Articles By David Liew, FRACP
ICYMI: Secukinumab promise in PMR is real
Choice is not just good, it is often necessary, and secukinumab promises just that in both PMR and GCA.
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What we need in very early arthritis
It's easy to think that in our current world that we've done it all for rheumatoid arthritis, that there's nothing left to be done after b/tsDMARDs have become relatively widespread and accessible. If we aren’t satisfied that we’ve done all we can for our RA patients, how can we make their treatment and their lives better?
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What would it take for JAKs to ROCK the boat?
JAK inhibitors have taken a beating over the last three years. The excitement and potential has been tempered by mounting cardiovascular safety concerns, but specifically in at-risk patients, compared to TNF inhibitors. So it is an intriguing idea to pair JAK inhibitors with something that might have a cardioprotective effect. It is therefore worth excitement that we have a therapeutic option to follow which does just that. At EULAR 2025, we have seen phase 2 results for CPL’116, and a simultaneous publication in The Lancet Rheumatology.
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Secukinumab promise in PMR is real
Choice is not just good, it is often necessary, and secukinumab promises just that in both PMR and GCA.
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Will the Robots Save Ultrasound?
Despite all its benefits, ultrasound’s daily clinical use remains the domain of only a subset of interested rheumatologists. If the benefits are so clear, then why is it not universal? In the late-breaking oral abstracts at ACR Convergence, the final abstract presentation was from the Danish rheumatologists behind ARTHUR and DIANA: the robot which holds the MSK ultrasound probe, and the artificial intelligence brains which empowers it. Perhaps the robots will save us?
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Ozempic will change rheumatology
Many of our diseases are made worse by obesity, notably rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Much of the refractory pain and suffering from these conditions might be attributable to obesity, so active questions will be raised about how GLP-1 agonists can influence the diseases we treat.
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JAK inhibitors in GCA?
The SELECT-GCA study, looking at upadacitinib in GCA, anchored the ACR 2024 opening plenary for a reason - it is highly notable and badly needed.
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The path to new technologies in rheumatology must be beset with caution
As we have incorporated technology into our workflows, and consequently saved lives and suffering, we have balanced our excitement about progress with proof that incremental advances can truly deliver benefit. it is easy to let promise carry our caution away - and while most of the time such advances come in a vetted package, which we can consume without concern, conference abstracts come raw. This is the necessary ingredient to a platform which allows for bold ideas and innovation, but for that reason it is not such a curated space. At EULAR 2024, we saw the usual mix of bright, raw ideas on the poster floor emblematic of this paradigm.
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Choices in GCA
There are a number of diseases where new biologic and targeted synthetic therapeutic options are coming online, and the temptation will be to consider them all equally. GCA is one of those diseases.
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The art of talking about risks with our patients
On the first day of EULAR 2024, I am debating Janet Pope.
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