Rheumatoid Arthritis

Dr. Jack Cush reviews and highlights his favorite abstracts and presentations from last week's virtual EULAR 2021 meeting.

Despite being relatively common and frequently severe, RA-ILD has been a neglected area of research and indeed of clinical management in RA. In recent years we finally seem to have started making some progress in this area and this momentum has continued with a several interesting abstracts at EULAR 2021. Here are four selected for review.

The question as to how autoimmune rheumatic disease patients fare with the COVID vaccine is one being asked in rheumatologists’ offices everywhere this year, and at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress, data presented from Israel, one of the first countries to vaccinate on a broad scale, has provided much-needed reassuring answers.

In RA, the two most common peaks of incidence are thirties and fifties; however a significant percentage of patients above the age of 70 present with active RA -of early or later onset- and require adapted treatment.

Check out this compilation of our EULAR 2021 Day 2 broadcasts below. You can also follow the EULAR 2021 RheumNow podcasts on iTunes and Soundcloud.com Listen by Clicking below: 1. EULAR2021 - Day2a 2. EULAR2021 - Day2b

During Day 2 there were great sessions devoted to RA, spondylarthritis, fatigue and more.  Here are some of my highlights from Day 2.

RA associated ILD (RA-ILD) is the most common extra-articular manifestation in RA. Its prevalence varies considerably, ranging from 5% to 30%, and is often underestimated since patients only become symptomatic or display abnormalities on chest X-Ray at a late stage of disease, leading to subsequent delay in diagnosis. In this context, several groups advocate for an earlier and more precise detection, using high resolution chest computed

Cardiovascular (CV) disease remains the leading cause of mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A number of studies progressed our knowledge in the session Rheumatoid arthritis - comorbidity and clinical aspects – I on Thursday at EULAR 2021.

After the opening ceremonies and keynote speaker there were several enticing sessions and a plenary session full of great research and presentations.  Here are a few of the highlights that I saw.

Check out this compilation of our EULAR 2021 Day 1 broadcasts below. You can follow the EULAR 2021 RheumNow podcasts on iTunes and Soundclound.com Listen by Clicking below: Day 1a Day 1b

Many great presentations this week at EULAR 2021 will feature industry sponsored clinical trials and reports.  Often these become the pivotal studies for regulatory approval and the annual congresses are their first look.