As measles outbreaks increase domestically & internationally, while vaccination uptake decreases in the U.S., experts discuss treatment recommendations & the immunologic consequences of measles infections in patients with rheumatic diseases.

As measles outbreaks increase domestically & internationally, while vaccination uptake decreases in the U.S., experts discuss treatment recommendations & the immunologic consequences of measles infections in patients with rheumatic diseases.
At a session of ACR Convergence 2024, speakers shared key elements of the new guideline on the screening, treatment and overall management of lupus nephritis in children and adults.1 This guideline attempts to balance the risks of medication side effects with the important goal of preserving kidney function. This is the ACR’s first lupus guideline…
Catherine Kolonko |
The development of a vaccine for COVID-19 changed the course of the pandemic; however, it also raised questions about whether to withhold or reduce immunosuppressive therapies and other medications for patients with inflammatory, rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (IRMD), note the authors of a new study published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. An argument for…
Over 50% of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) develop interstitial lung disease (ILD), and rheumatologists have long recognized this major cause of morbidity and mortality.1 Sindhu R. Johnson, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, Canada, and director of the Toronto Scleroderma Program, notes that more recent studies have increased our awareness…
Anna E.F. Hadsbjerg, Simon Krabbe, Nora Vladimirova, Adrian Ciurea, Kristyna Bubova, Monika Gregová, Michael Nissen, Burkhard Moeller, Raphael Micheroli, Susanne Pedersen, Jakub Zavada, Ziga Snoj, Karlo Pintaric, Bjorn Gudbjornsson, Ziga Rotar, Iris Eshed, Iwona Sudol-Szopinska, Kasper Gosvig, Torsten Diekhoff, Robert Lambert, Manouk de hOoge, Helena V.G. Elmo, Merete Hetland, Lykke Oernbjerg & Mikkel Ostergaard |
Hadsbjerg et al. compared assessments of sacroiliac joint MRIs in local MRI reports from routine care in five European countries with re-reads by central experts in patients with a diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) to estimate the extent of over- or under-reporting of features and misclassification.
Screening recommendations, triple therapy and more—here are insights into the upcoming ACR guideline for the care and treatment of patients with lupus nephritis.
By Matthew A. Sherman, MD, MHSc, & Stacey E. Tarvin, MD, MS |
Why was this study done? Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is the most common type of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy in childhood, and most patients have a chronic disease course requiring prolonged administration of systemic glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agents. The initial management for patients with moderately severe JDM is relatively standardized, typically including methotrexate and systemic glucocorticoids with…
It’s an exciting time for ultrasound in rheumatology, & it’s never too late to learn. Whether you’re just starting fellowship or have been practicing for decades, there’s a place for ultrasound in your practice.
Lucy Masto, BS, Medha Barbhaiya, MD, MPH, Caroline H. Siegel, MD, MS, Lisa R. Sammaritano, MD, & Michael D. Lockshin, MD |
Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) is a diagnosis given to patients who do not fulfill current classification criteria for named connective tissue diseases (CTD)—systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc), or Sjögren’s disease—but who nonetheless have clinical signs and symptoms and serological evidence of autoimmune CTDs. In 1980 LeRoy et al. were…
Clinicians should not rely on glucocorticoids as a first-line treatment of SARD-ILD in patients with systemic sclerosis, according to a strong recommendation in a new ILD treatment guideline from the ACR and CHEST. The guideline is one of two addressing the screening, monitoring and treatment of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) secondary to systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs).