This autobiography chronicles the life and career of Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos, an internationally renowned professor of medicine and prolific researcher on Sjoegren's syndrome and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. In language that is simple and direct, he takes us on a fascinating journey from the days of his first scientific awakenings at a hospital in his native town of Ioannina, Greece, through his university years in Athens and training in the U.S., to his eventual return to his homeland. In Greece, he developed two centers of excellence in his field, first at the newly founded University of Ioannina Medical School Department of Internal Medicine and, second, at the Athens University Medical School, Department of Pathophysiology, where he taught until his retirement in 2011. Along the way, he introduces us to his teachers and mentors, and to the colleagues and students he mentored in turn, many of whom went on to assume high-ranking positions in Greece and abroad. A major theme throughout the book is his impassioned struggle for excellence, meritocracy, and transparency in universities and in the National Health System in Greece. Peppered with both amusing and unsettling incidents from this lifelong crusade to raise professional standards and against misconduct, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about or entering the medical profession.

I have been a student of Sjogren's syndrome for virtually all of my professional life. My education in this disease began in 1962 when I arrived at the National Institutes of Health to begin a Clinical Asso- ciateship with Dr. Joseph J. Bunim. Bunim introduced me to a pat- ient with Sjogren's syndrome of 8 years duration who had devel- oped malignant lymphoma 6 months previously. He told me that there were other such patients. I obtained serum samples from these patients and studied them by the then new technique of immuno- electrophoresis. We observed that an initial hypergammaglobulin- emia could progressively decline to hypogammaglobulinemia with loss of autoantibodies. One patient in this initial series had macrog- lobulinemia. We published this report and suggested that the auto- immunity predisposed to the malignant transformation. Thus began my love affair with this disease. In those days many rheumatologists considered Sjogren's syn- drome simply a variant of rheumatoid arthritis. It's curious that two decades ago there was little confusion between Sjogren's syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus, whereas today there is great con- fusion. There is still a great need for internationally agreed upon di- agnostic criteria, which merely illustrates once again the difficulty of accurate diagnosis in our profession. The multidisciplinary aspects of Sjogren's syndrome require au- thorities in several areas of medicine. The various chapter contribu- tors are experts in their field and have often put aside other respon- sibilities to complete their contributions and not delay publication.

Immunology and Rheumatology in Questions, 2nd Edition addresses through short and concise questions-and-answers (Q&As) on one hand all major aspects of basic clinical and laboratory immunology necessary for understanding underlying immunological mechanisms of autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The majority however of Q&As in this book presents in a laconic way definitions, pathogenetic aspects, clinical and laboratory manifestations, differential diagnosis and the management of all categories of rheumatic diseases including systemic autoimmune, autoinflammatory, metabolic and degenerative. Furthermore, in separate sections of this manual Q&As addressing rheumatic manifestations from other organ systems are included. Finally, a chapter is devoted to treatment of rheumatic diseases analyzing indications and side-effects of different therapeutic modalities with illustrations and diagrams utilized throughout the book to present the information in a clear and schematic way. In this fully revised second edition, more than 120 new Q&As have been added and the answers to more than 90 Q&As has been modified after having critically incorporated all new knowledge generated in the past three years in the field of rheumatology, in an effort to bridge classical and current evidence-based knowledge and to present didactic and credible information. This book is valuable to test and acquire knowledge not only for rheumatologists but for every specialist in internal medicine, family practice, physical/rehabilitation medicine and orthopedic surgery.