In medicine, as in advertising, pictures can be worth a thousand words. From arthritis to vasculitis, imaging studies have been variably employed to aid in the diagnosis, treatment, risk stratification and prognostication of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders. The same holds true with the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), in which the clinical utility is…
Management of Inflammatory Myositis: Options for Refractory Disease & New Therapies Discussed
Options to escalate treatment for refractory inflammatory myositis and new therapies in the pipeline are discussed.
From Strength to Strength: Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy Diagnosis & Management
During the ACR Convergence 2021 Review Course, Rohit Aggarwal, MD, MS, provided an update on idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.
Myositis Management: Clinical Trials Provide New Insights into Treatment Options
Advancements in the treatment of myositis are on their way, according to Hector Chenoy, PhD, FRCP, who outlined the latest clinical trials during the 2021 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium.
Myositis & the Heart: New Perspectives on the Pathogenesis & Management of Cardiac Involvement in Myositis
Experts discuss the diagnosis and treatment of myositis-related cardiovascular disease.
The Care & Treatment of Myositis: Creatinine Kinase Level Isn’t Gospel & Other Recommendations
During a session at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Lisa Christopher-Stine, MD, MPH, provided valuable recommendations and practical insights into the care and treatment of myositis patients…
Case Report: Tumor Treatment Unleashes Autoimmunity
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) or programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) axes have revolutionized therapy and improved survival in advanced cancers. However, these immune system modulators also lead to immune-related adverse events (IRAEs).1,2 In clinical trials, IRAEs mainly involved the gastrointestinal tract, skin, endocrine glands, liver and lung,…
Myositis Autoantibodies as Biomarkers
A recent study details the autoantibodies of patients with myositis, confirming most patients carry these antibodies. The results also describe how myositis-specific autoantibodies can be used to identify distinct clinical subsets of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy…
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors & Immune-Related Adverse Events
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are at the forefront of advances in cancer therapy and have shown promising results for progression-free survival. Checkpoint signaling pathways, such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), normally regulate the immune response to promote self-tolerance and prevent tissue damage and inflammation. PD-1 is a…
Promising Avenues in Myositis: Research Targets Disease Specificity
AMSTERDAM—Research in myositis treatments is beginning to find its way, with investigators pursuing avenues special to the disease so therapy for patients may no longer involve piggybacking on existing treatments for other illnesses, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. “Finally, in myositis there are targets being investigated that are more…