Rheumatologists prescribe rituximab for induction and maintenance treatment for anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitides (AAV). Maintenance treatment typically employs fixed-schedule dosing, but in the recent maintenance of remission using rituximab in systemic ANCA-associated vasculitis II (MAINRITSAN2) trial, researchers from the French Vasculitis Study Group examined whether individually tailored maintenance dosing might work better. “The…
Patients under the care of the U.S. Veterans Affairs who were older, non-white and had more comorbidities were less frequently given biologic initiation therapy to treat their rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a recent study. Researchers sought to identify predictors of greater use of biologic therapies, as well as factors associated with persistent use of…
In September, the ACR participated in a global rheumatology event by partnering with the Emirates Society of Rheumatology (ESR) to jointly produce an educational meeting. The 4th Annual Conference of the Emirates Society of Rheumatology, in partnership with the ACR, took place Sept. 19–21 in Dubai Festival City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference…
Rheumatology is truly a people specialty: We often develop lifelong relationships with our patients as well as our colleagues. We increasingly recognize that providing the best rheumatologic care requires a team effort. The collegial nature of our specialty is reflected in the ACR’s mission statement: To empower rheumatology professionals to excel in their specialty. In…
The ACR & the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) have published a joint Guideline for the Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). The guideline will serve as an aid to practitioners managing active PsA in patients.
As rheumatologists, we have a love-hate relationship with the corticosteroid prednisone, a feeling many of our patients share. It’s our most effective medication to quickly shut down an overactive immune system. When we have a patient with life- or organ-threatening autoimmune disease—severe lupus affecting the kidneys or vasculitis causing hemorrhage in the lungs, for example—large…
The ACR and the Rheumatology Research Foundation have a rich history of collaboration and significant achievement. In many ways, our collaboration has become the classic triple threat of medicine, as we endeavor to support research, advance clinical care and expand education in so many intertwined and inseparable ways. Although we are greatly encouraged by the…
2018 is coming to a close, and somehow, I have managed to make it through a year as the physician editor of The Rheumatologist without being sued or fired, so I thought this would be a good time to pause and reflect on lessons learned—and to give thanks. My first lesson: this is a lot of…
A typical patient with a rheumatic disease needs a multifaceted treatment approach to address comorbidities, minimize disability, promote quality of life and improve survival. To achieve these outcomes, rheumatology research has evolved from examining a single treatment to studying the best treatment approaches. Examples of these strategy trials include how to best combine pharmaceutical therapies,…
Data from multiple clinical trials and an extension study showed baricitinib is safe and effective for the long-term treatment of adults with RA…