ACR Journals on Air Podcast

Patricia Katz, PhD, is our guest this week as she presents her latest study, Sleep Disorders Among Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis, recently published in Arthritis Care & Research. This study focuses on patients with RA who self-report common sleep problems such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and short sleep and examines the prevalence of these disorders plus their potential negative health implications. Dr. Katz shares her methods, findings and conclusions. She also shares career advice on writing an academic paper, the associated challenges, and what the editorial process looks like for ACR Open Rheumatology, including what the editorial team looks for while reviewing and editing manuscripts.

Patricia Katz, PhD - Patricia Katz, PhD, is Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at UCSF. She is a past Editor-in-Chief of Arthritis Care & Research and the current co-Editor-in-Chief of ACR Open Rheumatology. She has edited 3 volumes of Arthritis Care & Research, in which outcome measures for rheumatology were reviewed, the most recent published in 2020. She received the ARHP Distinguished Scholar Award in 1997, the STAR Award in 2005, the ARHP Presidential Award in 2003 and 2010, the ARHP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, and ACR Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award in 2019.

Her research has followed two main paths: measurement of patient-centered outcomes, and the impact of lifestyle factors, such sleep and physical inactivity, on clinical and patient-centered outcomes. She has authored more than 300 publications and has received grants from a variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense Lupus Program, and the Rheumatology Research Foundation, including grants focusing on sleep in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Related Links:

• Sleep Disorders Among Individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis

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In this episode, Dr. Shanmugam discusses A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Phase 3 Extension Trial of Long-term Safety and Tolerability of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, a three-year long-term study designed to understand the safety of anifrolumab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study, which was recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, represents the longest placebo-controlled clinical trial performed in SLE to date. She is joined by our guest and co-author of the paper, Richard Furie, MD, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Northwell Health in New York.

Richard Furie, MD - Richard Furie, MD, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Northwell Health, is a rheumatologist whose activities for the last several decades have focused on patient care, physician education, and clinical research in anti-rheumatic drug development. He directs the Program in Novel Therapeutics, the health system’s clinical research program in musculoskeletal disease. He also directs the hospital’s SLE and Autoimmune Disease Treatment Center, which has become internationally recognized for its role in the development of new therapies for SLE. Regarded as one of the senior rheumatologists in the New York metropolitan area, he has served as a volunteer for the Arthritis Foundation, the Lupus Foundation of America, the Lupus Research Alliance, and Lupus Therapeutics. For over twenty years he served on many committees of the ACR and was named a Master of the College in 2018. Although often featured as a speaker at national and international conferences, Dr. Furie’s favorite educational venue is at home with his colleagues and trainees.

Related Links:

• A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase III Extension Trial of the Long-Term Safety and Tolerability of Anifrolumab in Active Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

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In this episode, we welcome Eric Morand, MBBS (Hons), FRACP, PhD, lead author of Deucravacitinib, a Tyrosine Kinase 2 Inhibitor, in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Phase II, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. 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 in this episode.

Eric Morand, MBBS (Hons), FRACP, PhD - Professor Eric Morand is the Head of the School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, and Director of Rheumatology at Monash Health. He graduated from Medicine at Monash University, trained in rheumatology in Australia and at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, UK and took his PhD at Monash University.

His laboratory research focuses on glucocorticoid-induced mechanisms in the immune system, with the goal of leveraging natural mechanisms of glucocorticoid action to discover a safe replacement for them. His clinical research focuses on systemic lupus erythematosus, including clinical measurement, outcome predictors, trials, mechanisms, and biomarkers.

Related Links:

• Deucravacitinib, a Tyrosine Kinase 2 Inhibitor, in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Phase II, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

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In this episode, we interview the lead author of Genicular Nerve Block for Pain Management in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial, Michael Shanahan, BMBS, MPH, PhD, MHPE, FAFOEM, FRAC.

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 insight.

Michael Shanahan, BMBS, MPH, PhD, MHPE, FAFOEM - Michael Shanahan, BMBS, MPH, PhD, MHPE, FAFOEM, FRAC, is a staff specialist rheumatologist at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide, South Australia and the Network Director of Rheumatology Services in the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. He is also the Professor of Musculoskeletal Medicine at Flinders University. He is an active clinician, researcher and educator in areas including musculoskeletal medicine, medical education, and occupational medicine.

Dr. Shanahan is a Flinders University medical graduate and is dual-qualified as a Fellow of the College of Physicians (Rheumatology) and a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

He is the chair of the Adult Training Committee for rheumatology in the College of Physicians and has also previously been the Chief Censor of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (RACP). He is also an examiner for both the College of Physicians and the Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Related Links:

• Genicular nerve block for pain management in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized placebo-controlled trial

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In this episode we are joined by Grace Lo, MD, MSc, 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 osteoarthritis. She shares her methods and results with us, as well as some career advice for our young listeners and some motivation to get out there and enjoy a nice walk!

Grace Lo, MD, MSc - Grace Lo, MD, MSc, has been a clinical researcher with a focus on osteoarthritis since 2001. She is an assistant professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and Chief of Rheumatology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. She received her rheumatology training at Boston University, where she also obtained a Masters of Science in Epidemiology. She has been working with investigators of the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a cohort of people who are either at high risk for or already had symptomatic radiographic knee osteoarthritis at the time of enrollment and has spent much of her research efforts conducting studies using data that has emanated from this cohort.

Related Links:

• Association Between Walking for Exercise and Symptomatic and Structural Progression in Individuals With Knee Osteoarthritis: Data From the Osteoarthritis Initiative Cohort

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