| ASIF
News No. 1 (Winter 2003) |
| ASIF
News first edition |
"ASIF News" indended as a method
of communication of ASIF member societies. Distribution of articles which
may be printed in journals of member organisations. Invitation to contribute
with own articles |
| ASIF
update |
New ASIF Executive Committee elected
in the ASIF Council meeting of October 2002 |
| SVMB
25th jubilee |
Report on the celebration of the
25th anniversary of the Swiss ankylosing spondylitis society (Schweizerische
Vereinigung Morbus Bechterew) by Seoirse Smith |
| Report
on EULAR Congress June 2003 |
Report on the congress held in
Lisbon, Portugal, by Ernst Feldtkeller and Jon Erlendsson, members of the
ASIF Executive Committee |
| ASIF
website updates |
Pages on "How
to set up a new AS society?" and "How
to become an ASIF member society?" recently added to ASIF website |
| ASIF
projects |
Proposed ASIF initiatives which
might be realized within the next years if enough members are willing to
contribute |
| ASIF
research |
Results of scientific
studies on ankylosing spondylitis initiated and coordinated by ASIF |
| ASIF
News No. 2 (December 2004) |
| Denmark
is calling |
Announcement of the 7th ASIF Council
meeting to be held in September 2005 in Sandbjerg Estate, Denmark |
| ASAI
in Ireland launch website |
Website of the ankylosing spondylitis
society
in Ireland can be found under the address www.ankylosing-spondylitis.ie |
| report
on EULAR congress 2004 in Berlin |
Short report by ASIF vice president
Ernst Feldtkeller |
| Report
on AS symposium in Bad Gastein |
Short report by ASIF vice president
Ernst Feldtkeller |
| New
AS society in Turkey |
"Ankilozan Spondilit Hasta Dernegi
(Ankylosing Spondylitis Patient Association in Turkey) founded in 2003.
by Dr. Tuncay DURUÖZ, rheumatologist, assistant
professor at Celal Bayar University, Manisa, President of ASHAD |
| Frontiers
in inflammatory joint disease |
Report on Canadian arthritis
research forum held in May 2004, by Nils Linholm, Ontario, Canada |
| Ankylosed
spine in ancient history: “Apa Bane” |
The skeletton of the famous Coptic
saint Apa Bane (died 356 AD) was found by archeologists with an ankylosed
spine.
Report by paleologist Wolfgang Michael Pahl and ASIF
vice president Ernst Feldtkeller |
| Therapy
of ankylosing spondylitis 4000 years ago |
Papyrus scrolls from about 1900
B.C. found in the ruins of the Ramesseum near the entrance of the Valley
of the Kings in Egypt contain rescriptions against stiffness and crookedness.
Report by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller |
| "Two
B or not two B?" |
Report on the 4th International
Congress on Spondyloarthropathies held in October 2004 in Gent, Belgium,
by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller |
| Vertebral
fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis |
Result of an ASIF survey carried
out in two steps in 2000 and 2001. By Ernst Feldtkeller, Debby Vosse,
Jon Erlendsson, Piet Geusens, and Sjef van der Linden.
