The search for knowledge has shaped Western culture and is based on Greek philosophy, especially Aristotelian metaphysics. During the Middle Ages, this knowledge was matured by dialectical scholasticism, culminating, in its later stages, in the amalgam between Islamic science and the neo-Aristotelianism of St. Thomas Aquinas.1 In this way, the foundations of the future scientific…
A study that focused on the detection and immunological characteristics of cryoglobulins provides insights for rheumatologists and other rheumatology providers, as well as lab professionals. Co-researchers Marie N. Kolopp-Sarda, PharmD, PhD, and Pierre Miossec, MD, PhD, Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, University of Lyon, France, included in their retrospective study, published in…
A recent article in Arthritis Care & Research supports the idea that the patient global assessment reflects primarily the patient’s experience of their functioning in daily life.1 Background The patient global assessment is a key measure used by clinicians and researchers to help evaluate disease status in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Lead author Ethan T. Craig,…
ACR Convergence 2020—At two plenary sessions, speakers highlighted key findings, including results on the QTc interval in patients on hydroxychloroquine, and data from a study on denosumab vs. alendronate for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. The QTc Interval & Hydroxychloroquine The safety profile and optimal dosing of hydroxychloroquine has been a topic for decades because it is known…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—At the annual meeting’s second Plenary Session, Saturday, Nov. 7, speakers highlighted phase 2 results of a potential new biologic for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as data on remission maintenance in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after withdrawal of etanercept or methotrexate. Phase 2 Trial of Monoclonal Antibody for Lupus (LILAC) Several converging…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—In many ways, the current plethora of treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis patients represents an embarrassment of riches. However, while many therapeutics approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) are available, knowing the order in which to try these medications with patients can be quite challenging. In The Great Debate, held…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Moderated by Bill St.Clair, MD, MACR, an ACR past president and a professor of medicine and immunology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., an abstract session on Friday, Nov. 6, focused on the diagnosis, manifestations and outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with a focus on interstitial lung disease. RA with ILD Jeffrey…
Research has found blood tests detect elevations of autoantibody isotypes in patients years before they are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). According to Kevin Deane, MD, PhD, identifying patients during this pre-RA period may be key to preventing or delaying the onset of RA.
Editor’s note: EULAR 2020, the annual European Congress of Rheumatology, which was originally scheduled to be held in Frankfurt, Germany, starting June 3, was moved to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. EULAR 2020 e-CONGRESS—Although reducing medications is a reasonable option for some patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)—reducing cost and giving them a…
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a heterogeneous group of lung parenchymal disorders that share several clinical, radiologic and histopathologic features, and are therefore grouped together.1 ILD can occur in association with most rheumatic connective tissue diseases (CTDs), but patients with systemic sclerosis, polymyositis, dermatomyositis and rheumatoid arthritis have the highest risk of developing ILD.2 A…