Kathryn Dao, MD
In a video interview, Kathryn Dao, MD, associate professor in the department of internal medicine’s division of rheumatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, discussed:
- recent developments in rheumatoid arthritis treatment, focusing on the major impacts of new guidelines laid out at the recent European Congress of Rheumatology 2022 meeting;
- increased understanding on the major risk factors for patients developing RA, with a focus on environmental risks;
- the impact of depression on RA treatment and quality of life, including the recent revelation that patients with RA who also have depression have a mortality rate six times higher than those without depression
- The current state of JAK inhibitors as a newer development in RA treatment, and her approach towards prescribing them in the face of concerns about side effects;
- concern level around COVID-19 in patients with RA at this stage of the pandemic, and whether or not patients with RA are urged to get fourth and fifth booster shots;
- and interesting new treatments on the horizon for RA, including new JAK inhibitors under development and a “scorpion venom toxin” with potential utility.