Scientific publications appeared in Rheumatology International
25 (2006) 234–239 and in the Journal of Rheumatology 31 (2004) 1981–1985. |
| New
in ASIF website |
New in the ASIF website are Guidebooks
for patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Russian
and in Hebrew language. |
| ASIF
News No. 3 (February 2006) |
| Messages
from ASIF president and treasurer |
ASIF is now registered in Denmark
and has a Danish bank account. In Geat Britain this was only possible under
restricting conditions, and in Ireland it was not possible at all. The
new Internet address of ASIF is www.spondylitis-international.org |
| 2005
Council meeting |
Report on the 7th ASIF Council
meeting held in September 2005 in Sandbjerg Estate, Denmark, by ASIF vice
president Ernst Feldtkeller |
| Nils
Linholm † |
Nils Linholm, delegate from the
AS societies in Canada and until 2002 ASIF secretary, died on January 17th,
2006 in the age of 76 years. By ASIF secretary Ken Mulholland, past president
of the Ontario Spondylitis Association. |
| News
from Belgium |
Belgium rheumatic groups agree
to work together. Report by Coby Otter, Belgian delegate and member of
the ASIF Executive Committee |
| News
from Canada |
2.5 million Canadian dollars collected
for Spondyloarthritis research |
| Ankylosing
spondylitis society in Iran |
Ankylosing spondylitis society
in Iran founded in 1993 |
| 10
recommendations on AS treatment |
ASAS/EULAR recommendations for
the management of ankylosing spondylitis. By ASIF president Jon Erlendsson |
| Survey
on disease activity and treatment |
Results of a survey on the disease
activity and treatment of ankylosing spondylitis in Germany, presented
by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller at the ASIF Council meeting held
in 2005 in Sandbjerg, Denmark |
| Neurocognitive
therapy of ankylosing spondylitis |
A pilot study with 19 patients
with ankylosing spondylitis participating, was carried out to reveal the
success rate of this new therapy method. Among 15 participants who had
still a zero head-to-wall distance, 11 (73%) lost their AS symptoms. Some
patients treated formerly with this method are already symptom-free since
16 years. The results suggest that the central nervous system (so far neglected
in rheumatic research) plays a major role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Report by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller and rheumatologist Herbert
Kellner |
| Recent
updates on ASIF website |
The pages containing information
on AS societies worldwide now include also the newly founded AS
society in Brazil and the AS section of the Association Polyarthrite in
the French-speaking part of Belgium |
| ASIF
News No. 4 (October 2006) |
| Prague
invites ASIF delegates for 2007 |
For the ASIF Council meeting in
September 2007 the delegates will meet in Prague and will be transported
to Jáchymov spa. |
| Social
leagues of EULAR |
ASIF president Jon Erlendsson
describes the functions of the EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism)
Social Leagues and expresses the hope that ASIF will soon become an international
member besides many national member societies. |
| Impressions
from the EULAR congress 2006 in Amsterdam |
Report on the annual European
Congress of Rheumatologie which took place in June 2006 in Amsterdam, by
Dr. Anne Gitte Loft, rheumatologist in Vejle, Denmark |
| Iceland
– a new member of ASIF? |
ASIF president Jon Erlendsson
visited Iceland in his family holidays and contacted representatives of
the ankylosing spondylitis branch of "Gigtarfélag Islands"(Icelandic
League against Rheumatism). |
| The
Dutch "Reumapatientenbond" |
Cor van Drogen, member of the
"Werkgroep Bechterew" within the association of patients with rheumatic
diseases in the Netherlands, will investigate the possibility to renew
their membership in ASIF after they were an ASIF member in the first several
years after the foundation of ASIF. |
| Research
prize for contribution to easy diagnosis of early ankylosing
spondylitis |
Joachim Sieper and Martin Rudwaleit
from Berlin were rewarded with the research prize of the German ankylosing
spondylitis society for their prosal to estimate the probability of ankylosing
spondylitis in a patient with chronic back pain by combining the sensitivity
and specificity of test results characteristic for AS. |
| Goals
of ankylosing spondylitis patient organisations |
ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller
was invited to present at the Turkish Congress of Rheumatology a lecture
on the contributions of AS patient organisations to patient health and
medical research. |
| ASIF
News No. 5 (March 2007) |
| President's
message |
Opening remarks to these ASIF
News and invitation to contribute to future ASIF News with own ideas and
experiences |
| 2007
ASIF Council meeting |
Announcement of the ASIF Council
meeting which will take place in September 2007 in Jáchymov (Czech
