Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, was born and raised in eastern Kentucky, where she first cultivated her love of literature, writing and personal narratives. She attended Kenyon college, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, summa cum laude. She worked with individuals with psychiatric conditions and later in a neuroscience lab at the University of Illinois, Chicago, before graduating from Indiana University Medical School in 2011. Instead of pursuing clinical medicine, Ruth opted to build on her strength of clearly explaining medical topics though a career as a freelance medical writer, writing both for lay people and for health professionals. She writes across the biomedical sciences, but holds strong interests in rheumatology, neurology, autoimmune diseases, genetics, and the intersection of broader social, cultural and emotional contexts with biomedical topics. Ruth now lives in Bloomington, Ind., with her husband, son and cat. She can be contacted via her website at ruthjessenhickman.com.
On May 6, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Arthritis Advisory Committee narrowly voted in support of avacopan, a C5a receptor inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis. Although the panelists were excited about the possibility of a steroid-sparing therapy, some raised questions about whether results from…
A delayed second dose of an mRNA vaccine may provide better protection against COVID-19 in elderly patients.
The ACR’s May 13 virtual town hall highlighted effective approaches rheumatology providers can take to convince patients to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Over the past 18 months, the ACR’s Quality of Care (QOC) Committee has helped produce an impressive number of resources that will help rheumatologists deliver the best possible care. Working through specific projects supervised under its Criteria, Guideline, Guidance, and Quality Measure subcommittees, the QOC Committee has developed new sets of disease criteria, clinical guidelines,…
In early June, the ACR released an updated guideline on the management of rheumatoid arthritis, which includes new recommendations for specific high-risk groups.1 The guideline includes 44 recommendations—seven of which are strong and 37 conditional. It underscores the role of methotrexate as a cornerstone therapy and emphasizes minimizing glucocorticoids, when possible. Guideline Development Process At…
Although we can expect to learn much more, preliminary data are now available on the potential safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in rheumatology patients. The picture is likely to be nuanced, with not all types of immunoÂsuppressive treatments having identical impacts on vaccine response. Rheumatologists should use caution in interpreting early reports, while continuing…
A phase 3 trial described in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) highlights the potential of a C5a receptor inhibitor, avacopan, for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis.1 Avacopan may potentially offer a steroid-sparing option for the treatment of this serious disease. Current Treatment of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Morbidity and mortality from ANCA-associated vasculitis have…
In a randomized, controlled trial, the risk difference between groups is interpreted as a causal effect of the treatment, according to Seoyoung C. Kim, MD, ScD, MSCE, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics and the Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation and Immunity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical…
The ACR, in concert with the Vasculitis Foundation, released three new vasculitis guidelines online first in July, with a fourth slated for publication by the end of the year. These are the first ever to be produced and endorsed by the ACR and the Vasculitis Foundation. Although most of the recommendations are conditional, due to…
Since 1991, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been a staple for the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus; it has been shown to improve survival, reduce cardiovascular risk, thrombosis and renal damage, delay or prevent lupus cerebritis and more. However, HCQ can potentially bind in the retinal pigment epithelium and cause degeneration of photoreceptors, leading to…