ACR on Air Podcast

Clinical expert of spondyloarthritis, Maureen Dubreuil, MD, MSc, joins us in this episode of ACR on Air to discuss treating spondyloarthritis. Dr. Dubreuil discusses how she evaluates and treats patients with this specific condition and shares tips and insights into how to diagnose and manage this disease.

Maureen Dubreuil, MD, MSc - Maureen Dubreuil, MD, MSc, is a rheumatologist in Boston, specializing in spondyloarthritis at Boston University School of Medicine, where her research focuses on comorbidities and pharmacoepidemiology of spondyloarthritis. She serves as Education Chair and Board Member for the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN), is a Medical Advisor for the Spondylitis Association of America, a member of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS), and a site investigator for the international CLASSIC study and the PULSAR spondyloarthritis registry. In 2013, she was awarded the Arthritis Foundation Clinical to Research Transition Award and 2016 she began work on a K23-funded project to study patient preferences, and the cost-effectiveness of treatment modalities for spondyloarthritis, to inform both clinical care and policy decisions.

Related Links:

• National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society

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This week’s episode is another installment of our popular Hot Topics series, where we discuss “must read” studies recently published in one of ACR’s three peer-reviewed journals. Joining us is Vicki Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD. Dr. Shanmugam is not only our guest in this episode, but also the host of a new ACR podcast series, “ACR Journals on Air,” scheduled to launch later this summer. In this episode, we’ll hear what we can expect from the new podcast, and we’ll talk about some of her recent favorite studies in the ACR’s journals.

Vicki Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD - Vicki Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, has clinical expertise caring for patients with autoimmune diseases, vasculitis, and chronic wounds. She has led several research studies investigating scleroderma, hidradenitis suppurativa, and the interplay of the host immune response and the microbiome in chronic wounds. Dr. Shanmugam is a frequently invited speaker at professional meetings. Her work in wound healing, hidradenitis, and scleroderma has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, such as Arthritis Care & Research, Current Opinion in Rheumatology, International Wound Journal, and Clinical Rheumatology.

Related Links:

• Does higher quality of care in systemic lupus erythematosus improve quality of life?
• Prevalence Trends of Site-Specific Osteoarthritis From 1990 to 2019: Findings From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
• Comparison of Web-Based Advertising and a Social Media Platform as Recruitment Tools for Underserved and Hard-to-Reach Populations in Rheumatology Clinical Research

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In this week’s episode, we discuss the ACR’s 2022 Guideline Summary for Vaccinations in Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases with lead author Anne Bass, MD, Attending Physician in the Division of Rheumatology at Hospital for Special Surgery, and a Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. During our conversation we discussed the rationale for this guideline, the impact of drugs like rituximab and methotrexate on vaccination responses, medication management at the time of live-attenuated vaccines, and how this guideline may help navigate insurance company vaccine approvals and much, much more.

Anne Bass, MD - Anne Bass, MD, is an Attending Physician in the Division of Rheumatology at Hospital for Special Surgery and a Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. She specializes in the treatment of patients with autoimmune side effects of cancer immunotherapy, and sees patients with inflammatory arthritis, vasculitis, and other autoimmune conditions. Dr. Bass co-directs the HSS Checkpoint inhibitor associated arthritis registry and is doing translational research to better understand this condition.

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Today we’re talking about implicit bias. What it is, how it permeates our lives, how it can negatively impact our workforce, and its impact on clinical research and patient care. Most importantly, we discuss what we can do about our implicit biases to prevent them from causing damage.

Arin N. Reeves, PhD - Arin N. Reeves, PhD, is a leading researcher, author, and advisor in the fields of leadership and inclusion. Dr. Reeves studied business at DePaul University’s College of Commerce, attended law school at the University of Southern California and received her PhD in Sociology from Northwestern University. Dr. Reeves is a best-selling author of four books – In Charge (2022), Smarter Than A Lie (2019), One Size Never Fits All (2014), and The Next IQ (2012). Dr. Reeves has designed and led several comprehensive research projects on leadership and inclusion in various topics related to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Before Nextions, Dr. Reeves practiced law for several years and served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University, where she taught classes on law and society.

Related Research Links:

• Implicit Bias Defined, including Microaggressions and forms of them and examples
• 5 Takeaways from the HCCA 2021 Compliance Institute
• Diversity in Practice: What Does Your Brain 'See'?
• Ready, Set, Recruit: Eliminate Unconscious Bias When Reviewing Resumes
• Racial and Ethnic Differences and Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Presenting to the Emergency Department

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In this episode, Alfred Kim, MD, PhD, discusses B-cell depleting therapies and how patients on these drugs may be more susceptible to COVID-19. Dr. Kim takes us back to the beginning of the pandemic and how he and his patients initially managed the rituximab infusions, how and why people on this drug may be at increased risk of severe disease, the importance of vaccinations, and why they may not work for this patient population. Dr. Kim also shares important information on how to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 among people taking B-cell depleting therapies now that there are new therapies for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Speaker Alfred Kim, MD, PhD - Alfred Kim, MD, PhD, is an adult rheumatologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Kim founded and currently directs the Washington University Lupus Clinic engaging in both clinical care of patients with lupus and heading a large research program focused on clinical and translational projects related to systemic lupus erythematosus. More recently, he started the "COVID-19 Vaccine Responses in Patients with Autoimmune Diseases" (COVaRiPAD) study, which seeks to elucidate the strength, quality, durability, evolution, and safety of COVID-19 vaccine responses in patients who take immunosuppressives for autoimmune diseases.

Related Research Links:

• B cell depletion therapies in autoimmune disease: advances and mechanistic insight
• Glucocorticoids and B Cell Depleting Agents Substantially Impair Immunogenicity of mRNA Vaccines to SARS-CoV-2

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