Republic) |
| Fergus
Rogers remembered |
Fergus Rogers, ASIF president
from 1988 to 2002 and director of the Britisch ankylosing spondylitis society
for 26 years, died on 17th November 2006. Representatives from many countried
contribute their condolations |
| Obituary
on Fergus Rogers from The Times |
Reproduction of an obituary on
Fergus Rogers which appeared in The Times on 4th December 2006. |
| Profile
of Jane Skerrett |
The new director of NASS, the
ankylosing spondylitis society in Great Britain, presents her background
and intentions. |
| Vice
president celebrating 75 years |
Report of a symposium held on
the occasion of the 75th birthday of ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller
as part of the 2007 congress of the German association of rheumatology,
by ASIF president Jon Erlendsson |
| Watercolours
by Ernst Feldtkeller |
Reproduction of two watercolours
by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller. |
| Experiences
as a 75 years old patient with AS |
Printed version of a lecture given
by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller.on the occasion of his 75th birthday
in Wiesbaden, Germany |
| Report
on the Spondyloarthritis congress 2006 in Gent, Belgium |
English version of a report by
ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller.published originally in the quarterly
journal of the ankylosing spondylitis patient organisation in Germany |
| Report
on ASAS workshop 2007 in Bath, UK |
Report by ASIF vice president
Ernst Feldtkeller on the workshop of the "Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis
international working group" (ASAS) which took place in January 2007 in
Bath |
| ASIF
News No. 6 (November 2007) |
| The
8th ASIF Council Meeting |
Report by the ASIF president Jon
Erlendsson, Horsens, Denmark |
| Copyright:
What has to be regarded by editors of AS membership journals? |
Lecture presented by ASIF
vice president Ernsr Feldtkeller at the 2007 ASIF Council meeting in Jáchymov |
| Rheumatology
in the Gaudi city |
Report on the 2007 EULAR Congress
in Barcelona by Prof. Dr. Ernst Feldtkeller, München Germany, ASIF
vice president |
| ASIF
vice president awarded with Kussmaul medal of DGRh |
.Award dedicated by the German
Association of Rheumatology to „outstanding personages who have decisively
shaped rheumatology in Germany by their life work or by a significant singular
achievement “ |
| ASIF
address and Executive Committee |
New member of the ASIF Executive
Committee is Jane Skerrett, director of NASS, Graet Britain |
| ASIF
News No. 7 (April 2008) |
| Austria
to host ASIF Council meeting in 2009 |
The ASIF Executive Committee accepted
the invitation to hold the next ASIF Council meeting in mid October 2009
in Bad Gastein, a spa where ankylosing spondylitis is treated with a combination
of radon inhalation and hyperthermia at the end of a 2-km long mining gallery
in the Alpine mountains |
| The
ASAS Workshop 2008 in Toronto |
AS Researchers connected
in the "Assessment of SpondyloArthrisis international Society" (ASAS) reported
the presnt state of their research in AS. Some of them are shown in illustrations
of the article. |
| ASIF
& ASAS & EULAR: Historic Meeting at the Zürich Lake |
Members of the ASAS Steering Committee
met with 17 AS patients from 10 countries in the EULAR house near Zürich
to create a patient-understandable version of the ASAS/EULAR recommendations
for the management of AS. |
| Interviews
with the ASAS president and secretary |
.Reto Baliarda, editor of the
membership journal “vertical” of the AS association in Switzerland, interviewed
the ASAS president and the ASAS secretary. Subject was the good cooperation
between rheumatologists and well informed patients with AS. |
| Focus on the Patient”
– Patient Associations’ Best Practice Meeting 2008 in Helsinki |
ASIF treasurer Torben Jørgensen gives a report
of a meeting in Helsinki with about 100 patients with auto-immune diseases
participating. |
| Present Situation of
AS Patients in Japan |
Dr. INOUE Hisashi, General Secretary of the Japan Ankylosing
Spondylitis Club, presents the results of a study on the epidemiology,
disease onset, diagnosis, familial occurrence, onset triggers, HLA-B27,
associated diseases, treatment, and impact on social life of ankylosing
spondylitis in Japan. |
| Ankylosing spondylitis
in Moldavia |
Aurel Sarivan, a patient with AS living in the Republic
of Moldavia, gives a report on a group of patients with AS fighting together
against the disease in the poorest country of Europe. |
| Major genetic breakthrough
for ankylosing spondylitis brings treatment hope |
Jane Skerrett, director of the National Ankylosing Spondylitis
Society in the UK and member of the ASIF Executice Committee, reports new
results of genetic research in AS. The research was sponsered by the Wellcome
Trust in the UK. |
| Insidious Onset? |
