ACR study groups provide an excellent forum for networking at the ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting and are among the most highly sought-after sessions each year. Although study groups are not eligible for CME credits, they provide an opportunity for the exchange of new ideas and in-depth presentations of information. These groups give attendees the opportunity to discuss cases and share experiences with colleagues who share a common interest in one disease, a group of related disorders, or a specialized field of study.
This year, ACR study groups will be held on Monday, October 27 from 6:15–7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, October 28 from 12:45–2:15 p.m. As always, a variety of topics will be offered, providing something for everyone.
Below is a sample of what will be offered at the 2008 meeting.
Monday, October 27, 6:15–7:30 p.m.
Lupus and pregnancy—translating new discoveries to management: This exciting session will focus on translating new discoveries in the bench-to-bedside management of pregnancy in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This year’s session, coordinated by Jill Buyon, MD, professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, will offer four major areas of discussion, each led by an expert in the field. Jane Salmon, MD, co-director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, will discuss novel mediators of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) associated with pregnancy complications, as well as potential markers to predict those at risk. Dr. Buyon will offer a review on the pathogenesis of congenital heart block, emphasizing a potential role of the fetal cardiocyte and subsequent inflammation and scarring. J. Lee Nelson, MD, professor of human immunogenetics at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute in Seattle, Wash., will address the potential influence of microchimerism in a lupus pregnancy. Finally, Joan T. Merrill, MD, program chair of the clinical pharmacology research program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, will end with a review of the treatments most likely to be used in lupus patients who become pregnant.
Pediatric rheumatology: Pediatric rheumatology is a rapidly advancing subspecialty, and the goal of this study group is to provide a high-quality update on the current scientific methodology being used in the treatment of pediatric patients, as well as to review of the most recent advances in the subspecialty. In addition, Lisa Rider, MD, deputy chief of the environmental autoimmunity group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and this year’s study group coordinator, is excited to offer a program that includes an update from Peter Gregersen, MD, director of the Eileen Ludwig Greenland Center for Rheumatoid Arthritis at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y., and David Glass, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, on genome-wide association studies using high-throughput SNP array technology. This study group will offer a look at translational research of relevance to pediatric rheumatologists, while offering broad appeal to adult rheumatologists.
Rehabilitative rheumatology: In recent years, new types of implants and advances in minimally invasive surgical techniques have been developed; these have implications for preoperative, postoperative, and rehabilitative care for patients with rheumatic disease. This study group, coordinated by Geri Neuberger, RN, MN, EdD, professor of nursing at the University of Kansas School of Nursing in Kansas City, will provide a forum for discussion of new surgical procedures for knee or hip replacement and implications for pre-operative and postoperative care, including optimal rehabilitation. The four presenters are: Stuart B. Goodman, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at Stanford University (Calif.); Matthew Liang, MD, professor in the department of health policy and management at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.; Marie Westby, BSc (PT), physical therapy teaching supervisor at Mary Pack Arthritis Program at the Vancouver Coastal Health in Vancouver, Canada; and Howard Hillstrom, PhD, director of the Leon Root, MD, Motion Analysis Lab at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
APS: APS is an evolving field with significant new knowledge in the clinical arena, as well as in the basic sciences and pathogenesis area. This year’s study group coordinator, Silvia S. Pierangeli, MD, professor of rheumatology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in League City, has planned a program that will provide balanced coverage of the most recent advances and discoveries regarding the treatment of APS. E. Nigel Harris, MD, vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, will present challenging clinical and diagnostics cases within an interactive session. Ricard Cervera, MD, head of the department of autoimmune diseases at the Hospital Clinic and Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, will take a look at catastrophic APS. Jacob Rand, MD, professor of pathology at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., will discuss a new mechanistic assay for the detection of antiphospholipid antibodies and will present new findings on the effects of hydroxychloroquine therapy in the treatment of APS. Finally, Dr. Pierangeli will give an update on pathogenic mechanism mediated by antiphospholipid antibodies and new targeted therapies in APS.
Tuesday, October 28, 12:45–2:15 p.m.
Metabolic bone disease: Ellen Field, MD, a rheumatologist in private practice in Bethlehem, Pa., with special interest and experience in osteoporosis and clinical research, is the coordinator of this year’s study group, which will focus on the role that biologics play in the treatment of metabolic bone disease. Biologics are becoming a standard of care in multiple diseases, including inflammatory arthropathy, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. During this year’s group, Willem Lems, MD, of the Free University Hospital in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Nancy E. Lane, MD, of the University of California, Davis—both of whom are international experts in the field of metabolic bone disease—will address the clinical and basic science effects of using biologics to treat the disease.
Customize Your Meeting Schedule
By using the ACR’s Online Program Planner, you can explore different conference sessions and workshops that will be held at this year’s annual meeting, as well as pinpoint topics related to your specific areas of interest. With the Online Program Planner, you can browse conference sessions by type, speaker, title, date, and time or use the new abstract search feature to search abstracts by topic areas, presenters’ last names, presentation titles and numbers, keywords, or institutions. Additionally, abstracts that report results of a clinical trial not yet supported by a regulatory agency will be searchable by trial phase and type.
You can also click on “My Itinerary” to print your customized meeting schedule or download it directly to your PDA—allowing you to keep your schedule at your fingertips.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) and the rheumatic disease: Paul Dellaripa, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a physician in the division of rheumatology at Brigham and Woman’s Hospital, both in Boston, is the coordinator of this year’s study group and has created a program designed to provide a forum to discuss and advance clinical investigation into ILD associated with rheumatic diseases. Outside of scleroderma, lung manifestations in rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sjögren’s, and inflammatory myositis are rare and poorly understood. This year’s program will focus on creating a network of interested groups to move toward a viable database across institutions and to discuss ongoing clinical projects that focus on ILD in the rheumatic diseases.
ACR/EULAR academic exchange program: This program seeks to bring together young academic rheumatologists from Europe and the United States to discuss basic and translational research programs in order to foster the exchange of ideas and continuous collaboration. This year’s study group—co-coordinated by Mariana J. Kaplan, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine, division of rheumatology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Ulf Müller-Ladner, MD, of the University Giessen and director of the department of rheumatology and clinical immunology at Kerckhoff Clinic in Bad Nauheim, Germany—will highlight the importance of aging in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory disorders. In addition, two keynote speakers will address the group, followed by an abstract presentation session from members of the exchange program.
WHO burden of disease (GBD) (musculoskeletal) international update: Group coordinators Lyn March, MD, PhD, associate professor of rheumatology at the University of Sydney in Australia; Richard Osborne, PhD, associate professor at the the University of Melbourne in Australia; and Anthony Woolf, MD, PhD, Hon professor of rheumatology at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, U.K., have created a study group that will allow attendees to be part of an international project aiming to describe the prevalence, incidence, and disability burden of osteoarthritis, RA, back pain, gout, osteoporosis, and other musculoskeletal disorders across all regions of the world. The group plans to introduce the concepts and processes involved in estimating the global burden of (and injuries and risk factors in) these diseases while discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the original WHO GBD Reports for Musculoskeletal Conditions. This will provide attendees an outline of how improvements will be made to better position musculoskeletal disorders against other conditions at the international level.
For a complete list of the 2008 study groups and additional news and information about this year’s annual meeting, visit www.rheumatology.org/annual.
