Ankylosing Spondylitis is a rheumatic disease which affects the spine. It can also affect the joints of limbs and tissues in other parts of the body.The condition is characterised by inflammation in the spinal joints followed by healing which results in additional bone growing from both sides of the joint eventually encircling it. This means that the joint is immobilised (ankylosed).

There is an association between a certain genetic marker (HLA B27) and the development of Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis is characterised by an insidious onset usually between twenty to twenty-five years (though it can be earlier), of early morning stiffness and pain. Symptoms may improve with exercise. Pain is not always associated with the spine: it may affect the chest, buttocks or elsewhere. Early diagnosis, treatment and special exercises can mitigate the effects of the condition.

Inheritance patterns
Ankylosing spondylitis is virtually confined (in Britain) to those with the white cell blood antigen HLA B27, (seven to ten per cent of the population). However, only one fifth of those will develop the disease. The chance of children of an affected person developing the disease is between five per cent and thirty per cent.

Prenatal diagnosis
None at present.

Medical text written November 1991 by Contact a Family. Approved November 1991 by Professor M Patton, Professor of Medical Genetics, St Georges Hospital Medical School, London, UK and Dr J E Wraith, Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester, UK. Last updated April 2000 by Dr A Calin (retired - formerly Consultant Rheumatologist, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic diseases, Bath, UK. Last reviewed October 2004 by Dr R Jacoby, Consultant Rheumatologist, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK.

Further Online Resources
Medical texts in The Contact a Family Directory are designed to give a short, clear description of specific conditions and rare disorders. More extensive information on this condition can be found on a range of reliable, validated web sites and links to them are included in the CD-ROM version of this Directory. Further information on these resources can be found in our Medical Information on the Internet article.

NATIONAL ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS SOCIETY

National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS)
Unit 0.2
1 Victoria Villas
Richmond
TW9 2GW
Tel: 020 8948 9117
Fax: 020 8940 7736
e-mail: admin@nass.co.uk
Web: http://www.nass.co.uk

The Society is a National Registered Charity No. 272258 and was, established in 1975. It offers mutual support through a network of local branches throughout the UK providing group physiotherapy and support for people with medical/social problems. Activities include an occasional symposium. It publishes a twice yearly membership journal and has a wide range of information available, details on request. The Society has around 8,000 members.

Group details last updated April 2007.