Volume 13 Issue 3, March 2017

Positioned at the crossroads of TNF, IL-1 and Toll-like receptor signalling cascades and cytokine-driven chromatin remodelling, TAK1 is emerging as a new therapeutic target in rheumatoid arthritis.

The treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc) is complex as multiple organs are frequently involved and treatment is either for overall disease modification or is organ specific. EULAR has updated its treatment recommendations for SSc, reflecting data from some new trials. However, some features of SSc are not included.

The PRECISION trial demonstrates that celecoxib is noninferior to ibuprofen and naproxen in regard to cardiovascular safety. Do these findings mark the end of the debate on this issue, or do aspects of the trial mean the implications for clinical practice are not clear-cut?

New guidelines from EULAR and the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society recommend a set of quality standards for the care of young adults with childhood-onset rheumatic diseases during their transfer from paediatric to adult rheumatology care providers. Can the application of these guidelines prevent patients from getting lost in the system?

Ectopic lymphoid structures have been identified in the target organs of a subset of patients with rheumatic autoimmune diseases. This Review describes these structures and summarizes our current understanding of how they form, function and contribute to autoimmunity.

Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) is a pleiotropic cytokine that is important in the regulation of joint homeostasis and disease. In this Review, the changing role of TGFβ in normal joint homeostasis, ageing and osteoarthritis is discussed.

Innate lymphoid cells are important players in the innate immune response, and might also contribute to inflammatory diseases. This Review discusses what is known about these cells and how they might be targeted in future therapies for these diseases.

Metabolomics and genomics approaches have produced huge amounts of data from patient samples, creating many research opportunities. In this Review, the authors discuss how these datasets can be brought together to enrich our knowledge of rheumatic diseases.

Current osteoarthritis therapies cannot sufficiently target cartilage and guarantee a biological response owing to limitations in the delivery methods. This Perspectives article discusses how electrostatic interactions can be utilized to increase drug penetration and retention in cartilage to provide sustained intra-tissue delivery.