ACR Journals On Air (American College of Rheumatology)

Dr. Joshua Baker, first author of a paper recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology”, “Associations Between Low Serum Urate, Body Composition, and Mortality“, is our guest today. Dr. Baker, recognizing the controversy in whether low serum urate or uric acid (UA) level contribute to adverse outcomes, set out to evaluate the relation between low serum UA levels and sarcopenia, to assess whether sarcopenia confounds associations between these low levels and mortality. 

In this episode, we welcome the lead author of “Deucravacitinib, a Tyrosine Kinase 2 Inhibitor, in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A phase 2, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial” Dr. Eric Morand of Monash University. The objective of this multicenter clinical trial in lupus (recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology”) was to assess the efficacy of deucravacitinib in a phase II trial in adult patients with active lupus. Dr. Morand’s methods, results and ultimate conclusions take center stage of our show today. 

Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a painful and debilitating disease that our patients suffer from. However, a newly published study has concluded that there are some self-management interventions patients can engage with that have shown to improve fatigue, particularly for those newly diagnosed with SSc. Today, we review the procedures, interventions, results and conclusions of this study, titled: Effects of a Resilience-Building Energy Management Program on Fatigue and Other Symptoms in Systemic Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial, along with two of its authors, Dr. Susan L Murphy and Ms. Mary Alore, and how your patients can benefit from its lessons. 

For those with rheumatic disease, everyday challenges can mean an increase in disease flare. However, research is increasingly pointing to the idea that psychosocial stressors could even heighten the risk of developing rheumatic diseases. Dr. Christine Parks looked deeper into this among those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in her latest study Life Events, Caregiving, and Risk of Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study 

This week our guest is Dr. Joyce Chang, MD, MSCE, a recipient of the Lupus Foundation of America’s “Mary Betty Stevens Young Investigator Award”, who shares her latest study, its methods, conclusions and career journey with us! Dr. Chang’s latest study “Improving Outcomes of Pediatric Lupus Care Delivery With Provider Goal-Setting Activities and Multidisciplinary Care Models“ used the pediatric Lupus Care Index (pLCI) and population management strategies for improving outcomes in childhood SLE. Later, we spent some time with Dr. Chang and asked what she sought out in her first faculty appointment and how she ensured she would hit the ground running.

To better understand the mechanisms that drive antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), Dr. Yu Zuo and his team, evaluated the presence of circulating calprotectin (cCLP) to detect any clinical associations or even the mechanistic role among a cohort of primary APS and aPL-positive patients. Dr. Zuo sits down with us this week to discuss whether calprotectin can be a functional biomarker for those with APS thrombocytopenia and what the future holds for this study’s conclusions. 

In this week’s episode, Dr. Shanmugam welcomes Dr. Mary Beth Son, the senior author and corresponding author of “Treatment of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children: Understanding Differences in Results of Comparative Effectiveness Studies.” This study sought to determine whether the application of different MIS-C definitions and differing disease severity in patients participating in two separate comparative cohorts underlay discrepant results. Dr. Jon Hausmann, pediatric rheumatologist and host of “ACR on Air”, joins Dr. Shanmugam and Dr. Son to add to the significant expertise on this episode, with his own in both clinical pediatric and adult rheumatology. Here, Dr. Hausmann shares further insights on integrating the published literature with pediatric treatment of MIS-C. 

