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Crystal Arthritis

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Absolute Rheumatology Review

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Abstract

The formation or liberation of crystals, whether of an organic or inorganic composition, can activate the innate immune system to produce both acute and chronic inflammation. Thus, the inflammatory responses to all crystal diseases are similar, though they may vary in degree or kinetics. Crystal diseases differ more dramatically in their epidemiology, the metabolism, biology and chemistry of their crystal formations, their anatomic localizations, and their potentials for deposition and tissue disruption. Here, we review the two most common classes of crystal diseases—gout and crystals that are composed of calcium with various anions. Additionally, we briefly review several other crystals that may be encountered.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Anastasia Slobodnick and Michael Toprover contributed equally to this manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Crystal Diseases Study Group, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Anastasia Slobodnick, Michael Toprover & Michael H. Pillinger

  2. Rheumatology Section, Department of Medicine, New York Harbor Health Care System New York Campus, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, New York, NY, USA

    Anastasia Slobodnick, Michael Toprover & Michael H. Pillinger

Authors
  1. Anastasia Slobodnick
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  2. Michael Toprover
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  3. Michael H. Pillinger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael H. Pillinger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Petros Efthimiou

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Slobodnick, A., Toprover, M., Pillinger, M.H. (2020). Crystal Arthritis. In: Efthimiou, P. (eds) Absolute Rheumatology Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23022-7_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23022-7_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-23021-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-23022-7

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