Tongue Twister 12-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with Moebius syndrome a year earlier presented for evaluation of progressive tongue hemiatrophy that was causing her difficulty with eating and speaking. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain demonstrated tongue hemiatrophy without involvement of the hypoglossal nerve. A tongue biopsy showed atrophy of skeletal muscle, variably…
During an ACR webinar in August, presenters discussed multiple aspects of telehealth in rheumatology, especially related to rheumatology fellowship training. They agreed that although telehealth represents one potential avenue to improve patient access to treatment for rheumatic disease, we must keep identifying the best ways to employ telehealth to enhance care. Impact of Pandemic Telemedicine…
With a shortage of rheumatologists looming, the committee is working to avert a void in patient care.
Are you happy? This may be a question born of the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, I used to quote William Osler, MD, who simultaneously founded the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and created the modern system of medical education. He opined: The practice of medicine will be very much as you make it—to one,…
PHILADELPHIA—Since March 2020, the world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rheumatologists must understand how to best protect and treat their patients with autoimmune conditions at risk for infection due to immunosuppressive therapy. At ACR Convergence 2022, the session titled, Latest COVID and Rheumatic Disease Therapies: What You Need to Know, provided…
An ACR Convergence 2022 session provided practical updates on ways to best protect pediatric & adult patients with rheumatic disease from COVID-19.
At ACR Convergence 2022, three women with rheumatic diseases discuss the profound life changes that the diseases wrought and ways they’ve found to cope.
In this overview of clinical updates in rheumatology in the last year, high-impact studies were discussed, including the GLORIA, ORAL Surveillance and MIRROR trials.
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,…