Articles By Robert Chao, MD
Osteoporosis: Thinking outside the box
As rheumatologists, most of us manage osteoporosis in some form every single day. We have newer agents, newer sequencing strategies, and an increasing number of patients asking for “less medicinal” options that go beyond a prescription. At RWCS, Dr. Gina Woods opened her talk by reframing osteoporosis as a comprehensive approach to bone and muscle health rather than a narrow discussion about a DEXA report.
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Progress in GCA and Takayasu's Arteritis
I recently attended a fascinating lecture by Dr. Anisha Dua on progress in the diagnosis and treatment of large-vessel vasculitis, with a focus on giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu's arteritis. She opened with what felt like the most honest “state of the union” slide you can show a room full of rheumatologists: steroid burden is still enormous.
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What's New in Spondyloarthritis
Dr. Arthur Kavanaugh and Dr. Eric Ruderman gave an update on what's new in spondyloarthritis at the 2026 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium (RWCS) in Maui, Hawaii. Here's a summary.
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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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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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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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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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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.
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