For the 2023 Image Competition, the ACR sought images representing a diverse range of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) or IIM mimics. The images selected as Best Overall by the judges this year come from North America. Systemic Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis Masquerading as Inflammatory Myositis These images depict an 81-year-old man who presented…
Case Report: Does a Rapid-Onset Neck Mass Have Rheumatic Origins?
A 54-year-old African American man arrived at the emergency department with the acute onset of a tender mass on the left side of his neck. It had been getting progressively larger for the preceding two days. History & Examination His history included chronic right hip osteoarthritis with two surgeries performed five years prior. At his…
An Amylodosis Warning & New Drug Hope
SAN DIEGO—Treatments do exist that can improve the prospects of a patient with the rare disease amyloidosis, but only if clinicians keep the disease in mind and treat the patient before it’s too late, an expert said at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting this past November. He also discussed research that may be close to…
The Legacy of Amyloid: Infiltration Linked to Dementia, Rheumatic Disease
An Unforgettable Story Her name was unforgettable. Not only did we share our given names—Simon and Simone, but her French-Canadian surname was based on this appellation, too. I was the junior resident working on our hospital’s nephrology service when she was admitted for evaluation of progressively worsening kidney disease and an overall failure to thrive….
Amyloidosis Is Often Underdiagnosed, Undertreated
CHICAGO—Caryn A. Libbey, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, described the evolving in our understanding of amyloid at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. Amyloidosis is a rare disease that is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. “Even though this disease has been around for 150 years, I still consider it…
Human RNAi Therapy Jumps Hurdle
A new proof-of-concept human study brings RNA interference therapy one step closer to market. (published March 3, 2014)
What Rheumatologists Need to Know about Identifying Amyloidosis
Although amyloidosis is not a rheumatic disease, rheumatologists may be the first to diagnose this life-threatening condition