Review & comment

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  Racial disparities in treatment of gout

  Jasvinder Singh

  A recent trial in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders reports urate-lowering therapy is equally effective in gout patients of different racial backgrounds, and Jasvinder Singh discusses the importance making this therapy more available to African-American patients in order to lower the burden of gout.

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  New classifications for GRDs

  Anna Sapone, Julio Bai, Carolina Ciacci, Jernej Dolinsek, Peter Green, Marios Hadjivassiliou, Katri Kaukinen, Kamran Rostami, David Sander, Michael Schumann, Reiner Ullrich, Danilo Villalta, Umberto Volta, Carlo Catassi, Alessio Fasano

  Fasano and colleagues propose new nomenclature and classifications within the spectrum of gluten-related disorders (GRDs), prompted by indications from the past decade that reactions to gluten may be caused by conditions other than celiac disease.

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  Treatment strategies for VTEC

  Paul Goldwater, Karl Bettelheim

  In light of the verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) European epidemic in 2011, Goldwater and Bettelheim comment on the complex pathogenesis of these strains and recommend a multi-targeted approach to current and future treatment strategies.

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  Managing STEC outbreaks

  Dirk Werber, Gerard Krause, Christina Frank, Angelika Fruth, Antje Flieger, Martin Mielke, Lars Schaade, Klaus Stark

  Improvements in management strategies to control Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) outbreaks are discussed by Dirk Werber et al, who advocate early detection via careful surveillance and investigation of food source, as well as integration of molecular data.

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  Cost vs quality of life

  Suzanne Hill

  Suzanne Hill comments on the caution required in elucidating cost-effectiveness analysis outcomes, whereby clinicians should consider the benefits and harms in adjusting patient's quality of life years in the use of health care interventions.