Footnotes

• Competing interests MdCV and CP have been speakers at continuing medical education meetings supported by Novartis Farmacéutica. JM has been member of National and International Scientific Advisory Boards for UCB, Uriach SA, Schering Plough, Merck Sharp & Dohme, GlaxoSmithKline, FAES and Hartington Pharmaceuticals; has received grants for research projects from Schering-Plough, Uriach SA, UCB and Merck Sharp & Dohme; and has received fees for lectures from UCB, Uriach SA, Schering-Plough, Merck Sharp & Dohme, GlaxoSmithKline and Hartington Pharmaceuticals. IA and MB-S have no conflicts of interest to be declared.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.