Main description:

According to the Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee (ADCC), between 14.7 and 23.5 million people in the USA - up to eight percent of the population are affected by autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases are a family of more than 100 chronic, and often disabling, illnesses that develop when underlying defects in the immune system lead the body to attack its own organs, tissues, and cells. In Handbook of Autoimmune Disease, the editors have gathered in a comprehensive handbook a critical review, by renowned experts, of more than 100 autoimmune diseases, divided into two main groups, namely systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases. A contemporary overview of these conditions with special emphasis on diagnosis is presented. Each chapter contains the essential information required by attending physicians as well as bench scientists to understand the definition of a specific autoimmune disease, the diagnostic criteria, and the treatment.

Contents:

I. CLASSICAL SYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

1. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus:
Maria Laura Bertolaccini
Lupus Research Unit
The Rayne Institute
King's College London School of Medicine
St. Thomas' Hospital
London
UK

Graham RV Hughes
Lupus Research Unit
The Rayne Institute
King's College London School of Medicine
St. Thomas' Hospital
London
UK

Munther A. Khamashta, MD
Senior Lecturer/Consultant Physician
Lupus Unit
The Rayne Institute
St. Thomas Hospital
London
UK

2. Antiphospholipid Syndrome:
Ricard Cervera, MD, PhD, FRCP
Head, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Hospital Clinic
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
University of Barcelona
Catalonia, Spain

Ronald A. Asherson
Division of Immunology
School of Pathology
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg, South Africa

3. Rheumatoid Arthritis:
Claudio Galarza-Maldonado, MD
Unidad de Enfermedades Reumaticas y Autoinmunes (UNERA)
Hospital Monte Sinai
Cuenca, Ecuador

Loreto Massardo Vega, M.D.2
Departamento de Immunologia Clinica y Reumatologia
Facultad de Medicina
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Santiago
Chile

Bernardo Pons-Estel, M.D. 3
Hospital provincial de Rosario
Universidad Nacional de Rosario
Rosario Argentina

Mario H. Cardiel, MSc
Unidad de Investigacion 'Dr. Mario Alvizouri Muno'
Hospital General 'Dr. Miguel Silva
Morelia
Michoacan
Mexico

4. Macrophage Activation Sindrome in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis:
Berkun Yackov, M.D.
Associate Director
PediatricRheumatology
Safra Children Hospital
Chaim Sheba Medical Center
Tel-Hashomer
Israel
and
Sackler School of Medicine
Tel-Aviv University
Tel-Aviv
Israel

Shai Padeh, M.D.
Pediatric Rheumatology
Safra Children Hospital
Chaim Sheba Medical Center
Tel-Hashomer
Israel
and
Sackler School of Medicine
Tel-Aviv University
Tel-Aviv
Israel

5. Adult Still's Disease:
Alon Eisen, M.D.
Department of Medicine D
Meir Medical Center
Kfar-Saba
Israel
Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine
Tel-Aviv University Tel-Aviv
Israel

Howard Amital, MD MHA
Head of Department of Medicine D
Meir Medical Center
Kfar-Saba
Israel
Affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine
Tel-Aviv University Tel-Aviv
Israel

6. Systemic Sclerosis:
Dr. Jenny Walker
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Marvin J. Fritzler, MD, PhD
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

7. Sjoegren's Syndrome:
D. Mitsias
Department of Pathophysiology
School of Medicine
National University of Athens
Athens
Greece

H.M.Moutsopoulos, MD, FACP,FRCP
Professor and Director
Department of Pathophysiology
School of Medicine
National University of Athens
Athens
Greece

8. Mixed Connective Tissue Diseases (MCTD):
Marta Mosca, M.D.
Rheumatology Unit
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Pisa
Italy

Rosaria Talarico, M.D.
Rheumatology Unit
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Pisa
Italy

Stefano