Ipilimumab (Yervoy) is a monoclonal antibody directed against cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4). It was the first drug to demonstrate a survival benefit in advanced melanoma and was approved by the FDA in 2011.1 By blocking the CTLA-4 receptor, ipilimumab enhances the immune response against tumors via cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation and proliferation.2 However, immunopotentiating…
Antisynthetase syndrome (AS) is strongly associated with the presence of antibodies to aminoacyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases (ARSs) that are implicated in the pathogenesis of myositis and interstitial lung disease (ILD). Antibodies against eight antisynthetases have been identified and are detected in 16–26% of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM).1 Serum assays for five of these…
Classification criteria for primary Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) have been approved by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), validating an international set of classification criteria for SS using standards set by both organizations. Those criteria can now be found in the 2016 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome: A…
One of your first clinical assignments as a medical student was likely to have been the lung exam. Its key descriptors may still resonate in your mind: inspection, palpation, percussion and ausculÂtation. Proudly parading down the hospital corridors, your newly purchased stethoscope snugly tucked inside your lab coat pocket, you carefully place its cold metal…
Case report: A 78-year-old Caucasian female presented to our outpatient rheumatology clinic with pain in her bilateral shoulders, hands and knees that began suddenly one month earlier. She admitted to stiffness in her hands lasting several hours, and expressed an inability to extend her fingers. She denied fever, rashes, jaw claudication, headache or visual changes….
A case of difficult-to-diagnose Whipple’s disease
A guide to ensure proper coding, billing and accurately diagnose patients.
Joint pain and swelling flare up in a 14-year-old boy who tests positive for inflammation, thrombocytosis, and human leukocyte antigen B27
Differences in disease manifestations, severity, and management require special consideration from rheumatologists who treat children and adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus
Experts highlight treatment advances and challenges ahead in OA, RA, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)