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Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic autoimmune disease
In this disease, the immune system attacks the joints of the spine in particular and the sacroiliac joints in the pelvis
In some patients it will also affect the eye or colon causing inflammation in these organs
The most important symptoms are neck and back pain with stiffness in the morning
Patients will also complain of pain at night while turning in bed
It is a little bit more common in males and usually starts in late teen years. However, diagnosis is often delayed to mid or late twenties or maybe even later than that.
The earlier the diagnosis the better the outcome
Physical exercise relieves many of the symptoms of the disease
Treatments plans consist of patient education, physical therapy and exercise, painkillers from a family of medications called NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications). If patients do not respond to NSAIDs, they will need to be started on biological medications

This article was written by Dr. Hatem Eleishi, professor of rheumatology at Cairo university (Egypt).

To watch Dr. Hatem’s videos about ankylosing spondylitis, kindly click on this link:

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