehler, University of Saarland, Germany, entitled "From sternoclavicluar hyperostosis (SCCH) to SAPHO syndrome - a European story?". Afterwards, Dr. Colina, PhD, Imola, Italy, with co-authors will discuss "the latest state of the art" concerning essential clinical and radiological characteristics of the SAPHO syndrome. The following chapter by Dr. Pfoehler, PhD, University of Saarland, Germany, describes in detail the important dermatological aspects of psoriatic disease and its subentity of palmoplantar pustolosis against a etiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic background to better understand the arthro-osteo-cutaneous character of the SAPHO syndrome. In this context, Dr. Gilles, PhD, University Hospital of Paris, France, with co-authors then discuss the different hypotheses of immunology and the possible autoimmune etiology of SAPHO syndrome. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Wollheim, University of Lund, Sweden, concludes and elucidates the genetic aspects of the disease. With the regard to different SAPHO manifestations in the childhood, I am thankful that Prof. Dr. Girschick, Pediatric Rheumatology Vivantes Center, Berlin, Germany, has contributed a scientific article dealing with "non-bacterial osteomyelitis in childhood". Last but not least, the article "Trends of SAPHO therapy: should we content?" from Dr. Rozin, PhD, Technion Haifa, Israel, focuses on the antirheumatic treatment modalities, including antibiotic treatment modalities which have been investigated in case series over the last 20 years. It was my intention that all authors touch on the genetic, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of SAPHO syndrome not to cause redundancies in the presentation but to discuss the central role of these aspects from a respectively different viewpoint - with the aim of gaining a deep insight into the etiopathogenesis and clinical aspects of SAPHO syndrome.