By Anca Askanase, MD, as told to Hallie Levine
Ankylosing spondylitis can be a devastating disease. But the good news is that the future is brighter than ever before. Here’s why I’m so optimistic.
We Have Better Diagnosis Tools
Doctors — including primary care physicians — are now more educated about ankylosing spondylitis. So patients are getting diagnosed earlier, which improves their prognosis. Oftentimes, patients in the initial stages of disease won’t have any signs of inflammation of the sacroiliac joints — the joints that connect the spine to the pelvic bone — on an X-ray.
But doctors can now test for the human…
