During the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, Richard Pope, MD, highlighted some of the top scientific literature on rheumatic disease from 2017. The review session discussed research on the effects of microglia on the central nervous system of SLE patients, the role of adenosine in osteoarthritis and more…
SAN DIEGO—The 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting kicked off on Nov. 4 with a rousing presentation by Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). A terrorist attack on U.S. soil, hurricane, cyberattack and pandemic were the four scenarios played out in late 2016, when NIAID conducted a tabletop…
Efficiently meeting the needs of people with rheumatic disease requires the expertise of a team of health professionals. During their formal education, health professionals acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes that prepare them to best contribute to a healthcare team. Maintaining and expanding that knowledge happens during continuing education and post-graduate programs, which ensure lifelong…
MADRID—Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experts in North America and Europe are working together to refine the classification system for the disease, with the goal of producing a new set of criteria that is simpler to use and more scientifically rigorous than any classification approach previously published, speakers involved with the process said at the 2017…
MADRID—Researchers have found that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is independently linked with bipolar disorder and say the findings point to a need for greater awareness of psychiatric problems in patients with SLE. In work led by investigators at Tel Aviv University in Israel and presented at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR), researchers…
MADRID—Research into pharmacodynamic biomarkers has shown that macrophages may have an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including systemic sclerosis, an expert said at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). The findings were discussed in a session that also covered how an understanding of M1 macrophages’ role in fibrosis has evolved…
CHICAGO—During the 2017 annual Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) meeting, a session focused on precision immunology and its advances. Precision immunology describes the identification of host, immune system and tumor factors that can be used to select an immunotherapy approach. Thus, the first step in precision immunology is to identify soluble factors, immune cell…
CHICAGO—Joseph Breen, PhD, program officer at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., opened the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) session at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) 2017 meeting by asking presenters to describe the current state of the science to the key immunology stakeholders gathered in the room. The hope was that…
CHICAGO—“Why do so many drugs fail in clinical trials?” asked Michael Brenner, MD, chief of rheumatology, immunology and allergy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. This question, previously posed by Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health, prompted a discussion among scientists and stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry. The conversation…
MADRID—Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experts in North America and Europe are working together to refine the classification system for the disease, with the goal of producing a new set of criteria that is simpler to use and more scientifically rigorous than any classification approach previously published, speakers involved with the process said at the 2017…