During this episode, Dr John Isaacs and Dr Josh Bennett from Newcastle University and the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, discuss sarcopenia - an age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Sarcopenia is relatively common in rheumatoid arthritis, with a prevalence ranging from 4·5% to 44% of people with rheumatoid arthritis, depending on the definition of sarcopenia used. Rheumatoid sarcopenia increases the risk of fall, fractures, disability, and hospitalisation. Therefore, prevention and management is important, especially in older patients. We discuss the how and why sarcopenia arises and how it can be managed, as well as the recent publication of the RAMUS study, which looked at the skeletal muscle effects of JAK inhibitor tofacitinib in rheumatoid arthritis. The link to the Nature Rheumatology Review mentioned can also be found below.
RAMUS study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00184-5/fulltext
Nature Rheumatology Review: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41584-023-00921-9

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This month's episode covers Sjögren’s disease—an autoimmune condition that primarily affects areas of the body that produce fluids, such as tears and saliva. The cause of the disease isn’t understood. Currently there are no licensed drugs to treat the disease, but phase 2 clinical trials have reported encouraging results, and phase 3 trials are underway.

Dr Samuel Bitoun, from the University of Paris-Saclay and APHP, discusses how Sjögren’s disease is currently classified, the challenges of using such classification, and how AI and deep learning could potentially contribute to this area, which is the focus of his recent study published in The Lancet Rheumatology, which aimed to train a neural network model to perform focus score classification and identify new histological patterns associated with this disease.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00181-X/fulltext

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In today's episode, Sophie discusses psoriatic arthritis with Dr Ryan Hum from The University of Manchester.

Psoriatic arthritis affects between 0.1% and 1% of the general population globally, and appears to be more prevalent in certain regions. It affects men and women equally and typically appears between the ages of 30 and 55 years. Psoriatic arthritis tends to be more common in people with psoriasis affecting around 20% of individuals, but estimates can depend on the inclusion criteria studies use.

We touch on the pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis and how it might manifest in a patient, as well as the contribution of synovial inflammation and how research into this topic contributes to our understanding of the disease. We also discuss the reasons psoriatic arthritis research is in the early stages when compared to rheumatoid arthritis. 

The Review discussed can be found here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00231-0/fulltext

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In this episode, we’re tackling a condition that affects over 374 million people worldwide—knee osteoarthritis (OA). As the most common site of OA, knee OA is a leading cause of disability and accounts for more than 12 million disability-adjusted life years globally. With prevalence rising steadily due to aging populations and increasing obesity rates, the burden of knee OA is projected to climb even further in the coming decades.

We speak with the lead author of a new study published in The Lancet Rheumatology, Dr Scott Uhlrich, from the University of Utah. The study offers fresh insights into the management of knee OA through personalised gait retraining. We’ll explore the study’s design, its clinical implications, and what the future might hold for patients with knee OA.

Read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00151-1?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_September_25_lanrhe

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In this episode, we'll be discussing an issue that affects millions of people globally - low back pain. We will find out why the burden of low back pain is so high, why current management is so ineffective, what we can do from a research and care perspective to improve outcomes for patients, and whether prevention is the way forward. 

We’ll also discuss a couple of papers that have been recently published in The Lancet Rheumatology looking at longer-term treatment options for low back pain, and how useful they are.

Read the Systematic Review:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00064-5/abstract?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_August_25_lanrhe

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In this episode Professor Vibeke Strand discusses polymyalgia rheumatica (or PMR), a common inflammatory rheumatic disease that significantly impairs patients’ quality of life, causing fatigue, pain, and physical disability, especially in relapsing cases that often require long-term glucocorticoid treatment. However, these treatments come with considerable side effects, and many patients do not respond to treatment.

We also cover her recent publication, which explores the patient reported outcomes of a trial using sarilumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the inflammatory cytokine IL-6, which has now been approved for treatment of PMR in the USA.

Read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00041-4/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_July_25_lanrhe

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This is a joint podcast between The Lancet Rheumatology and The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific with Prof Xue Li. Biologics have become a mainstay of treatment in Rheumatology in Western populations, but in many parts of Asia, especially lower-and-middle-income countries, there remains substantial inequity in access due to differences in availability and affordability.

In this episode, we explore the factors that may have delayed the popularisation of biologics in Asia, any recent policy changes and the role of biosimilars in this landscape.

Read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanwpc/article/PIIS2666-6065(22)00121-3/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_June_25_lanwpc

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In this podcast, Professor Savic talks about his recent publication that looks at treatment outcomes in patients with VEXAS syndrome, as well as what clinicians should look out for in patients (red flags), and future priorities for research.

VEXAS syndrome (short for Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic syndrome) was first described in 2020. It’s a rare, and often-life threatening, inflammatory condition primarily affecting men. It's caused by a mutation in the UBA1 gene, leading to systemic inflammation and progressive bone marrow failure. The condition can manifest with a variety of symptoms, including fevers, fatigue, rashes, and joint pain, and can affect various organs and tissues.

Read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00034-7/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_June_25_lanrhe

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This is the third and final episode of our mini-series on cell-based therapies in rheumatology, with Professor Fabian Müller and Dr Melanie Hagen from the Erlangen University, Germany. We discuss their recently published a study on a newly discovered toxicity of CD-19 targeting CAR T-cell therapy in patients with autoimmune disease, as well as the recent successes of CAR T-cell therapy, ideal patient selection, and future directions.

Read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(25)00091-8/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_Jun_25_lanrhe

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This is the second episode of a mini series on cell-based therapies in rheumatology, with Prof. Dominique Farge discussing the use of allogeneic umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) as treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). 

We cover the limited options currently available for people with severe or refractory SLE, the complexities in using MSCs, Prof. Farge's recent study results, and how these results fit in with the evidence available, as well as the future for this area of research. 

You can find the study here:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(24)00298-4/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_25-04-25_lanrhe

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