Hi Bilko
Thanks for keeping us advised on where Ebringer and his opposition stand on all this.
I think you would accept that all the terms used in this thread, such as AS sufferers etc. referred to people who had been diagnosed with AS. It is this population to which the debate has been addressed. The admission keys to this fraternity are held by the patient's local rheumatologist. Whether the patient has AS as precisely defined by Ebringer as you describe or whether it was diagnosed by a doctor who doesn't know a Klebsiella from a tarantella.
You said "...it is extremely difficult for a clinician to diagnose with the usual criteria, and some of the people in the group who do not respond to diet will have the wrong diagnosis." This seems to be an acceptance that there are people in the group 'who do not respond to diet' which is all I have been trying to say.
You have accepted that there are 2 groups. One which responds to diet and one which doesn't.
Wally