Our guest this week, Dr. Alexandru-Emil Matei, is the first author of a study that endeavored to evaluate immune cell activation in scleroderma. His study, written for the completion of his medical training in Romania is titled: “Identification of a Distinct Monocyte-Driven Signature in Systemic Sclerosis Using Biophysical Phenotyping of Circulating Immune Cells“ (recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology”) performed biophysical phenotyping of circulating immune cells by employing a novel high-throughput method called ‘real-time fluorescence and deformability cytometry’ (RT-FDC). Dr. Matei’s study attempts to demonstrate that RT-FDC measures can “detect changes in the biophysical properties of individual immune cell populations in SSc patients”. If demonstrated, then RT-FDC may be used as another tool in identifying pathologic immune cell activation, being that immune cells like monocytes play a major role in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Dua and Dr. Bolster to the show, co-first authors of “Virtually Speaking: The impact of a Nationwide Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning Forum.” and discuss the study’s findings along with their educational collaborative initiative Virtual Fellows in Training (VFIT), which includes a compendium of online courses: Virtual Rheumatology Learning Collaborative (ViRL), Virtual Rheumatology Practicum (ViP Adult & ViP Pediatric) and Virtual Rheumatology Teach Lessons (ViTLs). 

When disease strikes, time becomes a critical resource our patients cannot afford to waste. For those with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), an inordinate amount of time often goes by before a proper diagnosis is made, resulting in delays for crucial treatments to be rendered. The reasons for this delay in diagnosis, particularly among those with axSpA are diverse, complicated and not well-understood. Our guest, Dr. Gregory McDermott, attempted to better understand this diagnostic delay with his study: Factors Associated With Diagnostic Delay in Axial Spondyloarthritis: Impact of Clinical Factors and Social Vulnerability  in hopes that we may begin answering these challenges with solutions.  

Join us this week as we interview the lead author of “Genicular Nerve Block for Pain Management in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial”, Dr. Michael Shanahan. Dr. Shanahan’s study, most recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology” attempts to determine the efficacy of ultrasound-guided genicular nerve block in managing pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Dr. Shanahan discusses his team’s methods, results and conclusions of this paper plus some career advice and insights at the top of the show. 

Photosensitivity among patients with SLE is a well-known symptom. However, what is not well-known is why. Our guest this week, Dr. J. Michelle Kahlenberg MD, PhD and team, endeavored to uncover that answer. The article, “Regulation of Photosensitivity by the Hippo Pathway in Lupus Skin” was the result of this study, which was published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology” earlier this year. Dr. Kahlenberg joins us for this episode to discuss the study’s methods, results and its surprising conclusion: a novel driver was discovered! 

Caring for older adults who suffer from rheumatic disease comes with it the need to manage multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and geriatric syndromes. Often, shifting priorities for those suffering with rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) is needed, sometimes leading to a prescribing cascade. The practice of ‘deprescribing’, an approach to optimize medication use to deliver a more ‘goal-concordant’ type of care was the focus of Dr. Una Makris and Dr. Jiha Lee’s latest research: “Optimizing Medication Use in Older Adults With Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Diseases: Deprescribing as an Approach When Less May Be More“ When caring for older adults with RMDs, it very well may be, that “Less is More”. 

In this episode, Dr. Shanmugam discusses “A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Phase 3 Extension Trial of Long-term Safety and Tolerability of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”, a three-year long-term study designed to understand the safety of anifrolumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study, which was recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology”, represents the longest placebo-controlled clinical trial performed in SLE to date. She is joined by our guest, Dr. Richard Furie, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Northwell Health in New York and co-author of the paper. 

The American College of Rheumatology’s newest podcast series featuring interviews, commentary, and analysis on research from our three peer-reviewed journals. Whether it’s an expert analysis of a manuscript or deep dive with an author – our goal is the same – to understand the impact of the science and bring it from the bench to the bedside. 

Dr. Patricia Katz is our guest this week as she presents her latest study “Sleep Disorders among Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis”, recently published in “Arthritis Care & Research”. This study focuses on patients with RA who self-report common sleep problems such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and short sleep and examines the prevalence of these disorders plus their potential negative health implications. Dr. Katz shares with us her methods, findings and conclusions as well as some career advice on writing an academic paper, what she finds most challenging about it, and what the editorial process looks like for “ACR Open Rheumatology” and what they look for while reviewing and editing manuscripts. 

This week on ‘Journals’, Dr. Shanmugam has invited Dr Joann B Sweasy and Dr. Westley Reeves to discuss a paper with an interesting journey, “A Human MSH6 Germline Variant Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Induces Lupus-Like Disease in Mice“. In this paper, we discover that the science is always telling us something, regardless of where we believe we’re headed and where we ultimately end up. This lupus study has such a story. Join us as our guests explain the study’s objective, the interesting results, what they did to achieve them and their overall conclusion. 

This week, our next guest, ACR Master Dr. Joan T. Merrill, joins us to discuss her latest study which endeavored to evaluate the efficacy and safety of upadacitinib and elsubrutinib in those with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Join us for an in-depth analysis of the SLEek Study, its findings regarding the efficacy of these medications and Dr. Merrill’s conclusions. 

Knowing that glucocorticoids significantly increase the risk of fractures and is the most common cause of secondary osteoporosis, the use of the steroid has always been viewed as a doubled edged sword and “Bad for the Bones”. This week, we welcome Dr. Giovanni Adami, first author of Bone Loss in Inflammatory Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Disease Patients Treated with Low-Dose Glucocorticoids and Prevention by Anti-Osteoporosis Medications , whose goal for this study was to assess if a “safe” dose of glucocorticoids exists, with an attention focus on those with inflammatory rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (iRMDs) to determine if a low enough dose of glucocorticoids can still reduce inflammatory burden and yet significantly reduce expected risk of fracture. 

Pulmonary hypertension (PH), being a serious complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), develops late in the course of SSc and carries with it a poor prognosis. With the median survival of about 3 years, new evidence suggests that early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve survival. Joining us this week is Christopher P Denton PhD FRCP, senior author of “Dynamic Prediction of Pulmonary Hypertension in Systemic Sclerosis Using Landmark Analysis,” published in Arthritis and Rheumatology. Dr. Denton’s latest study explores “the prediction of short-term risk for PH using serial pulmonary function tests (PFTs)” 

After a major event, it’s important to take stock of the causes of such an event, but just as important, on the reactions to it. No other event has challenged humanity in recent memory like COVID-19. Today we discuss the pandemic in relationship to its impact on those who suffer with rheumatic disease and examine the global response. Our guest is Dr. Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD, the first author of the paper: Global Perspective on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Rheumatology and Health Equity , which was recently published in Arthritis Care & Research. 

This week, our guest is Dr. Grace Lo, first author of “Association Between Walking for Exercise and Symptomatic and Structural Progression in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative Cohort” And Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. The objective of her study: To assess the relationship between walking for exercise and symptomatic and structural disease progression in individuals with knee OA. In this episode, she shares her methods and results with us as well as some career advice for our young listeners as well as some motivation to get out there and enjoy a nice walk! 

Our next guest, Dr. Paul Monach, reviews “Complement”, focusing on its application in the clinical setting. In his work, Dr. Monach presents a typical case with a broad differential diagnosis, then provides an overview of the complement system along with clinical diseases with complement-driven mechanisms. Dr. Shanmugam reviews this manuscript published in Arthritis & Rheumatology plus an analysis of the laboratory tests. Later in the show, Dr. Monach gives us his insights on how he combines his clinical work with his translational work in immunology and acts Chief of Immunology at the VA in Boston, Massachusetts! 

This week we get to “The Heart of the Matter” a little differently. To begin, our guest is the first author of a manuscript whose objective was to determine the prevalence and correlation of subclinical myocardial inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), titled: “Myocardial Inflammation, Measured using 18-FDG-PET-CT is associated with Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis“. Her name is Dr. Isabelle Amigues, and her story of survival and reinvention (much like the conclusions of her paper) exemplify how matters of the heart can be far more complex and impactful than they appear. 

This week, we welcome Dr. Ruth Fernandez Ruiz to our show, a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Dr. Fernandez Ruiz’s award-winning work focuses on the interplay of genetic variation, type I interferons, and immune dysregulation in lupus. However, her latest study published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology” entitled: Supporting International Medical Graduates in Rheumatology: A Call to Action seeks to understand and draw attention to the challenges and barriers that prevent international medical graduates from coming to the U.S. and practicing medicine in the field of rheumatology.  

Welcome back to “Journals”! Our topic of discussion today comes from the manuscript Anti-Gephyrin Antibodies: A Novel Specificity in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis and Lower Bowel Dysfunction and our guest today is the study’s first author, Dr. Zsuzsanna McMahan. The study recognizes that the enteric nervous system (ENS) regulates the gastrointestinal (GI) function, which is commonly impaired in those who suffer from systemic sclerosis (SSc). Dr. McMahan and her team’s objective for this study was “to identify novel anti-ENS autoantibodies with an aim to clinically phenotype SSc GI dysfunction”. We sit down with Dr. McMahan and discuss the study’s methods and discoveries. Plus, her experience transitioning from a junior to an independent investigator and what advice she can offer our young listeners for the journey along the way. 

Genetic conditions, inherited personality traits, brain chemistry...these are but a few of the well-known biological determinants of health and are but a small sample of factors that can determine how severe disease may affect a patient. But what role can social factors play in determining a patient’s health? What of the ‘Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)’? Dr. Shivani Garg set out to identify these factors and understand how they play a role in determining the severity of symptoms in those with Lupus Nephritis (LN). What she discovered was that not only do these factors play a significant role, but each one added has a multiplicative effect on the patient’s reported outcome! Dr. Garg is our guest today and her study, published in Arthritis Care & Rheumatology titled: Multiplicative Impact of Adverse Social Determinants of Health on Outcomes in Lupus Nephritis: A Meta-analysis and Systematic Review, will be the focus of our discussion. 

Benjamin Franklin once said: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. This week, we have the opportunity to see this realized in a recent clinical study entitled, Vitamin D and Marine n-3 Fatty Acids for Autoimmune Disease Prevention: Outcomes Two Years After Completion of a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Our guest is the study’s first author, Dr. Karen Costenbader. She explains the results of this research, which suggests Vitamin D and marine n-3 fatty acids play a significant role in preventing autoimmune disease!  

As the need and demand for quality care increases, time in clinic needs to become more efficient. Working smarter, not harder, is a daily challenge for all in our field. With mobile technology streamlining so much and improvements in patient reported outcome (PRO) collection among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) needed, it had Dr. Daniel Solomon asking “...is there an app for that?”. Today, we review the study A Mobile Health Application Integrated in the Electronic Health Record for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient–Reported Outcomes: A Controlled Interrupted Time-Series Analysis of Impact on Visit Efficiency , recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. Our guest, Dr. Daniel Solomon, is our guest and the study’s first author. 

This week on ‘Journals’, we turn our attention to a rare but challenging and heart-breaking complication of rheumatic disease, Congenital Heart Block. Sir Deryck and Lady Va Maughan Professor of Rheumatology and Director of the Division of Rheumatology at New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Jill Buyon joins us today to present her latest research “Prospective Evaluation of Anti-SSA/Ro Pregnancies Supports the Utility of High Titer Antibodies and Fetal Home Monitoring for the Detection of Fetal Atrioventricular Block.”. 

Our guest this week is Dr. April Barnado, the first author of a study which analyzed a cohort of 3.2 million patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), during pregnancy, from 1989 to 2020. Her team’s work, titled “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Delivery Outcomes Are Unchanged Across Three Decades“ was published in “ACR Open Rheumatology”, and found some amazing trends regarding outcomes of the pregnancies and even in medication use. The study, its methods, conclusions and Dr. Barnado’s advice on breaking into academic research, is the focus of our show.  

This week we welcome Dr. Jamie Collins, lead author of “Five-Year Structural Changes in the Knee Among Patients With Meniscal Tear and Osteoarthritis: Data From a Randomized Controlled Trial of Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy Versus Physical Therapy“. We discuss this study’s methods, statistical results and what all that data indicates about the role of exercise and surgery. Later, Dr. Collins offers advice for non-clinicians working with clinicians and explains what it's like being a mathematician analyzing data in the field of rheumatology and how she came to pursue her own research and write her own grants within the field. 

Recent research indicates that those who suffer from AxSpA may have some hope in protecting against events of Uveitis! Dr. Katie Bechman, first author Incidence of Uveitis in Patients With Axial Spondylarthritis Treated With Biologics or Targeted Synthetics: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis, explains her team’s research findings and how they came to this exciting conclusion! 

In a study recently published in “ACR Open Rheumatology” titled: “Geographic Variation in Disease Burden and Mismatch in Care of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in the United States“, first author Dr. Sharon Dowell set out to understand some of the factors associated with regional variation of rheumatoid arthritis in the United States. Sharon Dowell, MD presents her study’s findings and conclusions. ACR’s RISE Team member, Tracy Johansson, MS, joins us as well to discuss how RISE attempts to close these gaps. Together, both of our guests help us to understand how geographic location contributes to a disproportionate level of care for those with RA and what we can do about it. 

This week, we take a look at the practical management of pain and the advancement of science regarding it, with our guest Dr. Dan Clauw. Co-author of the paper: “Identifying and Managing Nociplastic Pain in Individuals With Rheumatic Diseases: A Narrative Review”, Dr. Clauw joins us today to discuss the work to introduce the three types of pain classified by “The International Association for the Study of Pain” and the mechanisms that underlie pain, as it relates to the field of rheumatology.  

The process of weaning our patients off biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (b-DMARD) therapy is not unfamiliar in our clinics. However, when attending to our patients, many complications and questions arise. Specific guidance is needed, but where do we turn? Thankfully, our latest guest, Dr. Paul Emery, may have some answers. His latest study, Predicting Flare in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Biologic Induced Remission, on Tapering, and on Stable Therapy attempted to “identify predictors of flare in patients in stable b-DMARD–induced clinical remission”. Let’s dive in together and see what he and his team have found! 

This week, we explore a groundbreaking study on the prevalence of fibromyalgia and widespread pain in patients with psoriatic arthritis with first author and ACR Master, Dr. Philip J. Mease. In his latest article, titled: Prevalence of Fibromyalgia and Widespread Pain in Psoriatic Arthritis: Association with Disease Severity Assessment in a Large US RegistryUID , Dr. Mease explains what the presence of these conditions reveals about disease severity and how they converge. 

Our guest this week is Dr. Tony Merriman, whose latest work: “Association of Gout Polygenic Risk Score With Age at Disease Onset and Tophaceous Disease in European and Polynesian Men With Gout“, attempted to determine whether a gout polygenic risk score (PRS) is associated with age at gout onset and tophaceous disease in European, East Polynesian, and West Polynesian men and women with gout. However, what this study found regarding the predictability of these associations, specifically how it affects men and women differently, may have been something no one could have predicted. 

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) need rehabilitation to improve functional limitations and slow disability. But in what doses? Using the FORWARD databank, our next guest Dr. Kaleb Michaud, PhD, identified a cohort and gathered data on rehabilitation dose and their functional outcomes. His study’s objective (titled: “Examining Rehabilitation Dose in Adults With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Association With Baseline Factors and Change in Clinical Outcomes“) determine if there was a meaningful change in physical function, pain and fatigue over a six-month period when evaluating baseline factors and rehabilitation dose. This study, recently published in Arthritis Care & Research is the subject of our discussion today. 

As the dawn of the Ai revolution marches on, scientific research and clinical medicine are adopting new and more streamlined ways to investigate and serve our patients. Today, we look at how Ai-driven, large language models (LLMs) might aid our field’s researchers in analyzing data from patient interviews. Dr. Bella Mehta, corresponding author of A Novel Approach for Mixed-Methods Research Using Large Language Models: A Report Using Patients’ Perspectives on Barriers to Arthroplasty , joins us this week to give us her insights on this this quickly evolving technology and how it can be employed in both the research and clinical setting. 

In our inaugural episode we welcome Dr Monica Yang, lead author for "Reactogenicity of the Messenger RNA SARS–CoV-2 Vaccines Associated With Immunogenicity in Patients With Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disease" and Dr. Maria Danila the Associate Editor for the manuscript. We discuss some of the findings their COVID19 Vaccine Response in Patients with Autoimmune Disease (COVARiPAD) study found, deeply dive into the data that supports their findings and ask what was involved in putting this manuscript together, which eventually led to its publishing in "Arthritis Care and Research"

Assessing disease activity in large vessel vasculitis can be a challenge. And as imaging techniques evolve, clinicians must evaluate how to harness new imaging modalities in clinical care. In an attempt to predict the progression of large vessel vasculitis (LVV), our next guest, Dr. Kaitlin Quinn, used the vascular activity seen on a fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan to determine if there is an observable association with angiographic change. Dr. Quinn, author of the study Association of 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose–Positron Emission Tomography Activity With Angiographic Progression of Disease in Large Vessel Vasculitis, breaks down her study and its methods along with her observations and findings for us. 

Dr. Tobit Steinmetz is our guest this week, author of the manuscript recently published in “Arthritis and Rheumatology” titled: "Association of Circulating Antibody-Secreting Cell Maturity with Disease Features in Primary Sjogren's Syndrome." Dr. Steinmetz and his team endeavored to better understand the hyperactivity observed among B cells, which play a major role in Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome (SS). To do this, he and the team examined the quantity, maturity and inflammatory properties of Antibody Secreting Cells (ASCs) in the B cell effector branch, which became the focus of the study. Tune in to hear how this was done, what their observations and conclusions were plus, Dr. Steinmetz’s insights for those looking to enter a postdoctoral position! 

When rheumatology concepts battle it out in a team bracket tournament, you get “Rheum Madness”! “A place for everyone who is crazy about rheumatology to connect, collaborate and compete” in an online, learning experience, created by Dr. David Leverenz. His body of work, “Rheum Madness: Creating an Online Community of Inquiry”, featured in this episode, analyzes participant engagement and the presence of the online community of inquiry within its first year. Dr. Leverenz is an educator and rheumatologist at Duke University. He has a growing body of work in Medical Education. He recently completed a Clinician Scholar Educator award from the Rheumatology Research Foundation to create “Rheum Madness” 

Osteoarthritis is incredibly common, affecting more than 500 million people across the globe. It is a significant cause of pain and disability and carries high healthcare costs and societal burdens. Around the world, there are not enough rheumatology specialists to treat all the patients with OA, and in many countries, OA management is coordinated by primary care internists. However, despite good guidelines recommending first-line evidence-based treatments with muscle strengthening, physical activity, weight loss, and judicious medication management, there are many inconsistencies in OA care delivery. This week, we focus on the manuscript “Effectiveness of a New Service Delivery Model for Management of Knee Osteoarthritis in Primary Care: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial” and our guest is Dr. David Hunter, its first author. 

The pandemic has changed much in our world—from the way we work, to the way we shop, and even the way we learn. Rheumatology wasn’t immune from such changes and when medical institutions needed to adjust their practices to accommodate a changing world around them, the process by which fellowship interviews were conducted needed to change as well. Thus, a shift to the video communication platform Zoom was made.

Now, as the pioneering cohorts of the new Zoom matching process graduate, we are joined by Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, RhMSUS. Dr. Kumar has been doing a lot of research on what went well, what didn’t, and what merits rethinking. Dr. Kumar is the first author of the manuscript Reimagining the Rheumatology Fellowship Interview: Using Participatory Design-Thinking Process to Create a More Applicant-Centered Experience.

“If I have seen further, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants” Sir Isaac Newton famously stated in a letter to polymath scientist, Robert Hooke back in 1675. Today, Dr. Mary Crow, MD, aides Arthritis & Rheumatology launch a series on immunology, for rheumatologists. She is the co-author of the article Standing on Shoulders: Interferon Research, from Viral Interference to Lupus Pathogenesis and Treatment. In this episode, we stand with Dr. Crow to look back at the achievements made by brilliant minds in interferon research and analyze the unbroken line their advancements in rheumatology have led to today’s discoveries, with more to com

This week we welcome our next guest, Dr. John D. Pauling to ‘Journals’. Dr. Pauling is the senior author of the manuscript “Assessment of the Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Raynaud’s Phenomenon Questionnaire: Item Bank and Short Form Development”, which endeavored to “develop, refine and score a novel patient-reported outcome instrument to assess the severity and impact of Raynaud’s Phenomenon (RP) in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc)”. In this episode, we discuss the challenges associated with measuring one of the most common disease manifestations of scleroderma, Raynaud’s, and how the Assessment of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Raynaud’s Phenomenon (ASRAP) questionnaire was harmonious in the paper’s results and final conclusions. 

Is there an increased risk of cancer once a patient has Scleroderma? If so, what is the risk and how does one go about showing this? Dr. Ami A Shah, Director of the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins sits down with us to explain those answers. We go over the methods, results and conclusions of the recent study Distinct Scleroderma Autoantibody Profiles Stratify Patients for Cancer Risk at Scleroderma Onset and During the Disease Course published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. Afterward, Dr. Shah shares with us her journey to becoming a physician-scientist and mentoring others in Scleroderma research through a K24 grant. 

It has only been three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and we’re only just now beginning to investigate the impact it has had on our collective societies. The full impact will likely not be known for years to come, if ever. As those studies are beginning, our next guests wanted to evaluate the pandemic’s impact in their spheres of interest. First author, Dr. Kristie Kuhn, MD, PhD along with Dr. Liana Fraenkel, MD, MPH and team asked the question: “What is the impact of COVID on our early career investigators and trainees and what can be done about it?”. The results of their study are found in “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Career Investigators in Rheumatology: Recommendations to Address Challenges to Early Research Careers” and were recently published in “Arthritis Care & Research”  

Sometimes, we learn more from what isn’t achieved than when we achieve an expected result. Such is the case for our next guest, Dr. David R. Jayne, who is the first author of Clinical and Biomarker Responses to BI 655064, an Antagonistic Anti-CD40 Antibody, in Patients With Active Lupus Nephritis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Trial , a study designed to characterize a dose-response relationship between an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody known as Bi 655064 and complete renal response (CRR) in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN). Dr. Jayne and his research team’s study may not have shown this dose-response relationship, but what was gained along the way surely shows the power of the negative study! 

Caring for our patients means reducing symptoms and occurrences of flare-ups. However, caring for their whole self means a watchful eye on how chronic disease symptoms impact their daily life and mental health. Discovering patterns between depression and anxiety and such chronic diseases, like ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, was the focus of Dr. Alyssa Howren’s latest study. Today, we take a look at this study, titled: “What Came First?” Population-Based Evaluation of Health Care Encounters for Depression and Anxiety Before and After Inflammatory Arthritis Diagnosis: Disentangling the Relationship Between Mental Health and Arthritis and try to disentangle the web of disease-related depression and anxiety 

End-stage renal disease is a dangerous reality for those who suffer from Lupus Nephritis (LN), despite improvements in immunosuppressive therapy in the last 20 years. Our next guest, Dr. Brad H Rovin, MD, FACP, FASN, is the first author of the manuscript “Kidney-Related Outcomes and Steroid-Sparing Effects in Patients with Active Lupus Nephritis Treated with Obinutuzumab: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Phase 2 Trial.” which was recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. This study was a post hoc analysis of the NOBILITY trial and was conducted to assess kidney-related outcomes in patients using Obinutuzumab.