News
Scary IPAF
Interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF) describes patients who have interstitial lung disease (ILD) plus clinical, serologic, or morphologic features of autoimmunity but who do not meet criteria for a defined connective tissue disease.
Beyond Joint Inflammation: Does Early RA Control Prevent Chronic Pain and Fatigue?
Could the therapeutic window of opportunity in rheumatoid arthritis extend beyond preventing structural damage to preventing chronic pain, fatigue, and neuroimmune complications?
PsA: Are new IL-23 agents impactful in today’s treatment landscape?
IL-23 therapies are among the most efficacious and safest treatment options for patients with skin psoriasis. The enthusiasm for IL-23 agents for PsA is perhaps more tempered; while efficacy has been demonstrated for peripheral joint disease, there is concern that these agents are not effective in patients with axial disease.
Is CAR-T cooling down in SARDs?
Tsao et al presented abstract #2773 consensus recommendations for CAR-T cell therapy in the SARDs from the Taiwan College of Rheumatology. They are thorough and outline a sensible approach.
Lupus Nephritis Reshapes Pregnancy Risk
Investigators presented an abstract using Epic Cosmos to examine pregnancy outcomes in women with SLE across health systems nationwide. Beyond confirming that SLE pregnancies remain higher risk, the study highlights two important opportunities: the ability to use large-scale, real-world data to study relatively uncommon outcomes in lupus, and the importance of lupus nephritis history when counseling patients and planning pregnancy.
Is Obesity Inflating Your Disease Activity Scores?
Obesity is common in inflammatory arthritis, with an estimated 60-70% of people with rheumatoid arthritis and 70-80% of people with psoriatic arthritis also living with overweight or obesity. But does obesity affect disease activity and outcomes in inflammatory arthritis?
Reading the Sacroiliac Joint Early: What MRI Reveals in axSpA
Axial spondyloarthritis is notorious for being diagnosed late. Imaging is one of the best tools for catching it sooner, and the 2025 ASAS-SPARTAN revised classification criteria reflect that: the most heavily weighted variable is “MRI indicative of axSpA in the sacroiliac joints (SIJ).” Three new abstracts from the SPACE and SPARTAN CLASSIC cohorts show what that finding means in practice.
Eosinophilia and RA-ILD
The absolute eosinophil count (AEC) on a routine complete blood count could be a useful addition when deciding which patients to work up for RA-ILD.
Can We Predict Work Disability in Lupus?
Despite our increased understanding of lupus immunology including treatment options, many of our patients with SLE continue to experience significant functional impairment and work disability. Several abstracts from ACR 2026 highlight the burden of work disability, the factors associated with employment outcomes, and the potential to identify patients at risk before disability occurs.
In Vivo CAR-T in Lupus and Scleroderma: 14 Patients, no Lymphodepletion
Three reports at ACR Convergence 2026 describe CD19 CAR-T cells generated inside the patient, with no apheresis and no ex vivo manufacturing step. None of the three used fludarabine and cyclophosphamide conditioning.
Weight Loss and Arthritis: A focus on patient-reported outcomes
Obesity is associated with poorer physical function and treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The ACR guideline on exercise, rehabilitation and diet supports discussing healthy body weight as part of wider RA care. But what happens to patients’ symptoms when they lose weight after starting GLP-1-based treatment?
RITAZAREM: Three Things I Learned about AAV Maintenance
One of the most common questions I receive in my vasculitis clinic is one of the most difficult to answer: “When can we stop rituximab?” While we know everyone needs therapy for at least one year and have reasonably good data for 18 months, whether folks should continue after that remains an open question. That is why I was especially excited to see a post hoc analysis of RITAZAREM, which followed patients for up to 48 months from enrollment.
ACR 2026 – Day 1 Report
ACR Convergence was off to a big start with the year in review, posters and plenary sessions. Here are a few of my favorite presentations from todays Plenary I session at ACR Convergence.
2 Weeks off Methotrexate Boosts Zoster Response
Consider holding methotrexate for two weeks after each recombinant zoster vaccine dose when disease is stable, and give the vaccine before rituximab when timing allows.