[An era of international collaboration in pediatric rheumatology].
Since pediatric rheumatology diseases are rare, multicenter and even international collaboration is necessary to perform meaningful research. Multicenter research can enable rapid enrollment of sufficient numbers of patients for studies of epidemiology, diagnostic and classification criteria, genetic disease predisposition, pathogenesis, outcome and treatment protocols. In the last 20 years the vision of few has become a reality of collaboration of several hundred centers around the world in pediatric rheumatology research. In this paper we will describe the evolution of this international collaboration and important research findings that resulted from key international studies on the major pediatric rheumatology diseases.
Pediatric Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. uziely@zahav.net.il
Yosef
Y
Uziel
Pinchas
P
Hashkes
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002648:Child; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000458:organization & administration; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000458:organization & administration