September 25, 2025 • 14 mins
Ankylosing Spondylitis: What is it? What causes it? How do we diagnose it? In this episode, we explore the history of ankylosing spondylitis, along with the symptoms you might experience and the current treatment methods. Tune in to learn more!
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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anatomyofillness/anatomy-of-illness-podcast
Check out our website: https://anatomyofillness.com/
Or pick up some stylish merch: https://merchanatomy.com/
Support us on Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/anatomyofix
Resources:
Arthritis Foundation (US): https://www.arthritis.org/
National Axial Spondyloarthritis society (UK): https://nass.co.uk/
Arthritis Australia: https://arthritisaustralia.com.au/
References:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049017224002518
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9345125/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ankylosing-spondylitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354808
https://www.healthcentral.com/article/famous-performers-who-have-as
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1082619/
https://www.webmd.com/ankylosing-spondylitis/features/alicia-graf-mack-ankylosing-spondylitis
https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/ankylosing-spondylitis
https://arthritisaustralia.com.au/types-of-arthritis/ankylosing-spondylitis/
*This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you suspect you have a medical condition, please seek out an opinion of a medical professional.*
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You find that your morning stiffness
(00:01):
has been worsening lately,
especially in your lower back and hips.
Your back pain has been progressively worsening,
but with the warmer weather, it should be getting better.
You feel as if your posture
has been getting worse and worse lately.
No matter how hard you try to stand straight,
you find yourself hunched over throughout the day.
With all of this constant pain, you feel exhausted.
No matter how much you rest,
(00:23):
the tiredness just never goes away.
Today, you have noticed a strange new symptom.
Everything is blurry, and it feels as if the world
is just too bright.
You struggle to keep your eyes open as the light hurts.
You tell your wife, and she looks into your eyes.
She tells you that your eyes look really red and painful.
Because of this, she decides to take you to the doctor.
(00:58):
Hello and Welcome to Anatomy Of Illness.
Today's episode is about ankylosing spondylitis.
Before we get into the condition,
we are going to start with the history.
So why do we know ankylosing spondylitis exists?
Before we jump into the episode,
just a reminder that this is our last episode of the season,
and potentially our last ever episode,
as the second season is based on our Kickstarter campaign.
(01:18):
So be sure to check that out
in the link in the episode description.
Now, onto the history.
We actually begin in the prehistoric times,
outside of our own species.
And today, we will be examining several dinosaurs,
including the cave bear, the diplodocus,
the polcanthus foxi, and of course, the saber-toothed tiger.
Now, with these four species,
there have been examples of lesions that appear similar
(01:41):
to human ankylosing spondylitis lesions.
But considering we are unable
to run a prehistoric vet clinic,
as this is not some form of Jurassic Park,
we do not know the cause of these lesions.
Whether they are age-related, a normal part of development,
or caused by an unknown disease is not an answer we have.
Now, let us move into the human experience,
(02:01):
which we first see occurring around 1,500 BC
in ancient Egypt, as this is where the ancient mummies
with ossifications that resemble ankylosing spondylitis
date back to.
It is suggested that pharaohs like Ramses II
had some form of inflammatory spine disease,
which could potentially be this condition.
We also see these lesions in some mummified animals
(02:22):
around this time.
Now, we jump forward to Hippocrates between 460 to 370 BC
for a potential description of this condition.
In his description, he would state,
"The vertebrae of the neck and spine may be affected
with the pain, and it extends to the os sacrum."
There is no guarantee that this is a description
of ankylosing spondylitis,
(02:42):
as Hippocrates would not be using x-rays
to diagnose his patients.
They just weren't available back then.
We would also see comments coming from Caelius Aurelianus,
potentially describing the condition as well.
He would claim, "The patient is seized by pains
in the nates, moves slowly, and can only bend
or stand erect with difficulty."
Nates meaning night, most likely,
(03:03):
as this is when they most likely would have been relaxing
or just quiet and not moving as much.
There are also several other potential mentions
of ankylosing spondylitis, including one in the Bible
by Saint Luke.
This is in chapter 13, verses 10 to 13.
In this, it talks about a woman who was stuck
in a bent-over position for 18 years.
(03:24):
However, this one is less likely
due to the sudden healing of her case.
Now enough of the Bible and into the Italian Renaissance,
more specifically with a family known as the Medicis.
Their story beginning in 1839 with Cosimo Il Vecchio.
Now, if you enjoy history or drama TV shows,
then it is likely that you have heard of this family.
(03:45):
They were a powerful banking family
and political dynasty in Renaissance Italy.
However, they also were most likely
the first family-based case study
of ankylosing spondylitis.
This occurring in 1945 when four members
of the Medici family were removed
from their resting place and examined.
These four members were Cosimo Il Vecchio,
(04:05):
Piero Il Gottoso, Lorenzo Il Magnifico,
and Giuliano Duco de Nemours.
All four members of this family were incredibly sick
during life suffering from arthritic-type conditions.
However, Cosimo and Piero are more likely
than the other two to have had ankylosing spondylitis,
with the others more likely to have had some form
(04:26):
of rheumatic condition causing their arthritis symptoms.
So they all would have had some form of issue
with their joints and lived a painful life.
But anyway, moving away from the lovely times
of the Medicis and onto 1691 to meet with an Irish physician
by the name of Bernard Connor.
He would publish his thesis originally in French.
However, it would be translated into English later on.
(04:46):
In this thesis, he would describe a case
where the vertebral column,
along with one of the knees, had fused.
“So straightly and intimately joined,
their ligaments perfectly bony,
and their articulation so effaced
that they really made but one uniform continuous bone.”
We are going to jump forward to 1805.
This is when we would have the first potential case
of ankylosing spondylitis in America.
(05:08):
This case was an American by the name of Leonard Trask,
born in the year 1805.
However, this is not when he would first show symptoms.
No, this would occur in his 20s
after a horse riding accident.
This accident would cause a strange contortion of his spine.
This would lead to many attempts to cure his predicament,
along with several more accidents,
which would lead to him having a strange contorted posture
(05:30):
for the rest of his life.
This would be rather lucrative,
however, in the slideshow performance scene,
due to him losing his ability to be employed elsewhere
with his loss of mobility and function.
He would pass away in 1861 and is considered to be,
by some, the first person with ankylosing spondylitis
in America.
However, he was specifically never formally diagnosed
(05:50):
during his lifetime.
Now we move on to Sir Benjamin Brodie,
who lived between 1783 to 1862.
He was actually who the "Grey's Anatomy" book
is dedicated to.
Anyway, Sir Benjamin Brodie was an anatomist and surgeon
who would write and publish a book in 1850
by the name of "Pathological and Surgical Observations
on the Diseases of the Joints."
(06:11):
In this, he would be the first to describe
the typical pathological changes,
along with the clinical features you would see
in a case of ankylosing spondylitis,
along with its link to uveitis, which is an eye condition.
Now, jumping forward to 1893,
this is where we meet a prominent Russian neurologist,
Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev.
Now, Bekhterev's disease is another name for the condition,
(06:33):
as Bekhterev did contribute to the understanding
of the condition.
He was actually the person who recognised this condition
to be an inflammatory disease.
However, this is not the only thing he's known for.
He suggested the hippocampus's role in memory,
he founded an institute for brain research,
which was later named after him,
and he also suddenly and mysteriously died
a day after diagnosing Stalin with severe paranoia
(06:56):
in the year 1927.
But those can't be linked, can they?
But anyway, moving on.
Adolph Strümpell in 1897 and Pierre Marie in 1898
would also officially diagnose ankylosing spondylitis,
which is why the condition is also occasionally called
Bechterew-Strümpell-Marie disease.
What actually is ankylosing spondylitis?
So ankylosing spondylitis, or axial spondyloarthritis,
(07:19):
is an inflammatory disease.
This inflammation that we see with the condition
causes some of the bones, often in the spine, to fuse.
This fusing makes the spine less flexible
and can cause a hunched-over posture,
or if it is affecting the ribs,
it can make taking deep breaths difficult.
