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Tips for Exploring Tough Topics with Teens with Rheumatic Disease

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ATLANTA—Managing teenage patients may present challenges for pediatric rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals not only because of their often complex, rare conditions, but because teenagers are, well, teenagers. Teens may experiment with sexual intercourse, alcohol use, tobacco or vaping e-cigarettes to fit in with their peers, even if these habits have serious health consequences, according to…

Tips for Engaging Your Pediatric Research Patients

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ATLANTA—Around 2002, when Vincent Del Gaizo’s son was just 15 months old, he was hospitalized in an intensive care unit and, weeks later, was diagnosed with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). “We had the same 8 trillion questions that all parents have when their child is diagnosed with a condition you’ve never heard of: ‘Is…

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Sjögren’s Syndrome in Kids: Diagnostic Challenges & Treatment Options

Sara M. Stern, MD, Matthew L. Basiaga, DO, MSCE, & Scott M. Lieberman, MD, PhD  |  

A 14-year-old girl is referred to your office for fatigue and arthralgias. While you’re obtaining her past medical history, she divulges that she has had four episodes of bilateral parotitis, each lasting two weeks. An otolaryngologist evaluated her. She lacked sicca symptoms, had a normal complete blood count (CBC), normal inflammatory markers and a negative…

The 2019 ACR Award Winners & Distinguished Fellows

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ATLANTA—Every year at its Annual Meeting, the ACR recognizes its members’ outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology through an awards program. The ACR is proud to announce 20 award recipients for 2019, honored for their accomplishments as clinicians, instructors or researchers who have helped advance rheumatology, for their commitment to inspire others to enter…

New Studies Identify Possible Markers of Early Systemic Sclerosis

Bryn Nelson, PhD  |  

Although the true cause of systemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma, remains unknown, researchers have made progress in detecting the autoimmune disease’s early presence. Beyond the physiological signs of Raynaud’s phenomenon, a capillaroscopy can detect alterations in microcirculation and lab tests can confirm the presence of telltale autoantibodies, such as anti-topoisomerase 1, anti-centromere and anti-RNA polymerase…

Lessons Learned from Two Scleroderma Lung Studies (Plus a Third That’s Recruiting Sites)

Elizabeth R. Volkmann, MD, MS, Michael D. Roth, MD, Donald P. Tashkin, MD, Cathie Spino, ScD, & Dinesh Khanna, MD, MS  |  

Historically, the early approach for treating interstitial lung disease (ILD) due to systemic sclerosis (SSc) involved immunosuppressant therapy, primarily with cytotoxic agents.1 Glucocorticoids in combination with another immunosuppressant agent, such as oral azathioprine or cyclophosphamide, were often used to treat patients with severe, progressive SSc-ILD.2 However, direct evidence to support this thera­peutic approach was lacking…

Rheumatology Drugs at a Glance, Part 3: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Mary Choy, PharmD, BCGP, FASHP  |  

Over the past few years, bio­similars and other new drugs have been introduced to treat rheumatic illnesses. Some of the conditions we treat have numerous drug options, others have few or only off-label options. This series, “Rheumatology Drugs at a Glance,” provides streamlined information on the administration of biologic, biosimilar and small molecule inhibitor drugs…

Recent Trials Investigated Targeted Therapies for Systemic Sclerosis

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SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—Data from three recent trials in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) provide information on a number of important issues related to screening and treatment. First presented at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, the phase 2/3 trials assessed the safety and efficacy of targeted agents to treat patients with systemic sclerosis.1-3 In a follow-up presentation at…