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.
In the past nine years, visits to the emergency department by gout patients have increased by almost 27%. Researchers suggest physicians may not adequately be addressing the burden of gout and the underlying accumulation of uric acid, driving the dramatic increase in emergency department visits in the U.S…
NETs or LL37-DNA complexes may serve as future targets for SLE therapy. In a recent study, researchers identified a link between neutrophils and NETs, and the activation of self-reactive B cells. Their study describes a neutrophil-B cell interaction unique to lupus…
New research suggests circulating hsa-miR-122-5p and hsa-miR-4516 may become diagnostic biomarkers for osteoporosis. The study found the presence of these microRNAs were associated with osteoporotic fragility fractures and reduced bone mineral density…
Does cognitive dysfunction in SLE patients result from persistent inflammation characterized by ongoing disease activity? Recent research examining this question found no inflammatory mechanism associated with cognitive dysfunction in this patient population, underscoring previous research findings…
A recently published research review notes physician burnout has become a crisis in the U.S. The authors describe how the added administrative tasks of electronic health records (EHRs) have contributed to the crisis, as well as how regulatory requirements and EHR platform design exacerbate the situation…
Aging bones lose their ability to mechanoadapt, but new research suggests age-related adaptation failure may result from insufficient mechanical stimulus…
New research suggests the downregulation of CD3ζ contributes to the altered function of NK cells in SLE patients, which may contribute to the increased risk of viral infections in these patients…
New research suggests that antiplatelet therapy may improve the estimated glomerular filtration rate in lupus anticoagulant-positive patients with lupus nephritis. Researchers found these patients had a higher eGFR level after three years than lupus anticoagulant-positive patients who did not receive antiplatelet therapy…
A systemic review supports the ideas that exercise benefits the physical and mental health of patients experiencing pain related to hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA). Overall, research indicates that patients who exercised had slightly lower rates of pain and greater physical function, as well as slightly improved self-efficacy and social function…
Patients with scleroderma, systemic sclerosis (SSc), myositis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may develop interstitial lung disease (ILD), which affects a patient’s breathing and quality of life. Prospective studies have revealed that in patients with SSc a greater rate of decline of forced vital capacity (FVC) is associated with increased mortality. Although corticosteroids are commonly used…