In the criteria for inflammatory back pain of 1977, part
of the ESSG criteria of the spondyloarthritides, "insidious onset" is one
of the criteria. Since a sudden onset of AS is not at all seldom, researchers
in Berlin created a new set of criteria for inflammatory back pain in which
this criterion is no more contained. |
| HLA-B27: Why frequent
in some countries and seldom in others? |
HLA-B27 and thus also ankylosing spondylitis is much
more frequent in northern than in southern countries. A cause for this
may be that carriers of HLA-B27 are less susceptible for some infections
prevalent in northern countries. Prof. Mathieu et al. from the University
of Cagliari, Sardinia, discuss another possible explanation: Carriers of
other HLA-B genes are less susceptible for malaria than carriers of HLA-B27. |
| Not
less females with ankylosing spondylitis! |
.According to the results of a
survey by the AS patient organisation in Germany, the percentage of females
is low among AS patients diagnosed in former decades, but almost 50% among
AS patients diagnosed recently. A reason may be that the ankylosis progresses
faster in male than in female patients with AS, and that the diagnosis
was often made in former decades only after radiologic changes in the spine
were visible. |
| Laurie Savage appointed
to SAA Executive Director |
Laurie Savage who represented the Spondylitis Association
of US-America at the ASIF Council meeting in Jáchymov in 2007, was
appointed as new Executive Director of this organisation. |
| ASIF
News No. 8 (October 2008) |
| Austria
to welcome ASIF delegates in October 2009 |
The 9ih ASIF Council meeting will
take place from October 15th to October 18th, 2009 in Bad Hofgastein, a
market town and the historical hub of the Gastein Valley in Austria. It
is located in the sunniest and broadest point of the valley and is
an old-established spa and winter sports resort. |
| Efficacy
of Radon thermal gallery therapy in ankylosing spondylitis |
The combination of hyperthermy and
radon inhalation has an anti-inflammatory effect and enables many patients
to reduce their consumption of inflammatory drugs. Since the risk connected
with NSAIDs is much higher than the possible risk connected with the low-dose
radon therapy, the treatment in Gastein is a risk-reducing therapy of AS. |
| ASIF
contributes to ASASQoL questionnaire |
Members of the Steering Committee
of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis international Society (ASAS)
invited 12 patients with AS to contribute to the ASAS Quality of Life questionnaire
at a workshop in Düsseldorf, Germany,. |
| ASIF
booklet on AS assessment and criteria |
Methods usually applied in the assessment
of of the course of the disease, as well as classification and diagnostic
criteria of AS and the spondyloarthritides are collected in a booklet
created by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller in cooperation with members
of ASAS. |
Evidence of therapy forms
in treating
ankylosing spondylitis |
Random-controlled studies are not the only way to reach
evidence of the usefullness of therapy forms. The usefullness of physical
therapy and of extended patient instruction is evident.by plausibility and
experience without such studies. |
| The place of physical therapy
in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis |
Also Professor Asim Khan and his colleague Mazen Elyan in
Cleveland, Ohio, summarize important recommendations for the physical therapy
and extended instruction of patients with AS. |
| The ACE campaign to end
discrimination against people with arthritis |
The Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) launched a successful
campain and introduced a JointHealth™ Report Card on provincial formulary
listings for biologic response modifiers in Canada |
| Patient Advocacy is working |
In the summer of 2007 the Canadian Spondylitis Association
(CSA) decided to take their meeting to Alberta to help raise the awareness
of the need for patient coverage of the new biologics. |
| Package inserts made readable |
In Germany, a group of patients with different diseases
joined to create examples of user-friendly package information leaflets
and presented the result in a successful press conference |
| ASIF
News No. 9 (April 2009) |
ASIF
Council Meeting October 15th
to 18th 2009 |
Paul Pocek, President of the Austrian
Spondylitis Society and the organizing committee are calling all delegates
to attend the 9th ASIF Council meeting in Bad Hofgastein, Austria, from
Thursday October 15th to Sunday October 18th. |
| An
Englishman in Gastein's «Heilstollen» |
Matt Homfray, member of the National
Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) in Great Britain, describes his visit
in the «Heilstollen», despite being sceptical. After his week
in Gastein he felt more supple than he had in months, if not years. |
| ASAI
National Awareness Campaign |
Seoirse Smith, Secretary of the
