Rheumatic Disorder: From Basic Science to Clinical Practice—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (RDs) are chronic inflammatory diseases with a major health impact worldwide, but their management and classification are sometimes difficult due to their unknown aetiology and the heterogeneity of their clinical presentation. RDs have the largest and most consistent impact across all age groups, and they affect a significant proportion of the population. Their economic and social burden results from a decreased quality of life, a loss of productivity, and the increased costs of health care. Moreover, although RDs affect people of all ages, the demographic structure of the population indicates an increasing tendency towards an older population, along with an increasing prevalence of these diseases. Therefore, improving our knowledge of RDs, from basic science to clinical practice, has become critical. The heterogeneity of RDs and the lack of any clear clinical correlation with pathology makes for an inexact estimation of their incidence and prevalence. Moreover, more investigation is needed concerning the causes and mechanisms affecting the development and progression of these disorders, and more studies are needed to discover innovative treatments. As a result, the challenges of studying RDs lie in achieving accurate epidemiological data and making efforts to attain significant progress in determining the etiological mechanisms, clinical behaviour, and the genetic/epigenetic basis of the diseases, as well as the early diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients.

Dr. Andreina Manfredi
Dr. Caterina Vacchi
Dr. Giulia Cassone
Topic Editors