Articles By Jiha Lee, MD
RA-ILD in the Age of Treat-to-Target: Put the Probe on the Chest
By Jiha Lee, MD
At EULAR 2026, speakers of the session “Catching Your Breath: Unravelling RA Associated Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)” noted RA-ILD is one of the few outcomes not improving in the biologic era. Three abstracts reinforce that message and make the case for a practical, low-cost screening tool that is already in most rheumatologists’ hands.
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What’s New in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Whirlwind Tour
By Jiha Lee, MD
At the "What Is New in Psoriatic Arthritis" session at EULAR 2026, Professor Dennis McGonagle (Leeds, UK) took the audience on a whirlwind yet compact tour of the field, touching on three themes: the pathophysiology of PsA, individualization of clinical management, and emerging research and future directions.
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A Field Whose Time Has Come: Launching the EULAR Study Group on Geriatric Rheumatology
By Jiha Lee, MD
A substantial portion of patients seen in rheumatology clinics are now older adults living with multimorbidity, polypharmacy, frailty, cognitive impairment, functional limitation, and competing health priorities. This week at EULAR 2026 in London, the EULAR Study Group on Geriatric Rheumatology holds its inaugural meeting. The launch marks an important step for a field that has been visible in clinical practice, but less visible in professional structures.
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Ianalumab Shows Phase 3 Success in Sjögren’s: Is It Clinically Meaningful?
By Jiha Lee, MD
On the final day of ACR25, late-breaking abstract #24 drew particular attention, presenting results from the first positive Phase 3 trials of a potential systemic treatment for a disease that has long lacked one.
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Accelerated Aging in Rheumatic Disease: From Biology to Lifestyle Intervention
By Jiha Lee, MD
At ACR 2025, the session “27M02: Nutrition for Rheumatic Disease: Where Aging Biology, Sarcopenia, and Diet Intersect” invited the audience to view rheumatic disease through the lens of biological aging and to consider how nutrition and exercise can serve as integrative lifestyle interventions.
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Rheumatology’s Blind Spot: The Persistent Exclusion of Older Adults
By Jiha Lee, MD
As the population ages globally, rheumatologists are caring for an increasingly older patient population more than ever before. In RA alone, nearly 40 percent of patients are now aged 65 years or older. Yet the evidence guiding our treatment decisions continues to come from studies that rarely include them, giving rise to a fundamental question: do we really know how best to treat older adults with rheumatic diseases?
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ICYMI: Introducing Polyrefractory RA: A New Frontier in Difficult-to-Treat RA
By Jiha Lee, MD
At a EULAR 2025 session titled “What makes ‘Difficult-to-treat RA’ so difficult to treat? And what can we do?”, Drs. Paula David and Dennis McGonagle introduced the emerging concept of polyrefractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a term now being used to describe a subset of patients who have failed to respond to five or more biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs. This new classification, derived from recent multinational registry data, represents a significant step in refining our understanding and management of the most treatment-resistant forms of RA.
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From Domains to Decisions: Personalizing PsA Care with Data
By Jiha Lee, MD
At EULAR 2025, Dr. Laura Coates (Oxford) took the plenary stage to reframe how we think about treating psoriatic arthritis. The message was clear: in 2025, PsA treatment is no longer about following a linear algorithm; it’s about understanding the unique constellation of domains, comorbidities, and patient factors that shape each clinical decision.
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Introducing Polyrefractory RA: A New Frontier in Difficult-to-Treat RA
By Jiha Lee, MD
At a EULAR 2025 session titled “What makes ‘Difficult-to-treat RA’ so difficult to treat? And what can we do?”, Drs. Paula David and Dennis McGonagle introduced the emerging concept of polyrefractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a term now being used to describe a subset of patients who have failed to respond to five or more biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs. This new classification, derived from recent multinational registry data, represents a significant step in refining our understanding and management of the most treatment-resistant forms of RA.
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Late-Onset Disease: Different Age, Different Rules?
By Jiha Lee, MD
We’re seeing more patients develop rheumatic diseases for the first time in their 60s, 70s, or beyond. But are these truly the same diseases we see in younger adults, or do they behave differently, shaped by age-related biology, comorbidity, and the biases that influence medical decision-making? Several abstracts presented at EULAR 2025 challenge us to reconsider how we diagnose and treat rheumatic disease in older adults.
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