PHILADELPHIA—At ACR Convergence 2022, the much-anticipated ACR Review Course featured talks from eight experts. Topics reflected the heterogeneity of our field and included Sjögren’s disease, spondyloarthritis (SpA), osteoarthritis (OA), paraneoplastic rheumatic syndromes, metabolic bone disease, statin myopathy, Raynaud’s phenomenon and autoinflammatory syndrome. Here, I share highlights from this comprehensive, six-hour session. Sjögren’s Disease Sara S….
How to Recognize an Autoinflammatory Disorder
Autoinflammatory disorders may involve genetic mutations of the inflammasome or an environmental trigger in a genetically susceptible host. Dr. Jay Mehta discussed a practical, clinical approach to caring for patients with autoinflammatory disorders, such as periodic fever syndromes, during the 2022 ACR Education Exchange.
Diagnostic Drill-Down: New Research Suggests Genetic Autoinflammatory Roots
Two experts discussed ongoing difficulties in diagnosing autoinflammatory disease, & promising new studies that point to possible genetic roots of autoinflammatory disease.
The Latest Autoinflammatory Discoveries & Tips
SAN DIEGO—Since the identification of the autoinflammatory disease, familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), researchers have identified an alphabet soup of other autoinflammatory diseases with genetic underpinnings, from PAPA (pyogenic arthritis with pyoderma gangrenosum and acne) to NIAID (NLRP1-associated autoinflammation with arthritis and dyskeratosis) to TRAPS (TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome). The torrent of discoveries, brought about largely…
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Why Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Is the Preferred Term and More
CHICAGO—Joseph Breen, PhD, program officer at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., opened the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) session at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) 2017 meeting by asking presenters to describe the current state of the science to the key immunology stakeholders gathered in the room. The hope was that…
Fellows’ Forum Case Report: Autoinflammatory Diseases and Roles of Genetic, Molecular Testing
A 51-year-old Caucasian female was referred by a local rheumatologist to the Center of Autoinflammatory Diseases at Stony Brook University, N.Y., for an unusual disease presentation. The patient had had recurrent polyarthritis, fever and rash for the previous three years. She described having a migratory polyarthritis affecting the shoulders, knees, ankles and bilateral forefoot, with…
Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes Affected by NLRP3 Mutation
Study links NLRP3 inflammasome with amplified, extracellular inflammatory response