PHILADELPHIA—At the second Plenary Session of ACR Convergence on Sunday, Nov. 13, speakers shared compelling efficacy and safety results from two phase 2 trials: remibrutinib for Sjögren’s syndrome and deucravacitinib for moderate to severe systemic lupus erythematosus. Remibrutinib in Phase 2 Sjögren’s Syndrome Trial Thomas Dörner, MD, a professor of rheumatology and clinical immunology for…
PHILADELPHIA—Approximately 60 research abstracts on gout were accepted for presentation at ACR Convergence 2022, including two plenary abstract presentations. It is exciting to see a wealth of research on gout being undertaken worldwide. Here, we highlight important points from seven of these studies. 1. Abstract 1810: Frequency and Patterns of Opioid Use in the Management…
PHILADELPHIA—Approximately 100 research abstracts on axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) were accepted for presentation at ACR Convergence 2022. It is exciting to see a wealth of research on axSpA being undertaken worldwide. Here, we highlight important points from 10 of these studies. 1. Abstract 0378: Prevalence of Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in Patients Treated for Chronic Back Pain…
PHILADELPHIA—At the first Plenary Session of ACR Convergence 2022, on Saturday, Nov. 12, speakers shared key research findings on the efficacy and safety of methotrexate as a co-therapy with pegloticase in refractory gout, the effectiveness of rituximab and cyclophosphamide in connective tissue disease associated-interstitial lung disease and the value of remote education for primary care…
Syphilis, an ancient disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, has been historically referred to as the great mimicker given its heterogenous presentation. Both systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and syphilis can have multi-systemic involvement. Both parvovirus B19 and syphilis have been reported to cause histologic features similar to those seen in lupus nephritis. We present…
Despite an expanding armamentarium of disease-modifying treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), some patients with RA remain symptomatic.1 Current treatment guidelines from both the ACR and the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommend treat-to-target strategies to achieve remission or low disease activity, and patients want to feel better.2,3 So how can we best help…
In medicine, as in advertising, pictures can be worth a thousand words. From arthritis to vasculitis, imaging studies have been variably employed to aid in the diagnosis, treatment, risk stratification and prognostication of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders. The same holds true with the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), in which the clinical utility is…
On a highway traversed by cement trucks and Beetle-Bug auto-rickshaws we travel north from Bangalore, India, for a house call. It is 2007, and the city leaves us grudgingly. Between fields of loose chocolate soil and sprigs of beans poking skyward, the skeletons of homes and businesses rise; armies of workers lay brick from wooden…
MoCA as a Screening Test in SLE Assessing the utility of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) By Oshrat E. Tayer-Shifman, MD, Kimberley Yuen, BSc, MD, & Zahi Touma, MD, PhD, FACP, FACR Why was this study done? Cognitive impairment is a common manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with a prevalence of 40% based on…
Research from Gloersen et al. suggests the systemic effects of obesity, as measured by leptin, may play a role in the severity of pain experienced by patients with hand osteoarthritis.