Psoriatic Arthritis

Michael H. Weisman, MD, Consulting Editor

Chris Ritchlin has done a remarkable job assembling the expertise necessary to put together a timely comprehensive review of Psoriatic Arthritis. We learn how many people have psoriatic arthritis and what the natural history of the disease is. Diagnostic considerations are displayed comprehensively, and management considerations are expressed in detail. But most importantly, Chris tells us the story, in a very detailed manner, about the current theories for the pathogenesis of the disease and why it is both similar and different from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Clearly, there must be something very different (and special) about this disease phenotype that emerges as a consequence of its relationship to other spondyloarthritis conditions that occur in the same family, including inflammatory bowel diseases. Finally, why do the bone manifestations of this form of arthritis look so different from RA, and do we really know why disease management options might have unique effects on different skeletal tissues? This issue attempts to address these and many other important issues.

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