Low-dose glucocorticoids in rheumatic diseases: introduction.

The Editor of Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, Stefano Bombardieri, and the Co-Editors of this volume – Johannes W.J. Bijlsma, Jürgen Braun, Frank Buttgereit, Maurizio Cutolo, and Theodore Pincus – are pleased to present the 13th annual Supplement of Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology concerning Contemporary Topics in Rheumatic Diseases entitled “Low-dose Glucocorticoids in Rheumatic Diseases”. This Supplement and previous annual supplements are directed to provide summaries of the latest scholarly research on an important contemporary topic for the rheumatology community, independent of commercial interests. The supplements are available on the Internet without charge at www.clinexprheumatol.org. Previous supplements include: Volume 17 (1999) – Combination DMARD therapy in rheumatoid arthritis Volume 18 (2000) – Bone mass in the rheumatic diseases Volume 19 (2001) – Controversies in COX-2 inhibitor therapy Volume 20 (2002) – Innovative therapies for spondyloarthritides Volume 21 (2003) – Early arthritis Volume 22 (2004) – Benefit/risk of new drugs for rheumatoid arthritis Volume 23 (2005) – Quantitative clinical assessment of rheumatic diseases Volume 24 (2006) – Remission in rheumatic diseases Volume 25 (2007) – Quality of Care in Rheumatology: Opportunities and Challenges Volume 26 (2008) – Mortality in Rheumatic Diseases Volume 27 (2009) – A Systematic Comparison between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis Volume 28 (2010) – Methotrexate in Rheumatic Diseases The current Supplement concerning glucocorticoids in rheumatic diseases is designed to fill in important gaps in the literature, based on the following themes: