Autoimmune And Rheumatic Diseases

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lack of data and sure knowledge left many in the rheumatic disease sphere — health care providers and patients alike — in the dark.

This month’s cover story is a roundtable discussing the coordination of care for patients with both ankylosing spondylitis and inflammatory bowel disease, and features commentary from gastroenterologists and rheumatologists, including Miguel Regueiro, MD; Brett Smith, DO; Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan, MD, MPH, MBBS; Nicole Cotter, MD; Sharon Dudley-Brown, PhD, FNP-BC; and Seyedehsan Navabi, MD. It is a terrific read and reminded me of one of the many reasons that rheumatology is such a terrific specialty — namely, that we have virtually no boundaries.

The FDA has granted an investigational new drug application from Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals for its Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, IMG-004, to potentially treat immunological diseases, according to a press release.

DESTIN, Fla. — Remote patient monitoring using novel technology may make it possible for rheumatologists to choose the “right drug right out of the gate,” according to data presented at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology East.

DESTIN, Fla. — Myriad symptoms and three different sets of classification criteria make Sjögren's syndrome a challenging diagnosis, according to a presenter at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology East.

DESTIN, Fla. — All patients who are immunocompromised should be educated about how to recognize COVID-19 infection early and when to report to the emergency room, according to Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology East.

When I was 12 years old, I had already made the decision to become a doctor, so that was where it started. What followed was a combination of family illness and a fascination with the immune system.

Patients who face long-term exposure to air pollution demonstrate a higher risk for developing autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases.

Impacting roughly 1 million to 4 million Americans, Sjögren’s syndrome is estimated to be one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the United States, according to the Sjögren’s Foundation.

March is Autoimmune Awareness Month, and rheumatology organizations have been using their reach and influence on social media sites to spread the word and help patients with autoimmune diseases find community.