I’m a believer in blue light. I’ve spent years lecturing my insomniac patients, buzzed on prednisone, on the importance of good sleep hygiene. In my own home, I try to practice what I preach. When I’m ready for bed, I leave my laptop and phone on my nightstand, and concentrate on relaxing. If I can’t…
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) on March 10, 2021, after Senate passage on March 6. President Biden signed the bill into law on March 11. Following is the ACR’s summary of the most impactful provisions of this third COVID-19 relief package. Fighting COVID-19 $160 billion…
An ACR COVID-19 Vaccine task force examined vaccine data and literature to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine safety, efficacy and interaction with medications for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, and to craft a living guidance document for members.
Ethan Craig was not pleased. As a reader of this column, you know that Dr. Craig is an assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate editor of The Rheumatologist. On this particular morning, however, he was the father of a 5-year-old who woke up…
In late December, the ACR convened a COVID-19 Vaccine Consortium via a conference call to consider rheumatology’s place in the massive worldwide effort to develop, test, deliver and further study the vaccines promising to bring the historic pandemic under control.
It is an exciting time in the world of vasculitis research. More clinical studies and trials are being conducted now than at any time in history. In the past ten years, four drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies specifically for the treatment of vasculitis: Rituximab…
As founder and president of a large rheumatology group, Howard M. Busch, DO, says the pandemic has had a limited financial effect on many of the network’s clinics. Communication and technology have been key to adapting to the needs of patients and connecting with other providers during this critical time.
A young man sits down at my COVID-19 immunization station at Maine Medical Center and stares resolutely ahead, focusing on the far wall. He looks nervous. I make sure the needle and syringe are outside his field of vision. That should help. I pick up a Band-Aid from my box of supplies. It’s a Band-Aid…
Recent evidence on how anti-citrullinated protein antibodies, anti-modified protein autoantibodies and rheumatoid factor activity overlap in RA demonstrate new ideas for diagnostics and pathophysiology.
“It’s like winning Powerball.” For months, there has been a steady trickle of questions from my patients, asking for my opinion about the new vaccines being developed to prevent COVID-19. More to the point, they want to know if they should be vaccinated. After some fits and starts, I finally struck upon a pat answer…