There are numerous monographs devoted to rheumatoid arthritis. What sets this issue apart is that it keeps an eye to the future. Topics explored include measurement of RA disease activity today and in the future; epidemiology of RA – implications for prevention and risk assessment; genes that predispose to RA – relevance to current and future therapeutic strategies; multiple kinases – assessment of the best targets in treating RA; assessment, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular morbidity in RA; mechanistic insights and approaches to prevention of bone damage in RA; cell-cell interactions in RA synovium as potential new targets for treatment; alternative strategies for modulating the function of B lymphocytes in RA; innate immunity in RA; ascertainment and management of preclinical RA.

This issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics focuses on Genetics. Article topics cover: Genetic Influences on Susceptibility and Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis; HLA-disease associations in rheumatoid arthritis; Autoinflammatory Syndromes as a Model of Monogenic Diseases; Genomic Influences on Hyperuricaemia and Gout; Genetics of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus; Genetics of Ankylosing Spondylitis;Genetics of Scleroderma; Genetics of Osteoarthritis; Genetics of Juvenile Inflammatory Arthritis; Genetic Influences on Treatment Response in Rheumatic Diseases; Integrative approaches/computational biology; Future directions of genetic research in rheumatic diseases; and Population genetics and natural selection in rheumatic disease.

Given the potential problems that can obscure any scientific enterprise, inconsistent results across studies are bound to occur. How are we to decide what is true? Let's turn to philosophy for a reasonable answer. The mathematician-philosopher Bertrand Russell approached a similar problem in his monograph The Problems of Philosophy (Russell B, 1912). He addressed the following question: How do we know that anything is "real"? Is the only reality subjective and simply in our minds, as Bishop Berkley challenged, or can we mostly believe the objective reality? His pragmatic answer: All possibilities may be true, but when the preponderance of evidence indicates that objective reality and knowledge are the most probable case, go with it. If the preponderance of all evidence about the clinical description of fibromyalgia and it's pathogenic mechanisms and treatment strategies indicate a highly probable interrelated hypothesis, go with it. The direction of the literature on the whole trumps the less likely tangents. At the same time, remember Bertrand Russell and his pragmatic answer, and keep an open mind.

This issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics, guest edited by Dr. John Davis, will discuss Cancer and Rheumatic Diseases. This issue is one of four selected each year by series Consulting Editor, Dr. Michael Weisman. Topics discussed in this issue include, but are not limited to: rheumatic drugs and malignancy potential, biologic drugs and cancer, methotrexate and cancer, managing rheumatoid arthritis with cancer, Sjogren's Syndrome and cancer, lupus and cancer, scleroderma and cancer, cancer and spondylarthritis, and cancer immunotherapy.

This issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics, guest edited by Dr. Maripat Corr, will discuss Pain in Rheumatic Diseases. This issue is one of four selected each year by series Consulting Editor, Dr. Michael Weisman. Topics discussed in this issue include, but are not limited to: Pain mechanisms in patients with rheumatic diseases, The back-pain assessment and treatment in clinical practice, Basic mechanisms of pain in osteoarthritis – experimental observations, NGF promise for management of pain in OA – clinical and experimental aspects, Pivotal role of pain in the lupus patient – cause or effect of poor outcomes, Cannabinoids-hope or hype for pain, Sex differences in Models of pain, Neuropathic pain in AS, and Relationship between inflammation and pain – RA as a model.

Some people with psoriasis can also develop psoriatic arthritis, when the immune system attacks the joints as well, causing inflammation. Like psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis symptoms flare and subside, vary from person to person, and even change locations in the same person over time. Psoriatic arthritis can affect any joint in the body, and it may affect just one joint, several joints or multiple joints. For example, it may affect one or both knees. This issue will include articles on Genetic and Epigenetic aspects of psoriatic arthritis, Clinical features and diagnostic considerations in psoriatic arthritis, Natural history, prognosis and socioeconomic aspects of psoriatic arthritis, Etiology and pathogenesis of psoriasis and many more!

Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Diagnosis and Screening. The editors have built Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Diagnosis and Screening in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

This issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics, guest edited by Dr. Alfred Kim and Zahi Touma, will discuss a number of key topics surrounding Lupus. This issue is one of four selected each year by series Consulting Editor, Dr. Michael Weisman. Topics discussed in this issue include, but are not limited to: Interferons in SLE, NETosis and neutrophils in SLE, AMP update in lupus nephritis, Patient-reported outcomes, Complement, T cells in SLE, B cells in SLE, Outcome measures for SLE clinical trials, Mitochondrial physiology in SLE, Pregnancy, Lupus cohorts, Innovative trials and new opportunities in SLE, Classification and diagnosis of SLE, and Updates on SLE Treatment.

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyBrief™ that delivers timely, authoritative, comprehensive, and specialized information about Genetics in a concise format. The editors have built Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Genetics in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Musculoskeletal Diseases: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Diagnosis and Screening. The editors have built Musculoskeletal Diseases: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Diagnosis and Screening in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Musculoskeletal Diseases: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.