CHICAGO—At Hot Topics in Myositis, a session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, three experts discussed new classification criteria for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and offered practical primers on overlap myositis conditions and inclusion body myositis (IBM). New Myositis Classification Criteria After a 10-year development process, the new EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for Adult and Juvenile…
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are heterogenous, acquired immune-mediated muscle diseases. Over the past decade, immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy has been recognized as a subcategory of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy characterized by myofiber necrosis in the absence of prominent inflammatory cells.1 Autoantibodies against signal recognition particle (SRP) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) are thought to be associated with the…
SEATTLE—At the first regional vasculitis patient conference ever held in the Pacific Northwest, a panoramic view of Mt. Rainier on a clear January morning set the tone for a day of optimistic talks about recent successes against the various forms of blood vessel inflammation. One attendee at the Jan. 12 conference, sponsored by the Vasculitis…
The advent of quality-based healthcare, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), requires rheumatology professionals to demonstrate their practice is based on interventions supported by the best available evidence and that their practice, in turn, provides quality care. These requirements have increased the need for methods to measure and quantify…
In March 1987, Mark Andrejeski moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Atlanta to lead a brand-new organization: the American Rheumatism Association (ARA). The professional association of rheumatologists had separated from the Arthritis Foundation 15 months earlier. “Initially, I was just trying to make sure the organization survived,” says Mr. Andrejeski, who studied business management and economics…
We all know words can be powerful. They often resonate with several levels of meaning, enriching our understanding and broadening our perspective. Take the word promise, for example. It implies responsibility, as in, “We promise to do it.” It is also imbued with hope, as in “This idea has great promise.” At the ACR we…
My nephew is an addict. These words do not come easily to me, but I have come to accept them as true. In retrospect, I should have recognized the telltale signs: He stopped picking up the phone when I call. He disappears and then re-emerges hours later, seemingly having done nothing. He has lost interest…
Over the past few years, biosimilars and other new drugs have been introduced to treat rheumatic illnesses. Some of the conditions we treat have numerous drug options, others have few or only off-label options. This series, Rheumatology Drugs at a Glance, provides streamlined information on the administration of biologic, biosimilar and other medications used to…
Japan has approved risankizumab for treating plaque psoriasis, generalized pustular psoriasis, erythrodermic psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in adults…
Postmenopausal women are often told to consume more than 1,500 mg of calcium daily to reach neutral bone balance. But new research suggests this recommendation should be revised, finding no connection between dietary calcium intake and postmenopausal bone loss…