Limited data exist on the clinical presentation of Muckle–Wells syndrome (MWS) during pregnancy. The purpose of this case report is to highlight the diagnosis of MWS in a pregnant woman. Many rheumatic diseases affect women of childbearing age, and their management during pregnancy can be challenging. Case A 33-year-old, 18-weeks’ pregnant woman was hospitalized for…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ongoing investigation into the disease mechanisms of inflammatory myopathies is generating needed information for the development of potential future therapeutic targets, and current data from clinical trials have shed light on myopathy concerns in different cohorts of patients. These issues were all discussed in a session titled Muscle Biology, Myositis, and Myopathies I during…
A recent study found that plasmacytoid dentricitic cells (pDCs) control the differentiation of immature B cells into regulatory B (Breg) cells or plasmablast, depending on the concentration of IFNα. For patients with SLE, researchers found that immune regulatory feedback between pDCs and Breg cells is dysfunctional, with the exception of patients who respond to rituximab…
SAN FRANCISCO—What factors help determine whether or not inflammation resolves, leading to healing, or becomes chronic, leading to disease and tissue destruction? A number of important cells, including toll-like receptors, mast cells, anti-citrullinated protein antibodies, complement and interferon, all play their own role in this process. By understanding how they act in innate and adaptive…
The FDA has received an application to expand the use of etanercept to treat plaque psoriasis in pediatric patients. Boehringer Ingelheim and AbbVie have announced a collaborative partnership to develop treatments for multiple autoimmune diseases. And gerilimzumab may prove safe and effective for treating inflammatory diseases at very low doses…
For 30 years, the Rheumatology Research Foundation has been funding research and advancing treatments. During that time, Leonard L. Dragone, MD, PhD, received a Foundation award to help look for new strategies to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases in mouse models. Then, he was working as an assistant professor of pediatrics and immunology at the…
Studies on metabolism, neuroendocrinology, and immunology can broaden understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic inflammatory diseases
Research into how the timing of light and dark exposures control our lives could provide clues to why some people have immunologic disorders
An ongoing study of key immune system proteins has pinpointed an area associated with increased risk for inflammatory disease and may one day lead to new therapies to control inflammation and rheumatic diseases.