Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

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Difficult-to-Manage Spondyloarthritis

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Studies show that patients with difficult-to-treat axial spondyloarthritis had more disease activity and greater peripheral involvement, with extra musculoskeletal manifestations and fibromyalgia. The ACR Convergence 2024 session on Difficult-to-Manage Spondyloarthritis will focus on patients for whom first- and second-line therapies have failed or who have persistent extra-axial manifestations of disease despite these treatment options. The…

Chronic Pain & the Mind-Body Connection

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Howard Schubiner, MD, shares what led him to focus on the mind-body connection during an episode of the ACR on Air podcast. He discusses recent research into how pain reprocessing may help patients suffering from psychological-related chronic pain.

Poly-Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Uncommon Subset of a Difficult-to-Treat Disease

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Difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is defined as the failure of two or more classes of biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to control active or progressive disease in patients with RA. Between 5 and 20% of patients with RA have difficult-to-treat RA.

Good Care: Benefits of Pain Self-Management Is Getting More Recognition

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Pain management can involve more than active pharmacologic treatment. During a session at ACR Convergence 2023, experts addressed the benefits of patient self-management for pain, how it works with clinical care and the role of technology.

Genetic Influence on OA

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In 59,970 twins aged 35 years or older, Magnusson et al. compared how much genetics contributes to osteoarthritis (OA) with the genetic contribution to other rheumatic/musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) in the same population, while exploring the role of shared genetics in OA and other RMDs. The researchers used data from the Swedish Twin Registry, in addition to the Swedish National Patient Register. They concluded that the heritability (i.e., the total genetic contribution to a trait) of OA is relatively large compared with other rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases.

The 2023 ARP Merit Awards

Patrice Fusillo  |  

SAN DIEGO—During ACR Convergence 2023 in November, the ACR and the ARP honored a group of distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to rheumatology research, education and patient care. This month, The Rheumatologist profiles the recipients of the ARP Merit Awards and ARP Master class, recognizing outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology. The…

Small Fiber Neuropathy for the Rheumatologist

Michael Cammarata, MD  |  

Small fiber neuropathy is a common form of peripheral neuropathy with multiple potential etiologies and a varied clinical presentation. It can’t be detected by nerve conduction studies, making it an elusive and often overlooked entity. Small fiber neuropathy is well documented in several rheumatic diseases, and its symptom burden can profoundly affect quality of life….

The Heterogeneity of Psoriatic Arthritis

David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD  |  

SAN DIEGO—Differences between psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis highlight the need for the development of imaging modalities, laboratory tests and other biomarkers that are explored and validated specifically for PsA to advance the goal of personalized or precision medicine. In this article, expert David S. Pisetsky, MD, PhD, explores the top research in psoriatic arthritis presented at ACR Convergence 2023.

More Than Meets the Eye

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SAN DIEGO—In recent years, the recognition of nr-axSpa has helped identify the cause of back pain in many patients previously without a diagnosis. However, questions remain about how to avoid under- or over-diagnosing the condition. In the session titled, Pearls and Pitfalls in Diagnosing Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis, several speakers provided high-yield insights on this topic. Diagnostic challenges, imaging options and mimics to watch for were among the specific points of discussion.