Main description:

Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs) are often still poorly understood and always difficult to manage, however, they are now starting to become increasingly recognised. A CTD is any disease that has the connective tissues of the body as a primary target of pathology, and since these types of tissue include any kind of biological tissue with an extensive extra-cellular matrix that supports, binds together or protects organs, CTDs can prove constantly problematic. Many connective tissue diseases feature abnormal immune system activity, with inflammation in tissues as a result of an immune system that is directed against one's own body tissues (autoimmunity). Connective tissue diseases can be sometimes caused by environmental factors, and can also have strong or weak inheritance risks.

CTDs can be very severe in individuals of Afro-Caribbean or South-East Asian origin, therefore there is a very large market opening up for the management of these diseases in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Indian sub-continent. There is currently no compact handbook available on the diagnosis and subsequent management of these diseases, and so given the prevalence of CTDs in pockets around the whole world, there is potentially an extensive global market.

Rather than focusing on rheumatogists already familiar with CTD, the book would be aimed more at the general clinician and practitioner, equipping them to handle the requirements of the unique treatment, as well as rheumatologist trainees and nurses wishing to specialise.

Contents:

1 Introduction to Connective Tissue Diseases.- 2 Individual CTDs (SLE, Sjogrens syndrome, Poly/dermatomyositis, Scleroderma, Overlap syndromes, Antiphospholipid syndrome).- 3 Common Clinical Problems By Organ System (Renal, Brain, Heart, Lungs, Infection).- 4 Shared treatments (corticosteriods, steroid-sparing agents e.g. azathioprine, methotrexate etc, Immunospuressives, Cyclophosphamide, Rituximab).