Systemic sclerosis is a rare connective tissue disorder characterised by autoimmune features with vascular manifestations, causing fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. EULAR is focused on systemic sclerosis as the rheumatic disease with the highest morbidity and mortality. New data presented at the EULAR 2026 Congress underscore key complications, and offer hope for a possible new therapeutic strategy.

CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy has rapidly moved into autoimmune disease, driven in large part by striking reports in SLE, where sustained drug-free remission has raised the possibility of a true immune reset. In RA, where multiple effective therapeutic classes already exist, the relevance of such deep immune interventions remains uncertain.

ASAS and the SPARTAN have updated their key classification criteria for axial SpA (axSpA). EULAR has also recently revised their recommendations on the role of imaging in the diagnosis and clinical management of spondyloarthritis (SpA). Both were presented at the EULAR 2026 annual Congress in London.

Day 3 was an interesting mix of posters, oral presentations, and review sessions on many practical subjects like osteoarthritis, large vessel vasculitis, systemic sclerosis, and pregnancy. Here are a few of my recommended abstracts from Friday at EULAR 2026.