Mark Your Calendars The 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Francisco is just around the corner, and it’s time to start planning for what is sure to be a busy week! Below are a few events hosted by the government affairs team you don’t want to miss. Legislative Update Sunday, Nov. 8, 9:00–10:00 a.m. In…
Imagine you’ve just heard a compelling presentation urging all ACR members to contribute to RheumPAC, the ACR’s political action committee. RheumPAC’s mission is to support politicians who support issues important to rheumatologists. You are impressed by the role RheumPAC has played in a number of issues you support. Just as you’re writing a check, you…
Editor’s note: Welcome to the first installment of Experiences in Advocacy, a special series authored by ACR members detailing personal experiences in advocacy. We need rheumatologists to join the American Medical Association (AMA). Here’s why, and how to do it. Having participated in your delegation for over a decade, I have seen major improvements in…
Two of the great traditions of medicine are the curbside and party consults. In the former, participating physicians informally discuss an especially difficult diagnostic problem. During the latter, a patient will approach the doctor to ask about some possible medical problem and what they should do about it. The advent of the Internet has brought…
How do you tell a story 50 years in the making? How do you capture 50 years of achievements, moments, personal and professional relationships, and careers shaped? How do you define the exact moment collaborative and integrated care teams became the rule—not the exception—in rheumatology? To journey through the milestones that have led to the…
Prior to the widespread use of bisphosphonates for the management of osteoporosis, multiple myeloma and metastatic cancer to the skeletal system, osteonecrosis of the jawbones was an infrequent condition seen after radiation for oral cancers (osteoradionecrosis) and in chronic odontogenic infections.1 Since the mid-2000s, osteonecrosis of the jawbones has been noted to occur as a…
For 30 years, the Rheumatology Research Foundation has been working to advance research and training to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases. The past three decades are replete with the achievement of significant milestones and extraordinary accomplishments. Funding Research, Training The Foundation’s efforts began in 1985 when it was established by the ACR….
Updated Oct. 22, 2015 (revised to delete inaccurate statistics) The cold, hard facts: This year’s rheumatology fellowship applicant pool resembles those of prior years. It is extremely diverse; every continent is represented, save Antarctica. It is somewhat larger, due in part to the growing influx of graduates from the cluster of Caribbean-based medical schools, where…
The controversy over vitamin D is hearty enough to confuse even seasoned rheumatologists, says Nathan Wei, MD, The Arthritis Treatment Center, Frederick, Md. “It’s like what you hear with coffee. One week, [a study finds] coffee is … good for you; the next week, there’s a study saying it’s bad for you,” he says. Vitamin…
Guselkumab Studied to Treat RA & Plaque Psoriasis Guselkumab (GUS) is a subcutaneously administered monoclonal antibody that targets interleukin (IL) 23.1 It is being investigated in a Phase 2 study to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PsA). On June 11, 2015, at the 2015 meeting of the European League Against…