Aetiopathology of rheumatoid arthritis

Taylor, Peter C.; Mehta, Puja; Tull, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.mpmed.2009.12.005

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Volume 38, Issue 4 , Pages 163-166, April 2010

Aetiopathology of rheumatoid arthritis

Peter C Taylor MA PhD FRCP is a Professor of Experimental Rheumatology at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Division, Imperial College, London, UK. Competing interests: Professor Taylor has received research grant support from Schering-Plough, Roche, Celgene, Nuon and GlaxoSmithKline. He has received advisory and speaker fees from Astra-Zeneca, Centocor, BMS, Merck, Abbott, Roche, Schering-Plough, UCB and Wyeth

Puja Mehta MBBS BSc is an Academic Foundation Year 2 Doctor at the Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK. Competing interests: none declared

Thomas Tull MBBS BSc is a Foundation Year doctor at the Imperial College Healthcare Trust, London, UK. Competing interests: none declared

Abstract

Although the aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis remains unknown, there have been considerable advances in understanding the aetiopatho genesis in the last two decades. The role of genetic and environmental interactions in giving rise to immune dysregulation and the key cellular and cytokine mediators involved have been extensively studied. These insights have led to major advances in therapeutic options in the pharmacological management of this condition.

Keywords: aetiopathogenesis, angiogenesis, anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies, B cell, co-stimulation, cytokine, dendritic cells, rheumatoid arthritis, T cell