PHILADELPHIA—The treatment of rheumatic diseases is often a double-edged sword: immunosuppressive regimens can be very effective in reducing disease activity, but the cost of such treatments may be seen in the form of increased risk of infection. At ACR Convergence 2022, the session titled ACR Guidelines for Vaccination in Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases…
PHILADELPHIA—Amy Gietzen started feeling the pain when she was 19. Her forearms, elbows, wrists and fingers were constantly swollen and sensitive. Six months later, she saw a doctor and was diagnosed with systemic diffuse scleroderma—a particularly hard-to-manage rheumatic disease with wide-ranging effects. Ms. Gietzen, who spoke at ACR Convergence 2022 and is a public speaker,…
This ACR Convergence 2022 session focused on ways to improve health equity in Indigenous populations.
Elizabeth “Blair” Solow, MD, MSc, and Angus Worthing, MD, FACP, FACR, described the top political issues affecting rheumatology now and how ACR members can work toward practices and policies that help us better care for patients.
PHILADELPHIA—Selecting my top 10 picks for abstracts in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) at the ACR Convergence 2022 meeting was not easy because there was a great deal to review and learn from the 139 abstracts submitted to the meeting. I focused first and foremost on advances in therapeutics that encompassed both new and approved therapeutics, novel…
Kori Dewing, ARNP, DNP, has been working in healthcare since high school. As she begins her term as president of the ARP, she is building on nearly two decades of volunteer experience with the ARP and ACR to continue supporting rheumatology professionals and advancing the College’s values of inclusion, collaboration and community.
The new chair of the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee, Dr. Downey says physicians play a vital role in helping policymakers understand how policies and laws affect patients and the practice of rheumatology.
PHILADELPHIA—“At age 12, I was diagnosed with psoriasis (PsO), followed by a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) at age 30,” said Ashley Krivohlavek of Oklahoma City in a poster presentation at ACR Convergence 2022. “I’m now 38.” Ms. Krivohlavek’s Story In 2020, I had been on an infused biologic for 18 months, but my…
PHILADELPHIA—The term autoinflammatory syndrome was coined by Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md., not long after he discovered that mutations in the gene MEFV, which codes for the protein pyrin, are responsible for familial Mediterranean fever (FMF).1 Early on, the term was meant to signify monogenic conditions in which…
PHILADELPHIA—Approximately 60 research abstracts on gout were accepted for presentation at ACR Convergence 2022, including two plenary abstract presentations. It is exciting to see a wealth of research on gout being undertaken worldwide. Here, we highlight important points from seven of these studies. 1. Abstract 1810: Frequency and Patterns of Opioid Use in the Management…