Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Rheumatoid Arthritis FocusRheum

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common autoimmune inflammatory arthritis in adults. In June 2021, the ACR released an updated guideline for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.1 The guideline underscores the role of methotrexate as a cornerstone therapy and emphasizes minimizing glucocorticoids, when possible. It also includes new recommendations for specific high-risk groups. Learn more in our article. 

FEATURED ARTICLE: Top Research in Rheumatoid Arthritis Presented at ACR Convergence 2024, with expert commentary by Jeffrey Curtis, MD, MS, MPH

ACR Convergence 2024

Top Research in Rheumatoid Arthritis Presented at ACR Convergence 2024

Why this research is relevant to clinicians today & researchers in the future WASHINGTON, D.C.—The ACR Convergence 2024 meeting in Washington, D.C., reflected the continued advancement of science and practical research in the field of rheumatoid arthritis. Highlights this year centered on new RA treatments and new uses of existing treatments; the use of artificial…

Patients with RA in the Setting of Cardiovascular Disease

How can we best care for our patients from a joint & cardiovascular perspective? That’s the question Christina Charles-Schoeman, MD, MS, professor of medicine and chief, Division of Rheumatology, University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Santa Monica, Calif., addressed in a session at ACR Convergence 2024.

Where Are We with RA?

In this Review Course at Convergence 2024, Iain McInnes, PhD, FRCP, discussed some of the challenges of RA: remission is drug maintained, multimorbidity abounds & treatment strategies can be complex.

Advancements in Imaging

Experts shared insights into their work on building consensus for the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound for the diagnosis and management of RA and PsA.

New Guidance Proposed for Ultrasound Use in RA

In a session on a current ACR project on musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS), Gurjit Kaeley, MBBS, RhMSUS, MRCP, division chief, professor of medicine, fellowship program director and program director for musculoskeletal ultrasound at the University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, will present information on proposed guidance related to rheumatoid arthritis. The ACR places a high…

An Expert’s Take on the Best Research in RA to Be Presented at ACR Convergence 2024

With thousands of research abstracts and posters being presented at ACR Convergence 2024, Nov. 14–19, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., figuring out which research is important today, which could prove important in the future, what has the potential to affect clinical care or prove the basis for future research is…

Updates in RA-Associated ILD

On Sunday, Nov. 17, at ACR Convergence 2024, three speakers will deliver a presentation on Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease: Advances in Screening, Diagnosis and Patient Phenotyping. This session will have three 20-minute presentations that cover distinct aspects of RA-associated ILD from early identification of ILD through high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) text mining, to phenotyping…

Research, Case Reports & More

Cardiovascular & Cancer Risk Factors with JAK Inhibitors

In this study, researchers set out to determine the prevalence of baseline risk factors for cardiovascular outcomes and cancer among commercially insured patients with rheumatoid arthritis during their first dispensed treatment.

Is Intestinal Dysbiosis Associated with RA?

This study affirms that dysbiosis is a feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and suggests that specific therapies may differentially modulate the gastrointestinal microbiota in RA.

Interventions to Delay RA Onset

Two new successful trials in abatacept, APIPPRA and ARIAA, are the first to convincingly demonstrate the potential of a preventive approach to RA treatment.

The Prospect of Rheumatoid Arthritis Prevention

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is treatable, and for that, we should be grateful. But wouldn’t it be better if we could prevent it from even happening? Recent data from a study in China demonstrated some interesting results. Could an older type of diabetes medication be the answer we’ve been looking for? Background Preclinical studies have suggested…

Can an App Reduce the Need for In-Person Visits?

Solomon et al. examined whether a mobile application (app) for patients with rheumatoid arthritis integrated in the electronic health record would be used by patients and rheumatologists.

Optimizing DMARD Use in Older Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis

SAN DIEGO—Older adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) comprise two groups: those who have lived with diagnosed RA since an early age (young-onset RA) and those who have new-onset RA diagnosed at an older age (≥65 years), known as late-onset RA or, formerly, as elderly onset RA.1 Individuals with late-onset RA have more acute and systemic…

The Risk of Cardiovascular Events in Patients with RA & More Explored in 3rd Plenary Session

SAN DIEGO—In one presentation at Plenary Session 3, ACR Convergence 2023, Beth Wallace, MD, MSc, a staff physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Michigan, and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, shared important data on the relationship between time-dependent cumulative glucocorticoid exposure and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a cohort of veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).