Hi Nara,
this is the information im providing you as far as my knowledge is concerned. Hope this one will be helpful to you.

Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic, inflammatory Arthritis and autoimmune disease. It mainly affects joints in the spine and the sacroilium in the pelvis, causing eventual fusion of the spine.
There is no direct test to diagnose AS. A clinical examination and X-ray studies of the spine, which show characteristic spinal changes and sacroiliitis, are the major diagnostic tools. No cure is known for AS, although treatments and medications are available to reduce symptoms and pain. Physical therapy and exercise, along with medication, are at the heart of therapy for ankylosing spondylitis. Physiotherapy and physical exercises are clearly to be preceded by medical treatment in order to reduce the inflammation and pain and are commonly followed by a physician. This way the movements will help in diminishing pain and stiffness, while exercise in an active inflammatory state will just make the pain worse. There are three major types of medications used to treat ankylosing spondylitis.
• Anti-inflammatory drugs, which include NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, phenylbutazone, indomethacin, naproxen and COX-2 inhibitors, which reduce inflammation, and consequently pain.
• DMARDs such as cyclosporin, methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and corticosteroids, used to reduce the immune system response through immunosuppression;
• TNFα blockers (antagonists) such as etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab, are indicated for the treatment of and are effective immunosuppressants in AS as in other autoimmune diseases.

In severe cases of AS, surgery can be an option in the form of joint replacements, particularly in the knees and hips. Surgical correction is also possible for those with severe flexion deformities of the spine, particularly in the neck, although this procedure is considered risky. AS can range from mild to progressively debilitating and from medically controlled to refractive. Some have times of active inflammation followed by times of remission, while others never have times of remission and have acute inflammation and pain.