International consensus: what else can we do to improve diagnosis and therapeutic strategies in patients affected by autoimmune rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritides, systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome and Sjogren’s syndrome)?

Publication date: Available online 11 July 2017
Source:Autoimmunity Reviews
Author(s): Roberto Giacomelli, Antonella Afeltra, Alessia Alunno, Chiara Baldini, Elena Bartoloni-Bocci, Onorina Berardicurti, Francesco Carubbi, Alberto Cauli, Ricard Cervera, Francesco Ciccia, Paola Cipriani, Fabrizio Conti, Salvatore De Vita, Paola Di Benedetto, Andrea Doria, Alexandros A. Drosos, Ennio Giulio Favalli, Saviana Gandolfo, Mariele Gatto, Rosa Daniela Grembiale, Vasiliki Liakouli, Rik Lories, Ennio Lubrano, Claudio Lunardi, Domenico Paolo Emanuele Margiotta, Laura Massaro, Pierluigi Meroni, Antonia Minniti, Luca Navarini, Monica Pendolino, Federico Perosa, Jacques-Olivier Pers, Marcella Prete, Roberta Priori, Francesco Puppo, Luca Quartuccio, Amelia Ruffatti, Piero Ruscitti, Barbara Russo, Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini, Yehuda Shoenfeld, George A. Somarakis, Francesca Romana Spinelli, Elisa Tinazzi, Giovanni Triolo, Francesco Ursini, Gabriele Valentini, Guido Valesini, Serena Vettori, Claudio Vitali, Athanasios G. Tzioufas
Autoimmune diseases are a complex set of diseases characterized by immune system activation and, although many progresses have been done in the last 15 years, several unmet needs in the management of these patients may be still identified.Recently, a panel of international Experts, divided in different working groups according to their clinical and scientific expertise, were asked to identify, debate and formulate a list of key unmet needs within the field of rheumatology, serving as a roadmap for research as well as support for clinicians. After a systematic review of the literature, the results and the discussions from each working group were summarised in different statements. Due to the differences among the diseases and their heterogeneity, a large number of statements was produced and voted by the Experts to reach a consensus in a plenary session. At all the steps of this process, including the initial discussions by the steering committee, the identification of the unmet needs, the expansion of the working group and finally the development of statements, a large agreement was attained.This work confirmed that several unmet needs may be identified and despite the development of new therapeutic strategies as well as a better understanding of the effects of existing therapies, many open questions still remain in this field, suggesting a research agenda for the future and specific clinical suggestions which may allow physicians to better manage those clinical conditions still lacking of scientific clarity.



http://ift.tt/2uMjaOF