RheumPAC is the ACR’s non-partisan political action committee, which promotes the needs of rheumatology providers and patients. Advocacy efforts often focus on legislation to improve the day-to-day clinical care of rheumatology patients, such as establishing clinical exceptions to step therapy requirements and reforming the prior authorization process. In addition, the ACR and RheumPAC recognize the…
An antibody previously un-recognized in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome may shed new light on the pathophysiology of one of the most troubling and disabling symptoms in many of these patients. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, found the anti-calponin 3 antibody had a high specificity for Sjögren’s syndrome, particularly among patients with neuropathies.1 “There is…
Researchers know human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules affect susceptibility to disease in general, and immunological disease in particular. In the case of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), the risk is primarily associated with HLA-B27, with smaller effects from other HLA alleles. Current thinking is that AS is caused by the presence of a genetically primed host because…
When patients with lupus are hospitalized, they should be screened and likely treated for venous thromboembolism, researchers of a nationwide study say. In May, ACR Open Rheumatology published results of the large retrospective study spanning several years. Researchers analyzed trends in mortality, morbidity and hospitalization from venous thromboembolism (VTE), specifically among patients diagnosed with systemic…
The prevalence of chronic opioid use among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) doubled between 2002 and 2015, especially among patients with severe pain or on antidepressants, according to a new study.1 The study adds to prior data reporting trends in chronic opioid use in RA patients.2,3 Severe pain was the strongest predictor for use of…
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) therapy may effectively manage systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in many patients, but that doesn’t mean patients will take it as often as they should. In fact, results from a recently published study found that about half of SLE patients were not adherent.1 The study was led by Lucy H. Liu, MD, MPH, a…
Researchers who devote their time to studying lupus are accustomed to considering environmental stimuli such as sunshine and cigarettes. But according to Gregg J. Silverman, MD, a professor in the Department of Medicine and in the Department of Pathology at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and co-director of the Musculoskeletal Center of…
Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) need better appraisal and more informational and social support, according to a new study on health-related quality of life in these patients.1 The phenomenological study, comprising qualitative interviews with patients in the Lupus Clinic at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo., also found a need for…
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is an increasingly rare vasculitis in developed countries due to advances in HBV vaccination and antiviral therapy. However, the condition does persist, and rheumatologists should consider it when evaluating vasculitis cases. Below, we discuss a case that illustrates the varied clinical presentations PAN can encompass. A high…
The body uses B cells to produce antibodies that can fight off infection by invading antigens and bacteria. But in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the immune system produces autoantibodies that work against the body’s proteins to attack joint tissues. Researchers believe this process is helped along by autoreactive B cells that live in bone matter and…