As we have incorporated technology into our workflows, and consequently saved lives and suffering, we have balanced our excitement about progress with proof that incremental advances can truly deliver benefit. it is easy to let promise carry our caution away - and while most of the time such advances come in a vetted package, which we can consume without concern, conference abstracts come raw. This is the necessary ingredient to a platform which allows for bold ideas and innovation, but for that reason it is not such a curated space. At EULAR 2024, we saw the usual mix of bright, raw ideas on the poster floor emblematic of this paradigm.

Childhood lupus (cSLE) is a rare multisystem disorder with significant associated morbidity, but evidence-based guidelines are sparse, and as such management is often based on clinical expertise.

With a better understanding of pathophysiology, improved management guidelines, available medications, and a multidisciplinary approach, pregnancy for lupus patients has become more feasible. Despite these improvements, some patients still experience poor outcomes, highlighting the need for biomarkers that can predict these risks. An abstract presented at #EULAR2024 (POS1393) explored this possibility.

Dual seropositivity (rheumatoid factor and/or anti-citrullinated protein antibodies) as well as shared epitope are known to be associated with poor prognosis and structural damage in RA.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can affect up to 30% of patients with psoriasis (PsO). Understanding the factors that predispose patients with PsO who progress to PsA is the first step in understanding how early interventions in PsO may augment the progression to PsA. At #EULAR2024, there are a few presentations on this topic that will help us understand this progression from PsO to PsA better.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews FDA approval, news and journal articles -- and it’s the week before EULAR 2024 in Vienna!!

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal reports and news from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week: blockbuster drugs, opioids in rheumatology and nontreatment of inflammatory arthritis?

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past 2 weeks. This week's question: can we prevent gout, ILD or psoriasis?

The “Controversies in Vitamin D” International Conference has published their proceedings on vitamin D metabolism, assessment, actions, and supplementation. Interestingly, optimal levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) are still being debated. 

An international cohort of children with systemic Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (Still's disease) validated the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 10 (sJADAS10), a disease activity measure distinguish patients with inactive disease, minimal disease activity, moderate disease activity, and high disease activity.

A cohort analysis of dermatomyositis (DM) patients starting immunomodulators finds that methotrexate use was not associated with an increased risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD).