title: Interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-5: a potential therapeutic target for ankylosing spondylitis.
abstract: Ankylosing spondylitis is a common inflammatory rheumatic disease that affects the axial skeleton, causing characteristic inflammatory back pain, which can lead to structural and functional impairments and a decrease in quality of life. New imaging techniques and therapies have substantially changed the management of this disease in the past decade. Whether inhibition of radiographic progression and structural damage can be reached with available drugs is as yet unclear. Furthermore, treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and physiotherapy remains an important approach to long-term management of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. The new treatment options with IRF-5 seem to be a breakthrough for patients' refractory to conventional and feasible treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui 230032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wang-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Dong-Qing
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D050835:Interferon Regulatory Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; C431713:IRF5 protein, human; D050835:Interferon Regulatory Factors