Rheumatic Diseases: From Macroscopic Diagnosis to Molecular Mechanisms
A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Rheumatology is undergoing a diagnostic renaissance: bedside clinical acumen and imaging are increasingly integrated with high-throughput serology, multi-omics, and data-driven analytics to refine phenotypes, predict trajectories, and personalize therapy. Yet, in daily practice, clinicians still grapple with overlapping syndromes, seronegative presentations, and organ-specific complications that demand timely, accurate diagnosis. This Special Issue—“Rheumatic Diseases: From Macroscopic Diagnosis to Molecular Mechanisms”—invites contributions that bridge the clinic and the lab, demonstrating how advanced diagnostics translate into meaningful patient outcomes and decision making in real-world settings, in line with the scope of Diagnostics.
This Special Issue aims to showcase rigorous studies that connect macroscopic readouts (clinical examination, ultrasound, MRI, CT, PET/CT, pathology) with molecular and computational diagnostics (autoantibodies, proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, transcriptomics, digital pathology, AI/radiomics). We welcome work that validates biomarkers, proposes practical diagnostic algorithms, or links diagnostic signatures with prognosis, treatment response, or safety across inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
In this Special Issue, original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, brief reports, and methodological/consensus papers are welcome. Suggested themes include (i) imaging–molecular correlations; (ii) diagnostic and disease-activity biomarkers; (iii) multi-omics and machine learning for classification and stratification; (iv) organ-specific diagnostics (lung, kidney, vasculature, salivary glands, musculoskeletal); (v) pediatric and rare disease diagnostics; and (vi) implementation studies and real-world validation of diagnostic pathways.
We look forward to your contributions that move rheumatology diagnostics from “signal” to “decision” to “impact”.
Dr. Cristina Pamfil
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- rheumatology diagnostics
- imaging and radiomics
- autoantibodies and biomarkers
- multi-omics (proteomics/metabolomics/genomics)
- machine learning/artificial intelligence
- disease activity and prognosis
- precision medicine
- interstitial lung disease in rheumatology
- vasculitis and connective tissue diseases
- diagnostic pathways
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
