TY - JOUR T1 - Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis in the Third Millennium: Is There (Yet) Cause for Concern? JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1356 LP - 1357 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.100097 VL - 37 IS - 6 AU - FLORINDO VERDONE Y1 - 2010/06/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/37/6/1356.2.abstract N2 - To the Editor:I read with great interest the recent editorial on diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) by Dr. Mader1. The author affirms the clinical relevance of this skeletal disorder because of its various complications, some of which are very important in clinical practice (e.g., dysphagia, spinal fracture, spinal lumbar stenosis, neurologic complications, postsurgical heterotopic ossifications, etc). He also emphasizes the need of updating diagnostic criteria (at least 3 sets are used) to obtain a more accurate and timely diagnosis of this condition in its early phases. Dr. Mader is to be congratulated for his interesting paper; however, while defining the still insufficient current diagnostic criteria, he omits comment on possible explanations for this critical diagnostic phase. I would like to express some considerations on the causes of the limited availability of diagnostic tools for DISH.Forestier’s disease, a common name for DISH, particularly in European countries of Latin origin, is an ancient skeletal disorder whose pathologic alterations were described in human skeletons going back to 5000 years ago … ER -