In early 2021, Lindsey A. Criswell, MD, MPH, DSc, one of rheumatology’s preeminent autoimmune genetics researchers, will become the new director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. She will be the first woman to hold that post. Dr. Criswell will be leaving her current position as vice chancellor of research…
Research in The New England Journal of Medicine has opened new avenues for exploring the pathophysiology of disease flares in rheumatoid arthritis.1 Through longitudinal genomic analysis, researchers have identified a naive B cell signature prior to rheumatoid arthritis flares, as well as a type of mesenchymal cell, that may play an important role in flare…
A large, international team of rheumatologists, geneticists, hematologists and other researchers has discovered a severe inflammatory syndrome linked to an acquired genetic mutation in the bone marrow of older men. The X-linked syndrome, they found, is caused by a somatic mutation in myeloid stem cells that hobbles the master regulator of a pathway tasked with…
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—This has been a busy year for research publications covering a number of pediatric rheumatic diseases, including the emerging multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) associated with SARS CoV-2. Despite the many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a healthy collection of publications covering a wide range of pediatric rheumatology research topics were published…
Honestly, I’m not sure why I bothered to listen. I was in my kitchen, early on a Saturday morning, with the radio keeping me company. It started with the news and the usual litany of tragedies, both major and minor, that comprise such programs. The news gradually faded into other programming, which I can no…
Research has shed light on the genetic mutations that link GDF5 with arthritis and height. An ancient regulatory variant in GROW1 has been repeatedly selected in humans in northern environments, explaining the high frequency of a GDF5 haplotype that increases arthritis susceptibility…
A study has identified several common genetic pathways between Parkinson’s disease and autoimmune diseases. Specifically, researchers have used a genome-wide conjunctional analysis to identify 17 novel loci that overlap the conditions…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Calling it an extremely challenging topic, Peter K. Gregersen, MD, professor and head, Robert S. Boas Center for Genomics and Human Genetics, Feinstein Institute, Manhasset, N.Y., said the current role of genetics in clinical practice is less about how to use genetic information to care for patients and more about how providers and patients…
SAN FRANCISCO—As researchers have delved into the genetics behind osteoarthritis (OA), genes that appear to be players in the disease have emerged, but there have also been curveballs thrown, with expectations not always matching up to the genetic realities, an expert said at the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. The genetic risk of acquiring OA is…
SAN FRANCISCO—Research is revealing more clues about the environmental factors that likely play a role in triggering rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who are susceptible—or that may even protect them from autoimmunity. Large-scale, lengthy population studies conducted at institutions worldwide provide in-depth data from which to identify potential triggers and protective factors for RA, from…