When Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH, isn’t teaching students, residents and fellows at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), treating patients or conducting medical research in his lab, he’s monitoring the health of another sort of patient—honeybees. For the past four years. Dr. Ritchlin, professor and chief of allergy, immunology and rheumatology at URMC, has…
An interdisciplinary and collaborative environment is a critical factor for the advancement of basic science and clinical research in the academic environment, says William J. Koopman, MD, former director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB’s) Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. And in 1977, when he was being recruited by Division Director J….
Spotting the signs of autoimmunity as early as possible is often viewed as a positive goal for rheumatologic research. The premise: Patients may begin treatment years before their disease is active and destroying joints and tissue. Although much progress has been made in identifying early stages of rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis, the clues are not as…
The serine-threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) enzyme is critical for regulatory T cells to function—without it, they don’t have the ability to suppress effector T cells and can’t protect against autoimmunity, according to new research published in Nature Immunology. Researchers found that conditional knockout mice—in which PP2A expression is knocked out only in regulatory T cells—developed…
Medicine has traditionally been an apprenticeship model. The most elemental and constructive method of passing on knowledge is the mentor–mentee relational experience. Mentorship encompasses not only the role of teacher, but also that of coach, role model, advisor and confidante. Matthew J. Koster, MD, rheumatology fellow and instructor in medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., can…
New research investigates the role of autophagy, specifically the cell digestion process called LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP), in inflammation and the pathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Researchers found that defects in this process result in failure to digest dying cells, which increases inflammatory cytokine production and results in SLE-like disease in mice. Further exposure to dying cells accelerated disease development…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Bone resorption increases during pregnancy and continues to be high postpartum, according to new findings using lead testing to measure bone turnover. Researchers also found unexpected evidence that maternal lead burden is transferred to the fetus. “These data confirm calcium balance studies that indicate increased bone resorption throughout pregnancy and lactation,” Dr….
New research has found that the amyloid protein curli triggers immune activation and autoantibody production in lupus-prone and wild-type mice. Stefania Gallucci, MD, says these results provide insight into the mechanisms of bacterial infection that may result in lupus…
Over the past 40 years, the prevalence and risk of depression for medical residents has increased, according to research from Douglas A. Mata, MD, MPH, and colleagues. Addressing this phenomenon may be vital for the future of rheumatology and medicine…
A recent case study revealed that an infant from a donor egg developed neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) and a congenital heart block, which may have been due to the presence of antibodies to Ro and La in the birth mother—not the genetic mother. The results suggest that a gestational mother with a history of autoimmune disease is sufficient to trigger the pathology of NLE…