Juvenile spondyloarthropathies: the Chinese experience

Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2003 Aug;29(3):531-47. doi: 10.1016/s0889-857x(03)00048-6.

Abstract

The data presented here show that in Chinese juvenile-onset AS patients, their clinical features were similar to those reported by Burgos-Vargas and other researchers looking at other ethnic groups. For most JSpA patients, its relation to HLA-B27, basic clinical expression, anatomic substrate, histopathologic nature of the lesion, and response to treatment are the same or similar to those of adult-onset SpA patients. Current treatments provide relief but do not alter the natural course of the disease. New treatments that target immune responses and cellular inflammatory processes, which play a part in the pathogenesis of SpA, are under investigation. TNF-alpha has been identified as a predominant proinflammatory cytokine in synovial tissue of patients who have SpA. Clinical, histologic, and immunohistochemical findings of studies of anti-TNF-alpha antibody therapy in adult SpA patients suggest the possibility of altering the progression of disease coincident with clinical improvement. These findings in adult SpA patients suggest that anti-TNF-alpha therapy might confer similar benefits to JSpA patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Asian People
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Spondylarthropathies / diagnosis*
  • Spondylarthropathies / ethnology*
  • Spondylarthropathies / therapy