To mark its 10th anniversary, Arthritis Research & Therapy is publishing a comprehensive collection of review articles, entitled “The Scientific Basis of Rheumatology: A Decade of Progress”. Part 1 of this special issue has now been published online.

This special collection of reviews will provide an in depth overview of the current status of basic and clinical research in rheumatology, and will focus particularly on developments in the past decade, during which there has been an explosion of new information in this field. Half of the reviews will focus on biologic processes underlying rheumatic diseases and the other half will analyze developments in specific rheumatic diseases.Featuring 40 reviews by renowned experts, this collection will provide both researchers and clinicians with a comprehensive understanding of current knowledge on the scientific basis of rheumatology and should become an essential reference in the field.

Part 1 of The Scientific Basis of Rheumatology: A Decade of Progress, comprises:

Introducing Arthritis Research & Therapy‘s 10th anniversary issue
Peter E Lipsky & Ravinder N Maini

Biology and methodology
Epigenetic modifications in rheumatoid arthritis
Steffen Gay & Thomas Pap

Cell signalling in macrophages, the principal innate immune effector cells of rheumatoid arthritis
Brian Foxwell

Mesenchymal stem cells in arthritic diseases
Rocky Tuan

Vascular involvement in rheumatic diseases: ‘vascular rheumatology’
Alisa Koch

What magnetic resonance imaging has told us about the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis – the first 50 years
Dennis McGonagle

Stem cell transplantation for rheumatic autoimmune diseases
Jacob van Laar

Specific rheumatic diseases
Developments in the scientific understanding of lupus
David Pisetsky

Developments in the scientific and clinical understanding of gout
Alex So

Developments in the scientific and clinical understanding of inflammatory myopathies
Ingrid Lundberg

Each part of this special issue is freely available immediately on publication without a subscription, along with all editorials, letters and research articles published in the journal. Reviews in the regular journal issues published more than 6 months previously are also available to non-subscribers. A free 30-day online trial subscription is available via the website.