Individuals with constitutional diseases of the skeleton attract attention because of their smaller size, because of deformities, and/or because of the disproportion between body parts. Individuals with achondroplasia, a common skeletal short stature condition, have short arms and legs, a head that is usually larger than normal, and a typical facial appearancewith a prominent forehead and a sun...

Rudwaleit and colleagues have recently reported on the role of MRI in predicting response to anti-TNF [1]. Ankylosing spondy litis (AS) is the archetypal axial spondylo arthropathy (SpA). SpA occurs in 0.2–1% of the general population and in 5% of chronic back pain sufferers [2]. AS typically affects young patients in the second and third decades of life [3,4], and causes signifi cant morbidity...

Axial spondyloarthritis: new definitions & management Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a systemic rheumatic disease characterized by inflammation of sacroiliac joints (SIJs), spine and spinal entheses. Other manifestations of the disease include an association with HLA-B27, peripheral joint involvement predominantly of the lower extremities, dactylitis, uveitis, enteric mucosal lesions and skin l...

E506 CMAJ, July 9, 2013, 185(10) © 2013 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors A76-year-old woman with a 20-year history of chronic pain in her back and legs caused by degenerative spondylo listhesis, spinal stenosis, morbid obesity, ven ous insufficiency and osteoarthritis presented to our chronic pain clinic. She had previously undergone a laminectomy at L4–L5/ L5–S1 and, 2 years later...

Background One in three patients with psoriasis (Pso) will develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Active PsA can lead to disability and joint damage. Current screening methods are targeted at finding all a Pso population. However, inactive disease unlikely benefit from rheumatological referral. Objectives To tool for dermatologists identify high risk active their population, who would Methods This ...

Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, have an increased risk for bone fragility resulting in an increased risk of vertebral and non vertebral fractures. These diseases are characterized by inflammation-induced bone loss and erosive bone destruction. The...

INTRODUCTION The matrilins are a family of four non-collagenous extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins which are important regulators of chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. During development, matrilin-1 (MATN1) and matrilin-3 (MATN3) are expressed in cartilage and/or bone, while matrilin-2 and matrilin-4 have a broader tissue distribution. Mutations in human MATN3 result in a variety o...