New research has incorporated confounders, such as smoking, to build a clearer picture of family-related factors that may help predict who will develop rheumatoid arthritis…


New research has incorporated confounders, such as smoking, to build a clearer picture of family-related factors that may help predict who will develop rheumatoid arthritis…

The identification of specific transcription factors linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) provides new information on the molecular mechanisms underlying the link between EBV and autoimmune disease. A recently published study, “Transcription Factors Operate Across Disease Loci, with EBNA2 Implicated in Autoimmunity,” co-led by John B. Harley, MD, PhD; Leah C. Kottyan, PhD; and Matthew…

CHICAGO—Although rare, when a patient has both primary immune deficiency and autoimmune disease, the combination can lead to life-threatening complications requiring careful, long-term therapy. In When Immune Deficiency and Autoimmunity Coexist, a session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, M. Eric Gershwin, MD, the Jack and Donald Chia professor of Medicine and chief of Rheumatology,…

Gbemisola Olayemi, MD, Evangeline Scopelitis, MD, & Jerald M. Zakem, MD |
Vasculitis is a group of chronic inflammatory diseases in which the blood vessel is the target of an immune reaction. They can be secondary to connective tissue disease, idiopathic or due to infection, neoplasm or drugs.1 Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is a rare syndrome characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration and necrosis…

When a patient has both primary immune deficiency and autoimmune disease, the combination can lead to life-threatening complications. Here are some insights into the challenges of diagnosing and treating this rare subset of patients…

New research has provided a never-before-seen view of the genetic activity that may be used to map the polygenic nature of common rheumatic diseases. Two recent studies have employed distinct approaches to identify the non-coding gene variants, digging deep into human genetic data to uncover the mechanism of rheumatic diseases…

Priya Chokshi, MD, Roberta Seidman, MD, Noah Levit, PhD, MD, & Steven E. Carsons, MD |
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are at the forefront of advances in cancer therapy and have shown promising results for progression-free survival. Checkpoint signaling pathways, such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), normally regulate the immune response to promote self-tolerance and prevent tissue damage and inflammation. PD-1 is a…

Renée Bacher |
Patients with a specific genetic predisposition for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may want to take precautions when consuming certain types of meat, dairy and produce grown with cow manure, according to a new study out of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando. The study, which assessed 100 RA patients, published in the journal Frontiers…

In your daily contact with rheumatology patients, you likely come across several who have type 1 or 2 diabetes. Are you doing all you can to maximize their treatment? Most physicians know about the damaging health effects of uncontrolled diabetes. From vision loss to kidney failure to nerve damage, those with diabetes require regular vigilance…

SAN DIEGO—Will rheumatologists soon be able to use data from genetics and genome-wide association studies to more accurately predict disease and develop new therapies for rheumatic diseases? At a Nov. 5 session at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, experts shared their views on how to glean this useful knowledge from genomics studies. The cost to develop…