Autoantibodies Anonymous

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At first, it seemed similar to many other such sessions – a circle of folding chairs, a group of colleagues whose visages exuded understanding and acceptance – but this was special. I started the meeting…. “Hi, my name is Artie.”

Choice Overload (and the Way Out)

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I recently overheard a very good practicing rheumatologist complain, “why do I need yet another drug for psoriatic arthritis? I have more treatment choices than I have actual PsA patients who need a new or better drug”.

Best of 2022: Five Mistakes When Diagnosing Still’s Disease

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Adult-onset Still's presents an interesting and diagnostic challenge when encountered. Here are 5 tips to improve your diagnostic acumen for this febrile disorder.

From the Archives: Rheumatology Dead Word Cemetery

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I recently heard of a secondary school assignment wherein students were challenged to “bury” a word that was no longer useful or appropriate. Their exercise has now evolved into an unofficial RheumNow task force to retire diagnostic terms that have grown into misuse in rheumatology and medicine. How did we decide which words should perish? And by what criteria? Who has the final say?

Still's disease: paediatrics to adults, a continuum or not?

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Still’s disease is a rare inflammatory disorder, affecting less than 1 person per 2000 people. This disease may occur in both children and adults, namely as systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD). The paediatric form was described by George Still in 1896, whereas the adult variant later by Eric Bywaters in 1971. However only the adult disease is identified by the name of Still.

The Still’s Continua

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The concept of a “Still’s disease continuum” that encompasses both sJIA and AOSD is based on the many common clinical, genetic and laboratory features shared by both sJIA and AOSD.

AOSD: complicated disease or a disease with complications?

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Many clinicians may not have seen a case of AOSD during training, which overall leads to several delays in referrals and appropriate diagnosis for AOSD patients. AOSD is an autoinflammatory disease where innate immunity plays a primary role and is characterized by seemingly unprovoked inflammation, but without the high-titer autoantibodies or antigen specific T cells seen in autoimmune diseases.

Five Mistakes When Diagnosing Still’s Disease

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Adult-onset Still's presents an interesting and diagnostic challenge when encountered. Here are 5 tips to improve your diagnostic acumen for this febrile disorder.

A Domain-Based Approach to the GRAPPA Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Recommendations

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With their publication in June 2022 (1), the 3rd iteration of the Group for Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) Treatment recommendations for Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) may have set a record or sorts.

Staying Abreast of COVID-19

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Dealing with unknowns is both difficult and frustrating, as the answer is often not within our reach. The current pandemic has created a tidal wave of unknowns, scaring patients and putting physicians in a difficult spot.

ACR20 Pearls Part 3: Pragmatic Applications for Managing Vasculitis

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While the ACR prepares to publish its new guidelines for the diagnosis and management of vasculitis in the Spring of 2020, Dr. John Stone presented his own perspectives on the practical management of vasculitis during the 2019 ACR meeting in Atlanta.  He acknowledged that what may be pearls one day, may be disproven with data in the future. 

Best of 2018: Rheumatology Dead Word Cemetery 2019

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I recently heard of a secondary school assignment wherein students were challenged to “bury” a word that was no longer useful or appropriate. Their exercise has now evolved into an unofficial RheumNow task force to retire diagnostic terms that have grown into misuse in rheumatology and medicine. How did we decide which words should perish? And by what criteria? Who has the final say?