Articles By Robert Chao, MD

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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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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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
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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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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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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The complexity of opioid use in spondyloarthritis
A few things we know about opioids: use is common; it’s not efficacious in the treatment of spondyloarthritis; and, there is an opioid epidemic and its users are stigmatized. Abstract 0402 is a retrospective study that looked at patients with psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis in the FORWARD databank. It sheds new light and leaves us with some food for thought
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AS, Lupus and Subclinical RA: What I'm looking forward to at ACR22
As we approach ACR22, there are many things to be excited about, especially with the reintroduction of in-person attendance. My attention this year is in research being presented in these three areas: ankylosing spondylitis; lupus management and treatment; and, subclinical RA.
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Spondyloarthritis and COVID-19
There are still questions surrounding COVID-19, and some common questions I receive from patients revolve around what to do with their current DMARDs or should they even start treatment during this pandemic. Two studies focused on this question.
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JAKi for nonradiographic axSpA
One area of continued interest for many rheumatologists is the field of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. Furthermore, the question of the utility of JAK inhibitors for the treatment of axial spondyloarthritis has been on the rise.
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