What actually causes ankylosing spondylitis?
When it comes to ankylosing spondylitis,
there is no exact cause that is known.
(07:41):
However, the condition does seem to be associated
with genetic risk factors, these being the HLA-B27 gene.
With this gene, not everyone who has it
will develop the condition,
but having it makes you more prone
to developing the condition.
Where in the body does ankylosing spondylitis affect?
When it comes to ankylosing spondylitis,
this condition most commonly affects
several areas in the body.
(08:02):
These include the joint between the base of the spine
and the pelvis, the vertebrae in the lower back,
the areas where the tendons and ligaments attach the bones.
This is predominantly seen in the spine.
However, we can see it along the back of the heels.
We can also see the condition in the cartilage
between the sternum and the ribs,
the sternum being the breastbone.
It is the large T-shaped bone in your chest
(08:23):
that the ribs attach to.
The condition can also affect the hip and shoulder joints.
How do we test for ankylosing spondylitis?
When it comes to diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis,
it may start with a physical examination,
including testing your spine's range of motion.
This is done by asking you to bend in various directions.
Your doctor may also press on parts of your pelvis
to see if it causes pain,
(08:43):
along with moving your legs into particular positions.
They may also ask for you to take a deep breath.
This is done to see if you have any difficulty
expanding your chest,
so if the condition is affecting your ribs.
Along with this, a doctor will order some tests.
These include imaging tests.
This can either be an X-ray or an MRI,
or sometimes even a CT scan.
When it can be seen on X-ray, it is normally more severe,
(09:05):
and known as radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.
In the earliest stages, it may not be visible on X-ray,
and is known as non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.
This is where they may use an MRI,
as in some cases it may be able to pick up
what the X-ray missed.
A doctor may also order blood tests.
This is done to check for signs of inflammation,
along with the HLA-B27 gene.
(09:27):
Again, not everyone with this condition
will have the gene for it,
and not everyone with the gene will have the condition.
We will get right into the symptoms
and presentation right after this little break.
(upbeat music)
With this condition, the initial symptoms,
(09:50):
and symptoms as it progresses, are rather general.
These being things like pain in your back,
and stiffness in your lower back and your hips.
These symptoms are especially felt
after a period of inactivity,
like in the morning when you first get up.
This condition can also cause neck pain and fatigue.
These symptoms can worsen as time goes on,
but due to the generalness of these symptoms,
(10:11):
it may actually be hard to pick up and diagnose.
What complications should a doctor be aware of
when it comes to ankylosing spondylitis?
There are several complications with this condition
that are both related to the bones,
and not actually related to the bones.
These include restriction of lung capacity.
This is seen when the fusion occurs in the rib cage.
This causes a stiffening,
reducing the amount of function and capacity.
(10:32):
So you can't take deep breaths anymore,
because your lungs can't expand as much,
because the rib cage can't move as much.
Compression fractures.
When it comes to the early stages of ankylosing spondylitis,
the bone can become weakened
in some people with this condition.
So in some, this can cause people's vertebrae to crumble.
This can cause an increase in the stooped posture,
or hunched over posture.
(10:53):
This can also increase the pressure on the spinal cord,
which can lead to damage for the nerves
within the spinal cord,
along with the nerves that pass through the spine, uveitis.
This is a type of eye inflammation.
This condition can cause several symptoms,
and is one of the more common complications
of ankylosing spondylitis.
The symptoms of this is a rapid onset of eye pain,
(11:13):
having a sensitivity to light,
as well as blurred vision.
Heart problems.
This condition can actually cause issues with the aorta.
The inflammation caused by ankylosing spondylitis
can cause the aorta to become inflamed,
and enlarge the point where it distorts the shape
of the aortic valve within the heart.
This impairs the function.
The aorta is the large blood vessel
that takes blood away from the heart,
(11:35):
so it goes to the rest of the body.
The aortic valve is the valve that stops blood
from going back into the heart
when it's supposed to be pumped out.
