ACR 2024 - Day 1 Report Save

ACR Convergence 2024 opened today with a full slate of presentations, posters and specialty meetings.  The meeting began with a flip: the plenary sessions started at 9AM and the poster session began at 1030 AM. Below are some of the highlights from day one in Washington, DC.  Another good way to take in the first day would be to listen or watch the day 1 Recap panel or read the ACR Best Abstracts.  If you were there early enough you might have seen the Year in Review, featuring benchmark research singled out by Drs. Louis Bridges (Basic Science) and Michael Pillinger (Clinical).

The Year in Review – Presentations by:

• Dr. Michael Pillinger (NYU): Chose as his annual best the following studies:
  • APPIPRA study – on RA prevention with abatacept
  • Gout flares up the CV risk – by Cippoletta et al
  • Krill Oil for knee OA – JAMA, Laslett
  • Methotrexate in Knee OA – Ann Int Med 2024
  • Semaglutide in obese Knee OA – NEJM 2024
  • CAR-T cell therapy in autoimmune disease – Schett, NEJM 2024
  • CAR-T cell therapy in scleroderma – Wang, Cell 2024
  • Benralizumab (anti-IL-5) in EGPA – Mandara study, NEJM 2024
  • Iscalimab (anti-CD40) in Sjogrens – Lancet 2024
  • Dazodalibep (CD40L antagonist) in Sjogrens – Nature Med 2024
  • MITIGATE study (Inebilizumab) in IgG4 related disease -  NEJM 2024
• Dr.  Louis Bridges (HSS) Chose as his annual best the following studies:
  • Na 1.7 as a chondrocyte regulator and therapeutic target for OS. Nature 2024
  • Synovial fibroblast gene expression is associated with sensory nerve growth pain in RA.  Sci Transl Med 2024
  • Xist ribonucleoproteins promote female sex-biased autoimmunity. Cell 2024
  • Molecular mimicry in MIS-C in children Nature 2024
  • Spatial proteomics identifies JAKi as treatment for a lethal skin disease. Nature 2024

TAPIR Trial: A Steroid withdrawal trial in GPA patients in remission - Abstract 0774

• Dr. Peter Merkel presented this multicenter, randomized, trial of GPA patients in remission who were on Prednisone 5 mg qd, half were tapered off and half were maintained.  In the end the tapered group had 16% flares (mostly minor) vs only 4% flares in those maintained on 5 mg/day of prednisone. Most viewed these results as favoring the steroid taper if GPA is in remission. Those on rituximab maintenance did better with tapering than those on other agents.  With tapering the risk of major relapse of GCA was low.

Fate of Seronegative RA patients – Abstract 0458

• This Mayo Clinic study evaluated the fate of 176 seronegative RA (SNRA) patients followed over 20 years. Unlike other studies of seronegative patients showing that up to 65% of SNRA evolves into another diagnosis – this study showed that the 10-Yr cumulative risk of another diagnosis to be only 15%.  These SNRA were later diagnosed with Spondyloarthropathy (11), seropositive RA (6), OA (5), crystalline arthritis (3), CTD (3), infection related arthropathy (1), paraneoplastic arthropathy (1), remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (1) and sarcoidosis (1). Of the 85% who remained SNRA, the10-y cumulative incidence of drug-free remission was 27%, while 19% going on to have refractory disease requiring treatment with b/tsDMARDs.