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Primer on the Rheumatic Diseases pp 193–216Cite as

Ankylosing Spondylitis

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Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the sacroiliac joints and spine that may be associated with a variety of extraspinal lesions involving the eye, bowel, and heart. AS usually begins in young adulthood. The natural history of AS involves progressive stiffening of the spine, with ankylosis (fusion of some or all spinal joints) occurring after some years of disease in about two thirds of the patients. Patients with longstanding severe disease are at increased risk of premature death, but overall the life span of individuals with AS appears to be normal. AS shares many features with the arthritides associated with psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and reactive arthritis. Together, these conditions comprise the spondyloarthritis family and are sometimes termed the seronegative spondyloarthropathies (“seronegative” because they are not associated with rheumatoid factor) (1). Typical spondylitis may be present in each of the other spondyloarthritides.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Désirée Van der Heijde MD, Phd (Professor)

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  1. Désirée Van der Heijde MD, Phd
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GA, USA

    John H. Klippel MD (President and CEO) (President and CEO)

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    John H. Stone MD, MPH (Associate Physician, Deputy Editor for Rheumatology) (Associate Physician, Deputy Editor for Rheumatology)

  3. Division of Rheumatology & Women’s Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Leslie J. Crofford MD (Gloria W. Singletary Professor of Internal Medicine, Chief) (Gloria W. Singletary Professor of Internal Medicine, Chief)

  4. Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Patience H. White MD, MA (Chief Public Health Officer) (Chief Public Health Officer)

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Van der Heijde, D. (2008). Ankylosing Spondylitis. In: Klippel, J.H., Stone, J.H., Crofford, L.J., White, P.H. (eds) Primer on the Rheumatic Diseases. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68566-3_9

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