So when this is affected, it impairs the function,
and the inflammation caused by ankylosing spondylitis
is also associated with an increased risk of heart disease,
when compared with the general population.
How do we treat ankylosing spondylitis?
When it comes to this condition, it is not curable.
(11:56):
So treatment primarily focuses on pain relief,
and delaying or preventing,
worsening or furthering complications of the condition.
So for this condition,
medications that may be recommended include things like
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.
These medications are things like ibuprofen.
These are used to help with the inflammation and pain
that people with this condition experience.
(12:17):
If NSAIDs don't work,
there are other medications that can be used
to help with the pain and inflammation.
These are things like tumour necrosis factor blockers,
interleukin-17 inhibitors,
or even Janus kinase inhibitors.
However, these types of medicines
do make you more prone to infections.
Are there any famous people with ankylosing spondylitis?
Yes, there are actually several famous people
who have ankylosing spondylitis.
(12:38):
These include Alicia Graf Mack.
She is a former professional ballerina.
She had symptoms from a young age.
However, she would not be diagnosed with the condition
until the age of 26.
Graf Mack would also experience the eye inflammation.
The ankylosing spondylitis isn't also known to cause.
The uveitis is actually what caused her
to receive the correct diagnosis
(13:00):
as she was initially diagnosed with reactive arthritis.
With her condition being managed,
she was able to continue performing for several years.
If you would like to check out a foundation,
there is, for those in the US, the Arthritis Foundation.
They fund research into conditions
that fall under the arthritis umbrella,
which ankylosing spondylitis does.
They provide up-to-date information on these conditions
and help to encourage new doctors to pursue fellowships
(13:22):
in rheumatology, which increases the amount of doctors
treating arthritis-type conditions.
For those in the UK,
there is the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society.
They provide specialist support and up-to-date information
along with conducting research into the condition.
And for those in Australia, there is Arthritis Australia.
They provide information on over 100 forms of arthritis,
(13:43):
including ankylosing spondylitis.
They also help to fund research
into different forms of arthritis.
If you wanna check out the sources,
social media links, or any other links,
you can head to anatomyofillness.com.
If you enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more,
be sure to check out our catalogue of episodes.
For all of our long-time listeners
and all of the new ones who have joined along the way.
Thank you for sticking with us on this journey.
It is amazing to see how far we have come
(14:05):
and how many episodes we have made.
When I started, I never expected to even get
to a 10th episode, let alone our 84th.
Hopefully, the Kickstarter will be funded
so we can see you in another season.
Otherwise, it was lovely chatting to you.
See you next time.
(upbeat music)
How did the skeleton know it was gonna rain?
(14:36):
He could feel it in his bones.
You find that your morning stiffness
(00:01):
has been worsening lately,
especially in your lower back and hips.
Your back pain has been progressively worsening,
but with the warmer weather, it should be getting better.
You feel as if your posture
has been getting worse and worse lately.
No matter how hard you try to stand straight,
you find yourself hunched over throughout the day.
With all of this constant pain, you feel exhausted.
No matter how much you rest,
(00:23):
the tiredness just never goes away.
Today, you have noticed a strange new symptom.
Everything is blurry, and it feels as if the world
is just too bright.
You struggle to keep your eyes open as the light hurts.
You tell your wife, and she looks into your eyes.
She tells you that your eyes look really red and painful.
Because of this, she decides to take you to the doctor.
(00:58):
Hello and Welcome to Anatomy Of Illness.
Today's episode is about ankylosing spondylitis.
Before we get into the condition,
we are going to start with the history.
So why do we know ankylosing spondylitis exists?
Before we jump into the episode,
just a reminder that this is our last episode of the season,
and potentially our last ever episode,
as the second season is based on our Kickstarter campaign.
(01:18):
So be sure to check that out
in the link in the episode description.
Now, onto the history.
We actually begin in the prehistoric times,
outside of our own species.
And today, we will be examining several dinosaurs,
including the cave bear, the diplodocus,
the polcanthus foxi, and of course, the saber-toothed tiger.
Now, with these four species,
there have been examples of lesions that appear similar
(01:41):
to human ankylosing spondylitis lesions.
