WASHINGTON, D.C.—Speaking at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in a session titled ARHP: Immunology Boot Camp I: Basis of Targeted Therapy, a rheumatologist and immunology expert gave a guided tour of the immune system, described what can go wrong with it and outlined what physicians can do when it does. Troy Torgerson, MD, PhD, associate…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Challenges abound for the manufacturing of biosimilar drugs—from their sheer size compared with small molecule drugs to the unknowable proprietary aspects of the originator drugs—an expert said at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in a session titled Immunology Update: Biologic Agents: From Nature to Protein Engineering to Biosimilars. Above all, because biosimilars are copies…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Researchers have identified nine new genetic loci linked with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), along with evidence that at least some of them likely play a functional role, such as cytokine signaling and T cell expression. The findings were presented in an abstract session at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, which also included a presentation…
In 1974, President Nixon established a week in April to recognize the importance of volunteering. National Volunteer Week is scheduled for April 23–29 this year. At the College, we like to acknowledge and thank our volunteers year round. The mission of the College cannot be achieved without the time, effort, talent and dedication of our…
The Rheumatology Research Foundation’s largest fundraising campaign, Journey to Cure, has surpassed its $60 million fundraising, raising a grand total of $61,430,466. With the support of 3,869 donors, the campaign has funded awards for more than 900 rheumatology professionals. “The success of Journey to Cure demonstrates the commitment rheumatologists and health professionals have to impacting…
The clinical practice guidelines for managing Sjögren’s syndrome, developed by the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation with the ACR, were designed to improve quality and consistency of care. In total, 19 recommendations were agreed on, which include managing the rheumatic and systemic aspects of the disease. Recommendations include a decision tree for the use of DMARDs for inflammatory musculoskeletal pain, use of self-care measures and exercise to reduce fatigue, and the use of rituximab in selected clinical settings for oral and ocular dryness…
Introduction: Major advances in the past two decades have enhanced our understanding of the complex interactions between the immune system and cancer cells and their environment. Genetic and epigenetic alterations in tumor cells result in the expression of diverse antigens that can elicit an immune response, primarily mediated by T cells. Immune responses are regulated…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ongoing investigation into the disease mechanisms of inflammatory myopathies is generating needed information for the development of potential future therapeutic targets, and current data from clinical trials have shed light on myopathy concerns in different cohorts of patients. These issues were all discussed in a session titled Muscle Biology, Myositis, and Myopathies I during…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients taking TNF inhibitors don’t develop new cancers at a higher rate than JIA patients who don’t take TNF inhibitors, according to the largest study so far conducted to study the possible link. The findings were reported at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in an abstract session that also included…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Researchers at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting discussed how they are exploring the immune system in search of groundwork for new rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatments. The new avenues, supported by the Rheumatology Research Foundation, involve T cell adhesion, new understanding of the role of macrophages and insights into the way IgG glycans function. T…