IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an increasingly recognized and novel systemic inflammatory disorder characterized by tumefactive lesions with infiltrating IgG4-positive plasma cells. The disease affects virtually every organ system. Immunologically, plasmablasts increase in patients with IgG4-RD in which activation and dysregulation of B cells may be involved. Accurate characterization by a method using various modalities and immunological evaluation including plain radiography, ultrasound, CT, scintigraphy, MRI and flow cytometry should be required. Comprehensively, we review and illustrate the systemic and organ-specific findings of IgG4-RD. This book shows a systematic and organ-specific evaluation of immunological and radiological findings for general practitioners. Moreover, the book is also interesting for the subspecialists including rheumatologists, dermatologists, otologists, respiratory physicians, clinical immunologists and radiologists, and patients and their families because patients with IgG4-RD visits every subspecialist by the tremendous various clinical symptoms and findings. The study in the book included 147 patients with IgG4-RD who visited Saga University Hospital from 1 January 2001 to 31 March 2020. Although the number of patients studied in this monograph was not so large, the patients evaluated and treated by a single institution are considered clinically valuable.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is one of the prototypical systemic autoimmune diseases characterised by inflammation, immune complex deposition, and vasculitis. Patients with SLE show various symptoms and clinical images, both constitutional and specific organ symptoms. They include the skin, joints, muscles, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and blood vessels. Although the aetiology of the disease is still unclear, genetic, hormonal, immunologic abnormalities and environmental factors complicatedly play important roles in the pathophysiology in SLE. It is evident that multiple genes show genetic susceptibility to SLE. Environmental factors of SLE and immunologic abnormalities, especially the production of a number of auto-antibody, are important features of the disease. In this book, we present recent knowledge about the prevalence, pathophysiology and prognosis of SLE. The book includes various interesting chapters: Chapter One: An illustrated overview of the prevalence and clinical symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus; Chapter Two: Pathophysiology of systemic lupus erythematosus; Chapter Three: MBL and MBL genotypes in SLE; Chapter Four: Novel biological activities of autoantibodies as the potential markers of systematic lupus erythematosus; Chapter Five: Cytokines in systemic lupus erythematosus (sle) with clinical aspects and prognostics; Chapter Six: Prognosis in systemic lupus erythematosus; Chapter Seven: Auto-antibody-producing RP105-negative B cells in humans and a murine model of lupus erythematosus.

Hand radiography is usually the first step in the evaluation of arthritis. With hundreds of high-quality images, this work provides a simplified but high-quality diagnostic interpretation of hand radiography, for residents in training and experienced physicians, who wish to improve their knowledge of contemporary rheumatology, according to the rapid progress of treatment using biologic agents and various new diagnostics tools, including MRI and ultrasound. Topics discussed include arthritis in Behcet's disease; adult onset Still's disease; osteonecrosis in lupus; seronegative spondyloarthropathies; gout; and systemic sclerosis.