“What you’ve got here is an amazing success story,” concludes Dr. Gladman. Not only does GRAPPA combine two specialties, but its reach is international, she emphasizes. “When we develop our projects and our programs for the meetings, we’re very sensitive about making sure there’s participation from everywhere.” Development of the treatment guidelines was a case in point. In some countries, even methotrexate is not available, so the guidelines had to be “something that would hold internationally,” she notes.
Dr. Mease is gratified by the growing participation of dermatology residents, as well as rheumatology fellows in the trainee sessions at each of the meetings. An example is his partnering with Michael Krathen, a dermatology resident at Tufts University in Boston, and Alice Gottlieb, a dually boarded dermatologist and rheumatologist who is chair of dermatology at Tufts University School of Medicine, on a comprehensive literature review of the prevalence of skin cancer in autoimmune disease patients, including those with rheumatoid arthritis, PsA, and PsC. They are now pursuing this line of work further by exploring the database of the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America to better characterize the prevalence of skin malignancies in patients with RA and PsA and the relationship to treatment. “This was a virtual relationship between myself in Seattle and a dermatology resident and his mentor at Tufts. Without an organization like GRAPPA, none of that would have occurred.”
Online Resource
A compendium of publications generated by GRAPPA members is available online at www.grappanetwork.org/resources_pub.php.
Like many of his colleagues, Dr. Ritchlin has found his association with GRAPPA to be a “very productive experience.” He says enthusiastically, “It sort of formed on the back of a napkin one day and managed to blossom into something pretty incredible that none of us would have anticipated.”
References
- Gladman DD, Strand V, Mease PJ, et al. OMERACT 7 psoriatic arthritis workshop: Synopsis. Ann Rheum Dis.2005;64:ii115-116.
- Taylor WJ, Helliwell PS. Development of diagnostic criteria for psoriatic arthritis: Methods and process. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2004;6:299-305.
- Mease PJ, Goffe BS, Metz J, et al. Etanercept in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis: A randomized trial. Lancet. 2000;356:385-390.
- Gladman DD, Mease PJ, Strand V, et al. Consensus on a core set of domains for psoriatic arthritis. J Rheumatol. 2007;34:1167-1170.
- Kavanaugh AF, Ritchlin CT, GRAPPA Treatment Guideline Committee. Systematic review of treatments for psoriatic arthritis: An evidence based approach and basis for treatment guidelines. J Rheumatol. 2006;33:1417-1421.
