Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

The 2018 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting returned to the windy city of Chicago for the first time since 2011. Whilst a national meeting, the ACR/ARHP drew over 15,000 delegates from over 100 countries and had an extensive clinical and basic science curriculum to cater for all interests. The remarkable progress in the therapy of inflammatory arthritis continues apace. In RA, a move from biological therapy towards small molecules with the emergence of JAK was highlighted. The seronegative spondyloarthropathies witnessed the consolidation of IL-23/17 axis inhibition and emergence of JAK pathway inhibition but the failure of IL-23 pathway blockade in axial disease. The meeting also witnessed data on the potential re-emergence of pain pathway modulation and novel new therapies for osteoarthritis. Other Chicago experience highlights included the vibrant culinary experience in the evenings and the shuttle bus underground tunnel trip to the McCormick Convention Center, using the underground network that formed the set for a Batman movie.

Some of the highlights that will impact or potentially impact on clinical practice are highlighted in this report. We hope that you enjoy the brief meeting summary that we have distilled from only a small fraction of the excellent abstracts. We hope that you enjoy reading this report and we look forward to seeing you next year in Atlanta.

Sincerely,
Dennis

 

Biography

Dennis McGonagle, FRCPI, PhD, is an Academic Rheumatologist at the University of Leeds and section head of Experimental Rheumatology. He graduated in Medicine from the University College Dublin in 1990 and undertook postgraduate training in Dublin and Leeds where he completed his PhD. He has developed the modern enthesitis model for spondyloarthropathies and psoriatic arthritis including the cytokine mediated enthesis originating theory of disease (Lancet 1998). He also described the synovio-entheseal complex, nail anchorage to the skeleton, developed an integrated biomechanical and immunology model for PsA, and a mechanistic disease classification of immune diseases (PLoS Med 2006). His group also discovered synovial fluid mesenchymal stem cells, which is being researched towards osteoarthritis therapy development. Prof. McGonagle has also served on the EULAR scientific committee and is a member of the Editorial Board of ARD.

Conflict of Interest Statement:Prof. McGonagle has undertaken research and/or educational programme activities with Pfizer, MSD, AbbVie, BMS, UCB, Novartis, Celgene, Eli Lilly and J&J.



Posted on 24 October 201815 March 2021