ACR Journals On Air

Dr. David Leverenz, an educator and rheumatology enthusiast, created an online community of inquiry called Rheum Madness. The podcast explores the RheumMadness tournament where teams compete to determine the most important concept in Rheumatology. It discusses the application of educational theories and frameworks in the project, as well as participant engagement and the educational experience. Dr. Leverenz also shares their career journey and mentorship in rheumatology. Overall, it's an entertaining podcast for rheumatology enthusiasts!

Osteoarthritis is incredibly common, affecting more than 500 million people across the globe. It is a significant cause of pain and disability and carries high healthcare costs and societal burdens. Around the world, there are not enough rheumatology specialists to treat all the patients with OA, and in many countries, OA management is coordinated by primary care internists. However, despite good guidelines recommending first-line evidence-based treatments with muscle strengthening, physical activity, weight loss, and judicious medication management, there are many inconsistencies in OA care delivery. This week, we focus on the manuscript “Effectiveness of a New Service Delivery Model for Management of Knee Osteoarthritis in Primary Care: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial” and our guest is Dr. David Hunter, its first author. 

In this week’s episode, we’ll be looking at a paper recently published in “ACR Open Rheumatology” titled: “Machine Learning Applied to Patient-Reported Outcomes to Classify Physician-Derived Measures of Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity“. This study used machine learning tools to investigate whether longitudinal patient-reported outcome data can be a proxy for Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), presenting interesting findings that may impact the practice of rheumatology.  Our guest this week is the paper’s first author, Dr. Jeffrey Curtis. Dr. Curtis is the Marguerite Jones Harbert – Gene V. Ball Endowed Professor in Rheumatology and Immunology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has many accolades to his name, including being a prior winner of the Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award and being a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. 

This week, we welcome Dr. Ruth Fernandez Ruiz to our show, a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Dr. Fernandez Ruiz’s award-winning work focuses on the interplay of genetic variation, type I interferons, and immune dysregulation in lupus. However, her latest study published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology” entitled: Supporting International Medical Graduates in Rheumatology: A Call to Action seeks to understand and draw attention to the challenges and barriers that prevent international medical graduates from coming to the U.S. and practicing medicine in the field of rheumatology.  

Dr. Patricia Katz discusses her study on sleep disorders among patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, including common disorders and their health implications. She also shares her career advice on writing academic papers and the editorial process for ACR Open Rheumatology.

Dr. Shanmugam and Dr. Richard Furie discuss the TULIP study on anifrolumab in SLE patients. They cover the FDA approval, efficacy outcomes, COVID infection rates, vaccine responses, safety measures, career influence, and mentorship in rheumatology.

In this episode, we welcome the lead author of “Deucravacitinib, a Tyrosine Kinase 2 Inhibitor, in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A phase 2, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial” Dr. Eric Morand of Monash University. The objective of this multicenter clinical trial in lupus (recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology”) was to assess the efficacy of deucravacitinib in a phase II trial in adult patients with active lupus. Dr. Morand’s methods, results and ultimate conclusions take center stage of our show today. 

Join us this week as we interview the lead author of “Genicular Nerve Block for Pain Management in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial”, Dr. Michael Shanahan. Dr. Shanahan’s study, most recently published in “Arthritis & Rheumatology” attempts to determine the efficacy of ultrasound-guided genicular nerve block in managing pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Dr. Shanahan discusses his team’s methods, results and conclusions of this paper plus some career advice and insights at the top of the show. 

This week, our guest is Dr. Grace Lo, first author of “Association Between Walking for Exercise and Symptomatic and Structural Progression in Individuals with Knee Osteoarthritis: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative Cohort” And Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. The objective of her study: To assess the relationship between walking for exercise and symptomatic and structural disease progression in individuals with knee OA. In this episode, she shares her methods and results with us as well as some career advice for our young listeners as well as some motivation to get out there and enjoy a nice walk! 

In this podcast, Dr Joann B Sweasy and Dr. Westley Reeves discuss their study on the connection between a human MSH6 germline variant and systemic lupus erythematosus in mice. They explore genetics of DNA repair and early onset lupus, abnormal immune response in the lungs, autoimmune diseases, and ongoing research findings in understanding lupus.