Ankylosing Spondylitis Association of Ireland (ASAI) presents th AS Awareness
Week «Get your Back up» of ASAI. This campaign included the
Irish rugby player John Hayes. It achieved a high media attention. Moreover,
the number of vosits of the ASAI website increased more than 100-fold. |
| Ankylosing
Spondylitis in Good and Worse Times |
Study with 12 AS patients about
how the fluctuations (symptom-free and painful periods, fatigue, incapacitating
pain and crippling mobility) interfere with everyday life. |
| ASAS Workshop
of Ankylosing Spondylitis Researchers 2009 in Rome |
70 ASAS members including ASIF vice president
Ernst Feldtkeller participated in this workshop: The topics being discussed
were the following ones: Criteria for «axial spondyloarthritis»;
ASAS slide kit and ASAS handbook; Criteria for the «peripheral arthritis»;
Psoriasis associated with ankylosing spondylitis and an Update of recommendations
for the treatment of AS with TNF-alpha blockers. |
| 11th EULAR Conference
for PARE in Budapest |
More than 100 delegates participated at this conference
in November 2008 with the following presentations: Work and rheumatic diseases
- the Hungarian perspective; Impact of arthritis/rheumatism on the population
of Europe; Study «Fit for Work» including the employers perspective;
Current drug therapies and the importance of early diagnosis. Jane Skerrett,
member of the ASIF Executive Committee participated at this conference too. |
| Pain Perception of People
with Chronical Diseases |
Research in patients suffering from a rheumatic condition.
Conclusions: Pain is an important phenomenon in rheumatic diseases. Half
of all the patients expects the physician to initiate a conversation about
pain. More than half of the patients with pain find that this pain is not
under control. The most additional symptom in rheumatic patients is fatigue. |
| ASIF
News No. 10 (November 2009) |
| The
9th ASIF Council Meeting |
The 9ih ASIF Council meeting took
place from October 15th to October 18th, 2009 in Bad Hofgastein, Austria.
Jon Erlendsson resigned from his presidency. His successor is Seoirse Smith
from Ireland. Hedley Hamilton (Great Britain) was elected the new vice president.
He replaces Ernst Feldtkeller, Germany. |
| Activities
of the ASIF Executive Committee in 2007-09 |
Summary of the opening remarks
by the outgoing president, Dr. Jon Erlendsson, Denmark, at the 9th ASIF
Council Meeting held in Bad Hofgastein, Austria. |
| ASIF
contributes to ASASQoL questionnaire |
Members of the Steering Committee
of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis international Society (ASAS)
invited 12 patients with AS to contribute to the ASAS Quality of Life questionnaire
at a workshop in Düsseldorf, Germany,. |
| ASIF
booklet on AS assessment and criteria |
Methods usually applied in the assessment
of of the course of the disease, as well as classification and diagnostic
criteria of AS and the spondyloarthritides are collected in a booklet
created by ASIF vice president Ernst Feldtkeller in cooperation with members
of ASAS. |
Evidence of therapy forms
in treating
ankylosing spondylitis |
Random-controlled studies are not the only way to reach
evidence of the usefullness of therapy forms. The usefullness of physical
therapy and of extended patient instruction is evident.by plausibility and
experience without such studies. |
| The place of physical therapy
in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis |
Also Professor Asim Khan and his colleague Mazen Elyan in
Cleveland, Ohio, summarize important recommendations for the physical therapy
and extended instruction of patients with AS. |
| The ACE campaign to end
discrimination against people with arthritis |
The Arthritis Consumer Experts (ACE) launched a successful
campain and introduced a JointHealth™ Report Card on provincial formulary
listings for biologic response modifiers in Canada |
| Patient Advocacy is working |
In the summer of 2007 the Canadian Spondylitis Association
(CSA) decided to take their meeting to Alberta to help raise the awareness
of the need for patient coverage of the new biologics. |
| Package inserts made readable |
In Germany, a group of patients with different diseases
joined to create examples of user-friendly package information leaflets
and presented the result in a successful press conference |
| ASIF
News No. 11 (November 2010) |
| World
Ankylosing Spondylitis Day: Events in the Countries) |
For the first time, a World Ankylosing Spondylitis Day
was held on May 8, 2010 in several countries. The aim was to make ankylosing
spondylitis and the disease-specific organisation of patients with this
disease known in the public. We report on events which took place in Portugal,
Turkey, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. The reports shall encourage patients
with ankylosing spondylitis to start similar actions also in their countries.
