Written by a world-renowned expert in rheumatology this book serves as a refresher for GPs and hospital doctors containing practical diagnostic and treatment advice.

Reviews clinical developments and guidelines, and places them into everyday clinical practice

Stresses the importance of early and aggressive treatment

Concise but comprehensive whilst being loaded with illustrations including imaging examples all presented in pocket sized format

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common and serious inflammatory arthritis, resulting in joint destruction, functional impairment and increased mortality.  The outcome of the disease, however, has improved considerably in recent years with the availability of effective therapies and the recognition that early intensive treatment strategies result in better outcomes.

This book has been designed to increase physician awareness of the importance of early and intensive treatment a key pharmaceutical strategy in rheumatoid arthritis.

Paul Emery is Arthritis Research Campaign Professor of Rheumatology and Head of the Academic Unit of Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Leeds, as well as Clinical Director (Rheumatology) at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust in the United Kingdom. He graduated in medicine from the University of Cambridge and completed specialist accreditation in internal medicine and rheumatology. He completed his thesis on the immunopathology of rheumatoid arthritis at Guys Hospital, and then served as Head of Rheumatology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. He was senior lecturer in rheumatology at the University of Birmingham, UK from 19871995 until his present appointment.

Professor Emery has served as a member of several education committees including the Senior Advisory Committees of the Royal College of Physicians, the MRCP Part 1 Board. He is currently the President of EULAR, a past member of the Scientific Committee and Chairs the MRI imaging group. He has served on the editorial boards of several journals, includingRheumatology, Arthritisand Rheumatism, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Clinical and ExperimentalRheumatology, Clinical RheumatologyandModern Rheumatology (JapaneseRheumatology Association Journal).

He is a recipient of the Roche Biennial Award of Clinical Rheumatology, the Rheumatology Hospital Doctor of the Year award 1999 and the EULAR prize 2002 for outstanding contribution to Rheumatology research. Professor Emerys research interests centre around the immunopathogenesis and immunotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis and connective tissue diseases. He has a special interest in the factors leading to persistent inflammation. He has published over 650 peer-reviewed articles in this area.