But considering we are unable
to run a prehistoric vet clinic,
as this is not some form of Jurassic Park,
we do not know the cause of these lesions.
Whether they are age-related, a normal part of development,
or caused by an unknown disease is not an answer we have.
Now, let us move into the human experience,
(02:01):
which we first see occurring around 1,500 BC
in ancient Egypt, as this is where the ancient mummies
with ossifications that resemble ankylosing spondylitis
date back to.
It is suggested that pharaohs like Ramses II
had some form of inflammatory spine disease,
which could potentially be this condition.
We also see these lesions in some mummified animals
(02:22):
around this time.
Now, we jump forward to Hippocrates between 460 to 370 BC
for a potential description of this condition.
In his description, he would state,
"The vertebrae of the neck and spine may be affected
with the pain, and it extends to the os sacrum."
There is no guarantee that this is a description
of ankylosing spondylitis,
(02:42):
as Hippocrates would not be using x-rays
to diagnose his patients.
They just weren't available back then.
We would also see comments coming from Caelius Aurelianus,
potentially describing the condition as well.
He would claim, "The patient is seized by pains
in the nates, moves slowly, and can only bend
or stand erect with difficulty."
Nates meaning night, most likely,
(03:03):
as this is when they most likely would have been relaxing
or just quiet and not moving as much.
There are also several other potential mentions
of ankylosing spondylitis, including one in the Bible
by Saint Luke.
This is in chapter 13, verses 10 to 13.
In this, it talks about a woman who was stuck
in a bent-over position for 18 years.
(03:24):
However, this one is less likely
due to the sudden healing of her case.
Now enough of the Bible and into the Italian Renaissance,
more specifically with a family known as the Medicis.
Their story beginning in 1839 with Cosimo Il Vecchio.
Now, if you enjoy history or drama TV shows,
then it is likely that you have heard of this family.
(03:45):
They were a powerful banking family
and political dynasty in Renaissance Italy.
However, they also were most likely
the first family-based case study
of ankylosing spondylitis.
This occurring in 1945 when four members
of the Medici family were removed
from their resting place and examined.
These four members were Cosimo Il Vecchio,
(04:05):
Piero Il Gottoso, Lorenzo Il Magnifico,
and Giuliano Duco de Nemours.
All four members of this family were incredibly sick
during life suffering from arthritic-type conditions.
However, Cosimo and Piero are more likely
than the other two to have had ankylosing spondylitis,
with the others more likely to have had some form
(04:26):
of rheumatic condition causing their arthritis symptoms.
So they all would have had some form of issue
with their joints and lived a painful life.
But anyway, moving away from the lovely times
of the Medicis and onto 1691 to meet with an Irish physician
by the name of Bernard Connor.
He would publish his thesis originally in French.
However, it would be translated into English later on.
(04:46):
In this thesis, he would describe a case
where the vertebral column,
along with one of the knees, had fused.
“So straightly and intimately joined,
their ligaments perfectly bony,
and their articulation so effaced
that they really made but one uniform continuous bone.”
We are going to jump forward to 1805.
This is when we would have the first potential case
of ankylosing spondylitis in America.
(05:08):
This case was an American by the name of Leonard Trask,
born in the year 1805.
However, this is not when he would first show symptoms.
No, this would occur in his 20s
after a horse riding accident.
This accident would cause a strange contortion of his spine.
This would lead to many attempts to cure his predicament,
along with several more accidents,
which would lead to him having a strange contorted posture
(05:30):
for the rest of his life.
This would be rather lucrative,
however, in the slideshow performance scene,
due to him losing his ability to be employed elsewhere
with his loss of mobility and function.
He would pass away in 1861 and is considered to be,
by some, the first person with ankylosing spondylitis
in America.
However, he was specifically never formally diagnosed
(05:50):
during his lifetime.
Now we move on to Sir Benjamin Brodie,
who lived between 1783 to 1862.
He was actually who the "Grey's Anatomy" book
is dedicated to.
