Overdrive by Rheumatology Network

In this episode of Overdrive, the Rheumatology Network podcast, Dr. Kim Gorgens interviews Shereen Mahmood, MD, a rheumatologist with the Montefiore Medical Center in South Bronx, New York, to discuss her experience as a physician during the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing rheumatic disease patients during the pandemic has had its challenges, she says, as rheumatology patients are a vulnerable patient population. They suffer from chronic conditions, often chronic pain, and they largely rely on immunosuppressants and steroids to control their condition. In this interview, Dr. Gorgens and Dr. Mahmood talk about the mental health and mental wellbeing of rheumatic disease patients during the pandemic. 

Juana Mata was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in April 2009. In May 2009 she ended up in the hospital with  a variety of symptoms and was sent home with a diagnosis of anxiety because she insisted that something was wrong. She refused to go home unless she had testing done, after the testing was completed, She was admitted to ICU with platelet count of 2,000 (normal is 150,000-450,000), she was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia and systemic lupus. If she would have gone home that day she would have died. She was scared and knew very little about Lupus, she wanted to learn, and empower others about self advocacy.

This week marks the start of the 2020 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. Some of the studies we're covering include new therapies for lupus nephritis. Belimumab was shown recently to improve renal outcomes in lupus nephritis patients when added to standard of care. It will likely emerge as a significant treatment option, says Dr. Fotios Koumpouras, fellowship program director for rheumatology at Yale School of Medicine and a Rheumatology Network board member. Dr. Koumpouras breaks down his highlights in this interview.

Patients with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis should be participating in four different types of exercise: cardiovascular, strength, flexibility, and balance. But a new study shows that patients are overly focused on cardiovascular exercise and not enough on exercise types designed to strengthen and protect joints and bones. In this interview, Dr. Lauren Freid, a rheumatologist with the University of California Los Angeles and the lead investigator of a study on physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis, addresses exercise essentials for inflammatory rheumatic disease.

Gout is not only an intermittent rheumatic disease that affects peripheral joints, it’s a disease that's systemic in nature and progressive, says Dr. Bradley Marder, medical director of nephrology with Horizon Therapeutics. As a nephrologist, he sees gout as a kidney disease. In this interview, he explains why.

In a review recently published in Current Osteoporosis Reports, Sarah French, M.D., a rheumatologist with the University of California at San Francisco, summarizes performance quality measures for osteoporosis using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid measures for pay-for-performance programs. In this interview, Dr. French shares with us her findings.

Today we talk with Dr. Richard Furie who is chief of rheumatology at Northwell Health in New York. Dr. Furie is the lead investigator of a study on lupus nephritis just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Furie and colleagues from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research reported that belimumab with standard therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for lupus nephritis. If the treatment is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it would be the first of its kind for this condition. In this presentation, Dr. Furie tell us more.

Today, we talk with Dr. Jeffrey Curtis of the University of Alabama. We spoke about the use of activity trackers as a tool to record and track arthritic flare-ups. The device has been found to be useful in improving patient care or as Dr. Curtis says, “we need to right-size care” by giving patients the right care at the right time.” In this interview, he explains how an activity tracker can make such a huge difference in the care patients receive.

In the U.S. there are about 54 million women and men, who have low bone density and are at risk of having a fracture. And, despite having access to effective treatments, most people are not being tested or treated---even high risk patients. It's a major public health concern and a crisis in medicine, says Dr. Michael Lewiecki, who is a specialist in osteoporosis and bone diseases. Bone Health TeleECHO is filling this gap in medicine. Today, Dr. Lewiecki tells us how.

Dr. Daniel Solomon---editor in chief of Arthritis and Rheumatology and chief of clinical sciences for rheumatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston---describes the abundance of new research on hydroxychloroquine and cytokine storm syndrome as an "infodemic." In today’s edition of Overdrive, Dr. Solomon helps us make sense of the science.