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Articles By Robert Chao, MD

a bowl of yogurt with raspberries

ICYMI: Do Probiotics Improve Psoriatic Arthritis?

Psoriatic arthritis and the gut microbiome have become more intertwined, especially in the past few years. It was to my amazement that one of the first abstracts I came across was the effect of probiotic modulation on gut dysbiosis and disease activity in psoriatic arthritis patients. 

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warning, caution

Reconsidering Steroids

There is not a single one of us in rheumatology who hasn’t prescribed steroids, but we really need to reconsider how much and how often we use them.

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Yes No

Should We Change How We Prescribe Methotrexate?

For as long as I can remember, methotrexate has been the anchor drug treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We also know it has limited oral bioavailability at doses greater than 15mg. There are subcutaneous forms that offer better bioavailability, but its subcutaneous nature can sometimes sway patients away from trying it in addition to its higher cost. Split dosing of methotrexate can be a solution to attain higher bioavailability; however, its effect on clinical efficacy is unknown. 

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a bowl of yogurt with raspberries

Do Probiotics Improve Psoriatic Arthritis?

Psoriatic arthritis and the gut microbiome have become more intertwined, especially in the past few years. It was to my amazement that one of the first abstracts I came across was the effect of probiotic modulation on gut dysbiosis and disease activity in psoriatic arthritis patients. 

Read Article
SI AS SpA ACR

ICYMI: Spondyloarthritis Innovations

The second day of RheumNow Live 2023 held in March ended with a focus on axial spondyloarthritis, especially on the evaluation of the definition of the disease, the inheritance of it, and of course the treatment of it.

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question-mark-1872634_640.jpg

ICYMI: What to do about pre-clinical RA?

RheumNow Live’s 2023 conference led with this year’s hot topic of rheumatoid arthritis, especially what to do regarding pre-clinical RA. Dr. Kevin Deane started the discussion by mapping out a very complex course of RA, beginning with a person’s genetic and environmental risk factors. What are Dr. Deane’s recommendations for management of pre-RA patients?

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SI AS SpA ACR

Spondyloarthritis Innovations

The second day of RheumNow Live 2023 ended with a focus on axial spondyloarthritis, especially on the evaluation of the definition of the disease, the inheritance of it, and of course the treatment of it.

Read Article
question-mark-1872634_640.jpg

What to do about pre-clinical RA?

RheumNow Live’s 2023 conference led with this year’s hot topic of rheumatoid arthritis, and in particular, what to do regarding pre-clinical RA.

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heel enthesitis spur calcaneal

Best of 2022: The Enthesitis Challenge in Psoriatic Arthritis

A colleague of mine once told me an interesting story of how her father, who was a doctor, misdiagnosed his wife with fibromyalgia when she actually had psoriatic arthritis with enthesitis all along. I would venture out and say that the average physician would have trouble evaluating enthesitis because even we, as rheumatologists do! 

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ACR meeting education

ACR22 Takeaways: Pre-RA, Lupus, PsA and AS

ACR22 Convergence left us bountiful with information from all over the world. Here are a few of my personal highlights and key takeaways. 

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