Pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis and related disorders: future perspectives

A review mainly based on Norwegian cases of ankylosing spondylitis and allied disorders is given. This concludes that it is a question of one or more syndromes which may frequently overlap. It is suggested that a clinical descriptive name like ankylosing spondylitis for the whole group may be misleading since the symptoms are so variable. The conditions are due to genetically determined patterns of reactions caused by different trigger mechanisms.