An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals
Lara C. Pullen, PhD
Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer with a PhD in microbiology/immunology from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. As a medical writer she has covered topics as diverse as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and autism. Her favorite subject, however, is the role of the immune system in health and disease. Dr. Pullen is also the mother of three children, the youngest of whom has Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). She is an active member of the PWS community and a thought leader on the importance of the ketogenic diet for this patient population.
As patients with rheumatic musculoskeletal disease age, the number of medications they take may increase (i.e., polypharmacy), which can result in unwanted side effects and serious adverse effects. Lee et al. offer considerations and insights into caring for aging patients in a polypharmacy situation to better meet their health and lifestyle needs.
A study found that litifilimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds blood dendritic cell antigen 2, may be effective for the treatment of patients with active cutaneous lupus erythematosus. The treatment successfully reduced skin disease activity in patients at 16 weeks compared with placebo.
Research has demonstrated that exercise-based physical therapy is as effective at maintaining knee function as surgery in patients with degenerative meniscal tears at risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.
Supplemental vitamin D may not significantly lower the risk of fractures in generally healthy adults compared with placebo, according to a large study by LeBoff et al.
Research from Gloersen et al. suggests the systemic effects of obesity, as measured by leptin, may play a role in the severity of pain experienced by patients with hand osteoarthritis.
In a post hoc analysis of two clinical trials, Maassen et al. demonstrated that 40% of patients with early RA or undifferentiated arthritis experienced disease flare after primary glucocorticoid discontinuation despite background treatment with conventional synthetic DMARDs.
A study from Glerup et al. demonstrated that many patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis achieved drug-free remission over 18 years of follow-up and that remission rates remained stable between years 8 and 18 of the study period.
Rheumatologists should be better compensated, in part, due to the revenue they bring to the hospital system from their procedures, argue D’Anna et al., who found that clinical academic rheumatologists bring significant downstream revenue to the healthcare system.
Using data from cohorts with detailed lifestyle data and lengthy follow-up, Hahn et al. demonstrated that healthy lifestyle behaviors are associated with a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), concluding that a substantial proportion of RA may be preventable.