Anyway, Sir Benjamin Brodie was an anatomist and surgeon
who would write and publish a book in 1850
by the name of "Pathological and Surgical Observations
on the Diseases of the Joints."
(06:11):
In this, he would be the first to describe
the typical pathological changes,
along with the clinical features you would see
in a case of ankylosing spondylitis,
along with its link to uveitis, which is an eye condition.
Now, jumping forward to 1893,
this is where we meet a prominent Russian neurologist,
Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev.
Now, Bekhterev's disease is another name for the condition,
(06:33):
as Bekhterev did contribute to the understanding
of the condition.
He was actually the person who recognised this condition
to be an inflammatory disease.
However, this is not the only thing he's known for.
He suggested the hippocampus's role in memory,
he founded an institute for brain research,
which was later named after him,
and he also suddenly and mysteriously died
a day after diagnosing Stalin with severe paranoia
(06:56):
in the year 1927.
But those can't be linked, can they?
But anyway, moving on.
Adolph Strümpell in 1897 and Pierre Marie in 1898
would also officially diagnose ankylosing spondylitis,
which is why the condition is also occasionally called
Bechterew-Strümpell-Marie disease.
What actually is ankylosing spondylitis?
So ankylosing spondylitis, or axial spondyloarthritis,
(07:19):
is an inflammatory disease.
This inflammation that we see with the condition
causes some of the bones, often in the spine, to fuse.
This fusing makes the spine less flexible
and can cause a hunched-over posture,
or if it is affecting the ribs,
it can make taking deep breaths difficult.
What actually causes ankylosing spondylitis?
When it comes to ankylosing spondylitis,
there is no exact cause that is known.
(07:41):
However, the condition does seem to be associated
with genetic risk factors, these being the HLA-B27 gene.
With this gene, not everyone who has it
will develop the condition,
but having it makes you more prone
to developing the condition.
Where in the body does ankylosing spondylitis affect?
When it comes to ankylosing spondylitis,
this condition most commonly affects
several areas in the body.
(08:02):
These include the joint between the base of the spine
and the pelvis, the vertebrae in the lower back,
the areas where the tendons and ligaments attach the bones.
This is predominantly seen in the spine.
However, we can see it along the back of the heels.
We can also see the condition in the cartilage
between the sternum and the ribs,
the sternum being the breastbone.
It is the large T-shaped bone in your chest
(08:23):
that the ribs attach to.
The condition can also affect the hip and shoulder joints.
How do we test for ankylosing spondylitis?
When it comes to diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis,
it may start with a physical examination,
including testing your spine's range of motion.
This is done by asking you to bend in various directions.
Your doctor may also press on parts of your pelvis
to see if it causes pain,
(08:43):
along with moving your legs into particular positions.
They may also ask for you to take a deep breath.
This is done to see if you have any difficulty
expanding your chest,
so if the condition is affecting your ribs.
Along with this, a doctor will order some tests.
These include imaging tests.
This can either be an X-ray or an MRI,
or sometimes even a CT scan.
When it can be seen on X-ray, it is normally more severe,
(09:05):
and known as radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.
In the earliest stages, it may not be visible on X-ray,
and is known as non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.
This is where they may use an MRI,
as in some cases it may be able to pick up
what the X-ray missed.
A doctor may also order blood tests.
This is done to check for signs of inflammation,
along with the HLA-B27 gene.
(09:27):
Again, not everyone with this condition
will have the gene for it,
and not everyone with the gene will have the condition.
We will get right into the symptoms
and presentation right after this little break.
(upbeat music)
With this condition, the initial symptoms,
(09:50):
and symptoms as it progresses, are rather general.
These being things like pain in your back,
and stiffness in your lower back and your hips.
These symptoms are especially felt
after a period of inactivity,
like in the morning when you first get up.
This condition can also cause neck pain and fatigue.
These symptoms can worsen as time goes on,
but due to the generalness of these symptoms,
(10:11):
it may actually be hard to pick up and diagnose.
What complications should a doctor be aware of
when it comes to ankylosing spondylitis?
There are several complications with this condition
that are both related to the bones,
and not actually related to the bones.
