title: Research in complex diseases.
abstract: Many diseases that have a substantial effect on health have a complex pathogenesis. Examples are atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we discuss a hierarchy of goals of research in complex diseases, and introduce a stepwise approach for the development of disease models, paying specific attention to the position of genetic factors and stochastic variables in these models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands. N.deVries@medonline.nl
authors.forename: Niek
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: Piet L C M
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: van Riel
authors.forename: Leo B A
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: van de Putte
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000209:etiology*; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D012107:Research Design