|
| ASIF
Council meeting 2011 in Ismir, Turkey |
The ASIF executive committee has
graciously accepted an invitation from Dr. Tuncay Duruöz, president
of The Ankylosing spondylitis society in Turkey, Ankilosan Spondilit Hasta
Dernegi (ASHAD), to host the next ASIF Council meeting in Izmir, Turkey.
|
| News
from NASS, United Kingdom |
The National Ankylosing Spondylitis
Society (NASS) in the united Kingdom have had a very busy first 6 months
in 2010, with launching a new document entitled Looking Ahead
Best practice for the care of people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS)
which can be downloaded from the NASS website under http://www.nass.co.uk/documents/NASSLookingAheadReport-April2010.pdf
; with a member survey the report on which is likewise available in the
NASS website; a walk on World AS day entitled «NASS en Masse»;
and with launching a new gymn guide for people with AS called «Back
in Action». |
|
How should first-responders
deal with AS patients in an emergency setting?
|
Lecture presented at the 9th ASIF Council meeting 2008
in Bad Hofgastein by the former ASIF president Dr. Jon Erlendsson, rheumatologist
in Horsens, Denmark, with presentation of the DVD «Ankylosing spondylitis:
Managing patients in an emergency setting» produced by the Spondylitis
Association of America (SAA).
You can watch the DVD on http://www.spondylitis.org/physician_resources/ems_video.aspx |
| Every seventh patient with ankylosing
spondylitis suffers a spinal fracture during his/her life |
Reto Baliarda, editor of the journal of the Swiss AS patient
organisation and ASIF webmaster, summarises some research results on spinal
fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (see also ASIF News No.
2 pages 1216). A minor incident may be sufficient to cause such a
fracture, especially with increasing age. A timely diagnosis after an accident
may prevent neurological complications. |
| «As
patients with ankylosing spondylitis, we have to be more careful than others» |
Interview by Reto Baliarda, editor
of the membership journal of the Swiss AS society, with Ernst Feldtkeller,
scientific advisor to ASIF and scientific editor of the membership journal
of the German AS society, on his staircase accident in 2009 leading to a
vertebral fracture, and his consequences for patients with ankylosing spondylitis. |
| Ankylosing
Spondylitis Research Group in Iran? |
In Iran an Ankylosing Spondylitis
Research Group was founded in 2002 with the purpose of a better understanding
of the disease, better quality of life of patients. They collaborate
with the Iranian Ankylosing Spondylitis Association. Their research is focussed
on genetic and immunological studies. |
| Successful treatment
of cauda equina syndrome complicating ankylosing spondylitis |
Cauda equina syndrome (horse tail syndrome) is a seldom
complication of longstanding AS where the lower end of the spinal channel
is inflamed, often associated with neurological deficits. No successful
treatment was available upto now. The authors describe a successful treatment
with infliximab in a 66-years old man with ankylosing spondylitis. |
| Fatigue in patients with ankylosing
spondylitis |
In a study with 62 patients with AS, 50% had severe fatigue
(reply to fatigue question in BASDAI questionnaire at least half scale length).
