Volume 11 Issue 11, November 2015

Defining key advances in any medical discipline can be challenging, but is especially so in rheumatology—a rapidly advancing field so broad that it defies traditional classifications. Here, we approach the Sisyphean task of summarizing the translational advances in rheumatology in the past decade within several broad categories of basic research.

The study of rheumatic diseases that affect children has thrived in the past 10 years. A look at several important advances in this area illustrates how organized collaborations and advanced technologies are contributing to the understanding and, ultimately, to improving the treatment of these disorders.

Technological advances over the past decade have revolutionized many areas of rheumatology, ranging from diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic development to the mechanistic understanding of rheumatic diseases. This overview highlights key technological innovations and discusses the major impact that these developments are having on research and clinical practice.

In the past 10 years, the rheumatology community has seen an explosion in the number of new therapies licensed for use across the rheumatic diseases, many with outstanding clinical success. Here, the drugs and strategies that constitute landmarks in the management of rheumatic diseases are highlighted.

Epidemiological research—the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in populations—relies on knowledge of different data sources, solid study designs and the accurate interpretation of study results. Understanding the methodology of population and clinical epidemiology studies is vital for the study of the distribution and determinants of outcomes in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) share many pathophysiological mechanisms. Central mechanisms predominate in both disorders, although peripheral mechanisms such as neurogenic neuroinflammation also contribute to their clinical features, albeit to differing degrees. This article discusses the evidence suggesting that neurogenic neuroinflammation is an important and potentially targetable link between the two disorders.

This comprehensive overview brings together the latest data on the epidemiology of gout in various parts of the world. The authors discuss regional and temporal patterns in gout prevalence and incidence as well as known risk factors for the disease.

Ultraviolet light, immune cells, cytokines and deposition of immunoglobulins all seem to have a role in the development of skin lesions in SLE. This Review discusses recent advances in understanding of the cellular, cytokine and molecular processes underlying the cutaneous manifestations of SLE, focussing on processes or molecules that could potentially be exploited therapeutically.

Inflammation can be initiated by exogenous pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) or by endogenous damage-associated molecular patters (DAMPs), but the contribution of each activation mechanism to reduction–oxidation (redox) stress and, ultimately, to the immunopathogenesis of autoinflammatory diseases remains elusive. In this Review, Varga and colleagues discuss how improved knowledge of mechanisms of inflammation initiation and propagation might help identify new therapeutic targets for patients with autoinflammatory diseases.

November 2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of Nature Reviews Rheumatology, originally published under the title ofNature Clinical Practice Rheumatology. To celebrate this milestone, we have commissioned a collection of articles to summarize the major advances in rheumatology over the past decade. These articles, together with a special infographic, provide an authoritative snapshot of rheumatology in 2015 and how the field might progress over the next 10 years.