SAN DIEGO—Increasingly, technological advances are placing new tools into the hands of office-based rheumatologists. And they don’t have to cost a lot in capital equipment outlays by the medical group, because some of the best advances can be accessed via the device that is already in most doctors’ pockets, their smartphone. Smartphone technology gets more…
SAN DIEGO—A hormone secreted by the parathyroid gland is both a builder and a destroyer of bone in humans, with important implications for a variety of conditions treated by rheumatologists. In the Oscar Gluck, MD, Memorial Lecture at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, Henry Kronenberg, MD, chief of the Endocrine Division at Massachusetts…
SAN DIEGO—Recent research tells us more about giant cell arteritis (GCA) to help rheumatologists more accurately diagnose and effectively treat patients with this type of vasculitis. On Nov. 6 at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, three experts explored the latest findings on GCA pathogenesis, diagnostic approaches, imaging modalities and growing treatment options. GCA: What’s Really Happening?…
In a recent study, researchers examined synovial fluid and non-inflamed tophi from the acutely inflamed joints of patients with gout, finding that monosodium urate (MSU) crystals trigger a distinct physiological NETosis pathway that coats MSU crystals in DNA that persists in tissues as gouty tophi…
SAN DIEGO—In a session at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Kam Nola, PharmD, MS, professor in the College of Pharmacy and vice chair in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., updated participants on new medications and new indications for rheumatology treatments and safety labeling changes approved by the U.S. Food…
SAN DIEGO—What are the predisposing genes that suggest who will develop active systemic lupus erythematosus and who will stay healthy? Decades of research data help rheumatologists clarify this picture, says Argyrios N. Theofilopoulos, MD, professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. At his Nov. 5 lecture at the 2017…
SAN DIEGO—Will rheumatologists soon be able to use data from genetics and genome-wide association studies to more accurately predict disease and develop new therapies for rheumatic diseases? At a Nov. 5 session at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, experts shared their views on how to glean this useful knowledge from genomics studies. The cost to develop…
SAN DIEGO—Treatment strategies for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have changed a great deal over the years, but progress has been slow and inadequate. According to a 2011 survey, many patients with lupus still report that they have a low quality of life due to their health problems.1 Rheumatologists face the challenge to develop more successful…
SAN DIEGO—To manage patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), rheumatologists must be aware of potentially serious complications affecting many organ systems. On Nov. 7 at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, two experts offered insights on cardiovascular and hematological complications of lupus. Myocardial Disease in Lupus Lupus patients are at increased risk for heart-related complications, especially…
SAN DIEGO—The Next Accreditation System, the newest process for evaluating medical residency and fellowship programs and their participants, including future rheumatologists, was implemented in 2014 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The system introduced specialty-specific milestones designed to reflect significant points in professional development. Milestones are defined by ACGME as a rubric…