55% had sleep disorders , and 27% had depression. Besides the disease activity,
the effects of psychogenic factors, especially depression, should be taken
into consideration in the management of AS. |
| The prevalence
of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with ankylosing spondylitis |
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition
characterized by frequent episodes of upper airway collapse during sleep
preventing air from entering the lungs. It can lead to excessive daytime
sleepiness and is associated with car crashes involving drivers who fall
asleep, and cardiovascular disease. In this study 23% of patients with ankylosing
spondylitis had obstructive sleep apnea, compared with 3% in the general
population. |
| International Workshop
of Ankylosing Spondylitis Researchers in Berlin |
Every year in January the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis
international Society (ASAS) holds their annual workshop in the home town
of AS researchers. Reports of ASAS workshops in the years 20072009
were contained in ASIF News No. 5, 7, and 9. The workshop of 2010 took place
in Berlin. Among the participants were again Ernst Feldtkeller, former ASIF
vice president, and Tuncay Duruöz, member of the ASIF Executive Committee.
Aim of ASAS is the creation of criteria for classification and diagnosis,
of assessment methods for the outcome documentation, and of recommendations
for the management of the spondyloarthritides (inflammatory spine diseases).. |
| ASIF
News No. 12 (January 2012) |
| The
10th ASIF Council Meeting |
The 10th ASIF Council meeting took place in Izmir, Turkey,
from the 17th to the 20th of November 2011. Delegates from 13 countries
attended the meeting, which was excellently organised by the Turkish Spondylitis
Association (ASHAD) and its president Tuncay Duruöz. Three new patient
organizations from China (two delegates attended the meeting), South Korea
and Cyprus were approved. The elections had three positions to fill, as
Secretary Ken Mulholland (Canada), Treasurer Torben Jørgensen (Denmark)
and Jane Skerrett (UK) had decided to step down. The delegates voted for
Michael Mallinson (Canada) as the secretary and René Bräm
(Switzerland) as the new Treasurer. In Addition, Debbie Cook (UK) was
elected as a new member of the board. There were several interesting contributions
from different member countries. Moreover, president Seoirse Smith and
vice-president Hedley Hamilton presented their project for the new website.
|
| Report
on the 7th International Congress on Spondyloarthropathies 2010 in Gent |
ASIF scientific advisor Ernst Feldtkeller
visited the congress, which takes place in Gent, Belgium, every second year.
Rheumatologists from all over the wolrd presented various scientific studies,
such as «Classification Criteria and Diagnosis», «Activity
Limitations», «Heart Involvement in Ankylosing Spondylitis»,
«Progression to Ankylosing Spondylitis» or «Progression
of the Ankylosis in Spite of an Anti-TNF-Alpha Therapy». |
2011
ASAS Workshop
of Spondyloarthritis Researchers
in Brussels |
More than 50 international AS researchers
had their annual workshop, organized by the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis
International Society (ASAS). They discussed various scientific subjects
such as «Difficult assessment of magneto-resonance images» or
a new study of NSAID efficacy. ASAS president, professor Désirée
van der Heijde (Netherlands) stepped down. Her successor is her fellow countryman,
Dr Robert Landewé. |
| Report
on the European Rheumatology Congress (EULAR) 2011 in Brussels |
Around 16000 participants joined
the EULAR congress in London. 1500 scientific posters were presented during
this annual meeting. They contained studies on the improvement or early
diagnosis, disease progression, influence of the patient behavior on the
course of the disease, Anti TNF therapy and many more. AS researcher Maxime
Dougados was elected as the new president of EULAR. |
Essay: «On
outside I cannot dance anymore, but inside I continue
to dance» |
Article written by Lill Due, a former ballet dancer from
Bergen, Norway. Her contribution on her life with ankylosing spondylitis
was awarded with the Edgar Stene Prize of 2011. |
| Article: «Smoking
worsens early course of axial spondyloarthritis» |
Article by Pedro Machado (Portugal), Désirée
van der Heijde (Netherlands) et al. They found out that smoking worsens
the disease. It particularly increases joint inflammation visible in magneto-resonance
imaging. |