Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer with a PhD in microbiology/immunology from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. As a medical writer she has covered topics as diverse as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and autism. Her favorite subject, however, is the role of the immune system in health and disease. Dr. Pullen is also the mother of three children, the youngest of whom has Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). She is an active member of the PWS community and a thought leader on the importance of the ketogenic diet for this patient population.
A meta-analysis confirms prior research suggesting exercise therapy benefits patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA). The study found greater improvements in pain, function, performance and quality of life in patients with milder, as opposed to more severe, OA…... [Read More]
A five-year study in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis found drug-induced disease remission did not persist once adalimumab was stopped after long-term treatment…... [Read More]
A study of nintedanib in patients with ILD associated with systemic sclerosis showed the treatment had only limited improvement. Although these patients had a lower rate of decline in forced vital capacity than those on placebo, nintedanib did not result in clinical benefits for other manifestations of systemic sclerosis…... [Read More]
The phase 3, RA-BEAM study found RA patients who were switched from adalimumab to baricitinib experienced improvements in disease control even in the absence of an adalimumab washout. In the study, the change was not associated with an increase in adverse events or infections…... [Read More]
Recent research indicates that low-density neutrophils, such as low-density granulocytes, exert proinflammatory effects on the T cells of SLE patients. In the study, researchers confirmed SLE patients had a higher prevalence of low-density granulocytes than healthy controls and that these cells appeared to promote a Th1 response…... [Read More]
A recent study details the autoantibodies of patients with myositis, confirming most patients carry these antibodies. The results also describe how myositis-specific autoantibodies can be used to identify distinct clinical subsets of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy…... [Read More]
A recent study evaluated the factors associated with the presence of peripheral manifestations of spondyloarthritis (SpA), which affects more than half of patients with SpA. Researchers found that being older, HLAB27 negative and having a history of psoriasis were associated with these symptoms…... [Read More]
Little is known about the immunopathogenic relationship between celiac disease and systemic autoimmune diseases, such as primary Sjögren’s syndrome and systemic sclerosis. But new research indicates that screening for celiac disease may benefit patients newly diagnosed with systemic autoimmune diseases, as well as supports the idea that celiac disease may accelerate the development of systemic autoimmune disease…... [Read More]
Antibody-secreting cells are important for the pathophysiology of SLE and RA, but researchers have been unable to determine how these cells are activated. A new technique is able to distinguish between naïve autoreactive B cells and established antibody secreting cells…... [Read More]
Although antimitochondrial antibodies are present in SLE patients, researchers have has difficulty investigating the phenomenon due to barriers in isolating pure mitochondria. The study describes a technique that allows for such an investigation and provides insight into how the adaptive immune system recognizes mitochondrial organelles…... [Read More]