Rheumatoid arthritis viewed using a headache paradigm 英文参考文献.docVIP

/content/2/3/169 Commentary Rheumatoid arthritis viewed using a headache paradigm Rikard Holmdahl Lund University, Lund, Sweden Received: 4 February 2000 Accepted: 1 March 2000 Published: 6 April 2000 Arthritis Res 2000,2:169–171 ? Current Science Ltd Abstract Results and new hypotheses in animal models often stimulate development of new paradigms in how we view rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The complexity of RA does, however, eventually lead to the rejection of these hypotheses. Here, it is argued that the large number of so-far described animal models, when taken together, also reveals a complex disease. Fortunately, detailed study of each of the animal models will reveal this complexity, and may also be helpful in elucidating the complexity of the human disease. Benoist and Mathis [1] recently contributed a new animal model in which an autoimmune response to a ubiquitous antigen leads to an antibody-mediated inflammatory attack in the joints. It is argued that this new model, as with other animal models, is unlikely to explain RA, but it will add to the tools available to reveal the complexity of RA. Keywords: animal models, genetics, pathogenic antibodies, rheumatoid arthritis Introduction Need for variety of animal models RA as diagnosed by the American Rheumatism College (ARC) criteria is a common disease, estimated to affect 0.5 to 1% of the world’s population. Its relatively high fre- quency is evidence of a complex etiology and pathogene- sis. RA is probably not one disease but, rather, a syndrome caused by several widely different pathologic processes. In this respect, RA could be likened to headache. No one would seriously think of trying to find a single explanation for headache. Rather, widely divergent causes, such as stress, migraine, or brain tumors, would quite rapidly be seen to be associated with quite different diseases. Similarly, it