Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on July 31, 2006
Rheumatology 2006 45(10):1183-1184; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kel251
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
EDITORIALS |
Neck problems in rheumatoid arthritis—changing disease patterns, surgical treatments and patients' expectations
Victor Horsley Department of Neurosurgery, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
Correspondence to: Mr David Choi, Internal Box 3, Victor Horsley Department of Neurosurgery, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. E-mail: david.choi@uclh.nhs.uk
| The first 10% of the full text of this article appears below. |
Rheumatoid arthritis affects 0.5–1% of the Caucasian population; however, the incidence around the world varies considerably with some North American Indians having an incidence of 5–7% and the disease being almost unheard of in South Africa and Nigeria [1]. It has not always been seen in Europe; there is little evidence of its prevalence before Renoir's self portrait and Garrod's descriptions about 120 yrs ago [2, 3].
The polyarthropathy of rheumatoid arthritis affects the joints of the spine, and particularly the upper cervical spine. A rare but devastating complication is the development of progressive neurological disability leading ultimately to paralysis and a lingering death. In the early days, this complication was under-diagnosed and disability was
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