RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada Registry for Spondyloarthritis JF The Journal of Rheumatology JO J Rheumatol FD The Journal of Rheumatology SP jrheum.101102 DO 10.3899/jrheum.101102 A1 Dafna D. Gladman A1 Proton Rahman A1 Richard J. Cook A1 Hua Shen A1 Michel Zummer A1 Glen Thomson A1 Bindu Nair A1 Sherry Rohekar A1 Renise Ayearst A1 Robert D. Inman A1 Walter P. Maksymowych YR 2011 UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2011/04/11/jrheum.101102.abstract AB The Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Cananda (SPARCC) is a transdiscliplinary research network of investigators interested in spondyloarthritis. The group has been supported by a new research initiative by The Arthritis Society. SPARCC aims to address the genetic basis of susceptibility of the disease and develop and validate clinical and imaging outcomes to assess disease activity and structural damage over time, the response to therapy, and the clinical burden of illness in terms of quality of life and disability. The first step was to develop a database that would allow ascertainment of phenotype for genetic studies, as well as accurate and detailed longitudinal information for disease expression and outcome studies. This article describes the SPARCC database and outlines difficulties and possible solutions for maintaining such a database.