Jacques Forestier: Forgotten Contributions of a Rheumatologist to Spine Surgery.

Jacques Forestier (1890-1978) was a well-known rheumatologist and radiologist whose innovations have revolutionized spinal neurosurgery and rheumatology. He was well known as "Doctor Lipiodol" for his accidental discovery of spinal myelography, which he later extrapolated for use in many body cavities and their pathologies. He was the first to describe "senile ankylosing hyperostosis of the spine," which was later renamed "diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis." Furthermore, he is credited with the first use of gold salts as a disease-modifying therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. We have presented a historical vignette to chronicle the life of Jacques Forestier and his contributions to the field of spinal neurosurgery.

Charles Burstein, MD: First Director of Anesthesiology at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Charles L. Burstein was the first departmental Director and Chief of Anesthesiology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He joined the staff in 1937, when the hospital was still known by its original name of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled. In 1940, it was renamed The Hospital for Special Surgery. Burstein, an early disciple of Emery Rovenstine, accomplished much to advance the Department of Anesthesiology through academic collaborations, education, clinical specialization, and research. He laid the groundwork for the future success of a department that continues to thrive to this day in clinical and academic orthopedic anesthesia.

Landmark papers on the discovery of methotrexate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other systemic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a fascinating story.

This review highlights the story of how methotrexate (MTX), a drug discovered for the treatment of childhood leukemia, became the mainstay of treatment and the standard-of-care for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and was also found useful for several additional related rheumatological diseases. As against several synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) for treating RA that were discovered serendipitously, the use of low-dose MTX (LD-MTX) was based on sound reasoning and astute observations made in the 1940s and 1950s. The difference between high-dose MTX (HD-MTX) used in the treatment of childhood leukaemia and other malignancies as against LD-MTX used in rheumatology is emphasized.

[Pharmacotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis in the early 21st century: Russian and international experience].

The paper summarizes the data of international and Russian studies concerning current approaches to the pharmacotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis. Particular emphasis is placed on the substantiation of the treat-to-target concept, on the efficacy and safety of genetically engineered biological agents, including the inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6 receptors, T-lymphocyte co-stimulation, and anti-B-cell therapy.

Visión general de la reumatología en Chile / Overview of the rheumatology in Chile

El inicio de la Reumatología en nuestro país data del año 1873 con la primera publicación dedicada a la especialidad, pero no es hasta el año 1944 con la creación de la primera clínica en que la Reumatología nace formalmente. El segundo hito es la creación de la Sociedad Chilena de Reumatología en 1950, que desde esa fecha se ha preocupado de mantener actualizada a la comunidad científica y como apoyo constante a los pacientes. Desde el punto de vista de las patologías observadas son diferentes las frecuencias en complejos de atención primaria versus complejos de atención terciaria. En el año 2007 se incorpora el sistema Auge, que otorga a pacientes con algunas patologías reumatológicas garantías de atención y tratamiento, incluyendo biológicos en algunos casos. Se intenta en este artículo dar una revisión general a la historia y actualidad reumatológica chilena.

The start of Rheumatology in our country dates back to 1873 with the first publication devoted to the specialty, but not until 1944 with the creation of the first clinic in Rheumatology that the specialty formally born, the 2nd milestone was the creation of the Chilean Society of Rheumatology in 1950 which since then, has been concerned for keeping the scientific community update and give an ongoing support to patients. From the point of view of the observed diseases there are different frequencies when we compare the primary care vs. tertiary care health systems. In 2007 the AUGE system starts. This system gives to patients with specific rheumatologic diseases warranty of attention and treatment, including biologics therapies in some cases. We attempted in this paper give an overview of the history and current Chilean Rheumatology.

[A dermatologist and a rheumatologist define a syndrome. George Thibierge (1856-1926), Raymond J. Weissenbach (1885-1963)]. / Ein Dermatologe und ein Rheumatologe definieren ein Syndrom: Georges Thibierge (1856-1926), Raymond J. Weissenbach (1885-1963).

For decades, G. Thibierge and R.J. Weissenbach worked at the Hôpital St. Louis in Paris, one of the first and largest dermatological centers.In 1911 they described the occurrence of subcutaneous calcification in scleroderma patients, emphasizing that this was not a coincidental finding, but rather a causal link. Since then this syndrome has been given their names worldwide.Thibierge gave his attention solely to dermatology and venereology. Weissenbach initially concentrated on the overlapping areas between dermatology and rheumatology, such as gonococcal arthritis, joint disease in Lues and psoriatic arthritis. He later dealt with all areas of rheumatology, set up a large rheuma clinic at the hospital, wrote a series of authoritative books and a considerable number of individual papers. Thus he became a rheumatologist even before the specialty rheumatology existed.

[Historical review of rheumatology and future directions].

Rheumatic diseases are suggested to be recognized 2400 years ago, but little progress had been made in distinguishing specific diseases until the 17th century. After the two decades, the concept of rheumatic diseases was established and followed by the new concept of autoimmune diseases in the 20th century. Many key drugs for rheumatic diseases, such as glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants, were developed in the 1940s and 1950s. Their effect, toxicity and limitations have been investigated for fifty years. On the other hand, new treatment strategy was developed. Advances in genetics and molecular cell biology in the 1980s brought us the discovery of many cytokines and chemokines and elucidated the role of these molecules in autoimmune diseases. These progresses have led to the development of a number of biological agents for the rheumatic diseases during past decade. Among these drugs, TNF blockade showed the remarkable effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis and this success indicated the new treatment era. However, compared to the simplicity of target molecules in monoclonal antibody therapy, biological effects are more complex. Therefore, we must keep in mind the possibility of the appearance of unexpected adverse effects such as TGN1412. This review presents a history of rheumatology and discusses future directions of basic and clinical research for rheumatic diseases.