Rheumatology Health Professionals’ Awards, Appointments and Announcements November 2017

Dr. Felson, who served on multiple ACR committees, and his group achieved numerous accomplishments throughout the years. While collaborating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and rheumatology organizations, they standardized clinical trial outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis, creating the first core set of outcomes, conceived the ACR’s definition of improvement and made it possible to gauge the relative efficacy of new drugs.

Dr. Felson also led a series of major studies to identify the prevalence, impact and risk factors for knee osteoarthritis (OA). He and his group were the first to document that obesity increased the risk of OA and that weight loss could reduce the risk.

“We’re far behind in osteoarthritis,” he says. “We’re struggling. More people are getting hip and knee replacements because there’s no medical therapy that works to prevent those [replacements].”

His group also discovered that meniscus tears and other structural pathology were present in most people who were middle age and older, regardless of knee pain. His study of structural correlates of joint pain identified that in OA, inflammation of a knee membrane and bone marrow lesions cause pain. These findings have since emerged as targets of treatment.

‘We’re far behind in osteoarthritis,’ Dr. Felson says. ‘We’re struggling. More people are getting hip & knee replacements because there’s no medical therapy that works to prevent those [replacements].’

Dr. Felson graduated from medical school in 1978 from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He trained in rheumatology and also received a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University.

“I was thrilled to get the award and [hope] people realize that it’s really a team effort,” he says. “All of the successes I’ve had have been based on a lot of people working together to achieve answers in science.”

Arthritis Foundation Honors Drs. Eisenberg & Goldstein

In October, Gerald Eisenberg, MD, and Wayne Goldstein, MD, were honored at a fundraiser for the Illinois chapter of the Arthritis Foundation for their unique medical practice that merges multiple specialties in musculoskeletal medicine.

Their practice—the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, which was founded in 1999 and chaired by Dr. Goldstein—supports 15 locations throughout Northeast Illinois. It employs rheumatologists, orthopedists, podiatrists, physiatrists, physical therapists and occupational therapists who focus on the care of patients with musculoskeletal disease.

“There are very few practices like this in the country,” says Dr. Eisenberg, partner and director of rheumatology at the Institute. “The beauty of this practice is that people with musculoskeletal disease can get the full gamut of medical services they need under one roof.”