A 25-year-old Mexican American woman with a five-year history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) presents with refractory, acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (ACLE) and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) affecting the scalp, face and hands. Her serologic phenotype is characterized by elevated anti-nuclear, anti-double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA), anti-ribonucleoprotein (RNP), anti-Smith and anti-SS-A (Ro) antibodies and chronically…
Abscesses are typically caused by infections, but some are, instead, sterile. Aseptic abscesses (AAs) are characterized by the same neutrophil-rich histopathology as infectious abscesses; however, they don’t improve with antibiotics. Rather, AAs require treatment with anti-inflammatory medications. Although relatively rare, this phenomenon is important for rheumatologists to recognize given its frequent association with underlying systemic…
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is an anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis typically characterized by asthma, peripheral eosinophilia and medium- to small-vessel necrotizing vasculitis. Cutaneous manifestations in EGPA are diverse. Palpable purpura is the most common presentation, but urticaria, erythematous macules and papules, livedo reticularis, digital necrosis and cutaneous nodules have also been described.1 Non-hemorrhagic bullae…
I wouldn’t normally look to professional basketball as a model for healthcare, but sometimes answers come from unexpected places. The observation that elite athletes are not like you and me—medically speaking—is not new. In the second century AD, the pontifex maximus in Pergamum recognized this fact and appointed Claudius Galen physician to the gladiators, making…
Because rheumatologists and mental health experts both treat patients with depression, anxiety, pain, disability and sleep disorders, provider cross-training may benefit patients and providers themselves. “When a patient has active psychosocial distress, this has a negative effect on their physical function. Similarly, if a patient has active physical symptoms, like a rheumatoid arthritis flare, this…
In a small preliminary study, the novel MK2 inhibitor, CC-99677, was safe and well tolerated by healthy participants. With daily dosing, the agent sustained reductions of tumor necrosis factor alpha and other cytokines for 14 days.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) refractory to treatment with rituximab or tocilizumab, genetic profiling of synovial biopsies predicted the lack of therapeutic response better than a model using only tissue pathology or clinical factors, researchers say.1 “We believe this study is a paradigm shift in precision medicine in RA,” Dr. Costantino…
Clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) should use the new ACR/EULAR remission definition rather than the Disease Activity Score-28-CRP, which does not sufficiently reflect patient outcomes, according to an ACR/EULAR committee.
After two years of special virtual sessions, the AMA House of Delegates will reconvene in person June 10–15. ACR representatives will focus on Medicare physician payment system reform, national drug shortages, funding the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and more.
ACR and ARP members converged on Capitol Hill in May to urge lawmakers to support legislation related to workforce expansion and patient access to care following training sessions presented by ACR staff dedicated to legislative affairs.