Do different genders experience PsA differently?

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There has been a lot of talk lately about the difference in the way male and female PsA patients experience their disease.  Are the differences only cultural or are there important clinical differences in the disease presentation, organ involvement and complications that physicians should be aware of?   

Is exercise the missing medicine in lupus?

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For lupus, sedentary lifestyle may be a driving force of disease activity.  Today, the final day of ACR, Sarah Patterson, MD from UCSF will present

Vaccine Efficacy in Patients with Seronegative Spondyloarthritis

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Vaccine efficacy remains an important and highly discussed topic at this year’s annual meeting given the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis, current influenza season, and recently published 2022 ACR guidelines for vaccinations in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

ACR Best Abstracts - Day 2

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Day two at ACR 2022 was full of great sessions on imaging, vasculitis, lupus, vasculitis, spondyloarthritis, COVID, pregnancy, microbiome, economics and more. Here are the RheumNow faculty selections for #ACRbest abstracts today:

Can Neural Networks Answer Important Diagnostic Dilemmas in Rheumatology?

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An interesting study presented at ACR22 looked at whether neural networks can distinguish seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA+), seronegative RA (RA-), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using hand MRI data based on the structural inflammation patterns.

Medication adherence is a problem

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Much has been written about tapering medications in rheumatic diseases, often due to high costs of medications, a desire to avoid side effects and patient preference to take less medications (especially if they have side effects). This is countered by something we all know: medications not taken don’t work, and those that are frequently missed may not provide optimal outcomes for the majority of patients.

Does Evusheld shield people living with rheumatic diseases?

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While COVID vaccination and subsequent booster remain the cornerstone, pre-exposure prophylaxis such as Evusheld (tixagevimab and cilgavimab) has been approved by FDA in December 2021 and EMA in March 2022 for people immunocompromised either due to a medical condition or receiving treatment with immunosuppressants and may not mount an adequate immune response to COVID vaccination. How does this therapy fare in RMD patients?

Potential new treatment for Sjogren's

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Is there finally something new on the horizon in Sjogren’s syndrome? 

ACR 2022 - Day 1 Report

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The masses have returned to ACR22, a live, face-to-face, and virtual, meeting that began Saturday in Philadelphia. There were hassles and glitches, yet the education and sessions were as you’d expect with many good presentations worth recapping.

SLE, Sex and STDs

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Once in a while, I find an abstract at the ACR meeting that can potentially save lives and be implemented in practice now.   In Abstract #0939, Dr. J Patricia Dhar and colleagues shared data from a pilot study examining a new method to monitor cervical health in African American Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) using a self-sampling brush to assess cervical cytology and human papilloma virus infection.

TNFi cycling in axSpA: Results from CorEVITAS Registy study

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Data presented at ACR22 shows that cycling through TNFi in axSpA patients with primary lack of efficacy with first line TNFi has limited additional benefit in controlling disease. 

RA-ILD: an update

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Interstitial lung disease (ILD) remains a leading cause of mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Estimates of involvement of ILD in RA remain relatively imprecise (estimated prevalence 5-20%), though this partly reflects the wide spectrum of ILD and differing ascertainment.