Historically, the early approach for treating interstitial lung disease (ILD) due to systemic sclerosis (SSc) involved immunosuppressant therapy, primarily with cytotoxic agents.1 Glucocorticoids in combination with another immunosuppressant agent, such as oral azathioprine or cyclophosphamide, were often used to treat patients with severe, progressive SSc-ILD.2 However, direct evidence to support this therapeutic approach was lacking…
During an international summit, physicians and researchers discussed the key clinical and research aspects of the complex intersection between connective tissue diseases and interstitial lung disease (ILD), proposing initiatives to raise awareness and conduct research to better serve patients with autoimmune forms of ILD…
CHICAGO—Held during the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, the ACR Review Course covered a wide range of topics for rheumatologists—from advances in pain and rheumatic disease management to the intersection of rheumatology and neurology. Session speakers shared insights, as well as state-of-the-art approaches to diagnosis, management and treatment. Inflammatory Myopathies Julie J. Paik, MD, MHS, assistant…
In a study, researchers found extracellular vesicles may contribute to the greater disease severity typically seen in patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Specifically, in these patients, extracellular vesicles can activate mononuclear phagocytes and induce proinflammatory cytokines in vitro…
AMSTERDAM—Research in myositis treatments is beginning to find its way, with investigators pursuing avenues special to the disease so therapy for patients may no longer involve piggybacking on existing treatments for other illnesses, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. “Finally, in myositis there are targets being investigated that are more…
Immunoglobin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare fibro-inflammatory disease of unknown etiology that has been recently recognized. It can cause fibro-inflammatory masses in almost every organ of the body and is associated with dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltration of IgG4-postitive plasma cells, storiform fibrosis and elevated levels of serum IgG4.1 IgG4-RD is a systemic disease that may…
SAN DIEGO—Top researchers gathered for a review course at the start of the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in November to describe new research, their own treatment strategies and new ways of thinking about an array of rheumatic diseases. Here are the highlights: Raynaud’s & Other Digit Problems When a patient walks into your clinic with…
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…
Multi-system diseases have unique challenges. And Dr. Aryeh Fischer says that when treating patients with interstitial lung disease, pulmonologists and rheumatologists must better understand “how we [both] approach our shared diseases.”
SAN FRANCISCO—Lung involvement is a frequent and often life-threatening manifestation of the connective tissue diseases (CTDs) that are commonly encountered by rheumatologists. A variety of rheumatic diseases can affect the lungs, including systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, lupus, polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) and Sjögren’s syndrome. A panel presentation on lung disease associated with rheumatic diseases at the…