These include restriction of lung capacity.
This is seen when the fusion occurs in the rib cage.
This causes a stiffening,
reducing the amount of function and capacity.
(10:32):
So you can't take deep breaths anymore,
because your lungs can't expand as much,
because the rib cage can't move as much.
Compression fractures.
When it comes to the early stages of ankylosing spondylitis,
the bone can become weakened
in some people with this condition.
So in some, this can cause people's vertebrae to crumble.
This can cause an increase in the stooped posture,
or hunched over posture.
(10:53):
This can also increase the pressure on the spinal cord,
which can lead to damage for the nerves
within the spinal cord,
along with the nerves that pass through the spine, uveitis.
This is a type of eye inflammation.
This condition can cause several symptoms,
and is one of the more common complications
of ankylosing spondylitis.
The symptoms of this is a rapid onset of eye pain,
(11:13):
having a sensitivity to light,
as well as blurred vision.
Heart problems.
This condition can actually cause issues with the aorta.
The inflammation caused by ankylosing spondylitis
can cause the aorta to become inflamed,
and enlarge the point where it distorts the shape
of the aortic valve within the heart.
This impairs the function.
The aorta is the large blood vessel
that takes blood away from the heart,
(11:35):
so it goes to the rest of the body.
The aortic valve is the valve that stops blood
from going back into the heart
when it's supposed to be pumped out.
So when this is affected, it impairs the function,
and the inflammation caused by ankylosing spondylitis
is also associated with an increased risk of heart disease,
when compared with the general population.
How do we treat ankylosing spondylitis?
When it comes to this condition, it is not curable.
(11:56):
So treatment primarily focuses on pain relief,
and delaying or preventing,
worsening or furthering complications of the condition.
So for this condition,
medications that may be recommended include things like
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.
These medications are things like ibuprofen.
These are used to help with the inflammation and pain
that people with this condition experience.
(12:17):
If NSAIDs don't work,
there are other medications that can be used
to help with the pain and inflammation.
These are things like tumour necrosis factor blockers,
interleukin-17 inhibitors,
or even Janus kinase inhibitors.
However, these types of medicines
do make you more prone to infections.
Are there any famous people with ankylosing spondylitis?
Yes, there are actually several famous people
who have ankylosing spondylitis.
(12:38):
These include Alicia Graf Mack.
She is a former professional ballerina.
She had symptoms from a young age.
However, she would not be diagnosed with the condition
until the age of 26.
Graf Mack would also experience the eye inflammation.
The ankylosing spondylitis isn't also known to cause.
The uveitis is actually what caused her
to receive the correct diagnosis
(13:00):
as she was initially diagnosed with reactive arthritis.
With her condition being managed,
she was able to continue performing for several years.
If you would like to check out a foundation,
there is, for those in the US, the Arthritis Foundation.
They fund research into conditions
that fall under the arthritis umbrella,
which ankylosing spondylitis does.
They provide up-to-date information on these conditions
and help to encourage new doctors to pursue fellowships
(13:22):
in rheumatology, which increases the amount of doctors
treating arthritis-type conditions.
For those in the UK,
there is the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society.
They provide specialist support and up-to-date information
along with conducting research into the condition.
And for those in Australia, there is Arthritis Australia.
They provide information on over 100 forms of arthritis,
(13:43):
including ankylosing spondylitis.
They also help to fund research
into different forms of arthritis.
If you wanna check out the sources,
social media links, or any other links,
you can head to anatomyofillness.com.
If you enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more,
be sure to check out our catalogue of episodes.
For all of our long-time listeners
and all of the new ones who have joined along the way.
Thank you for sticking with us on this journey.
It is amazing to see how far we have come
(14:05):
and how many episodes we have made.
When I started, I never expected to even get
to a 10th episode, let alone our 84th.
Hopefully, the Kickstarter will be funded
so we can see you in another season.
Otherwise, it was lovely chatting to you.
See you next time.
(upbeat music)
How did the skeleton know it was gonna rain?
(14:36):
He could feel it in his bones.
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