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The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics–ACR Damage Index (SDI) has been widely used for 25 years. This index, however, has its limitations, providing a rationale for a global initiative to create a revised, updated SDI to capture organ damage across the age-spectrum.
A paper in JCI Insight reports a role for antibody glycosylation in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis and suggests CaMK4 as a potential urinary biomarker of active disease.
Preclinical research suggests that inhibitors of PIM kinases currently in development in oncology could be repurposed for the treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis.
New research suggests that advanced inflammatory arthritis could be treated with a targeted chemotherapeutic strategy to selectively induce apoptosis in osteoclasts and inflammatory macrophages in affected joints.
Two new studies have identified mutations in UBA1 associated with the newly identified condition VEXAS syndrome in cohorts of patients with relapsing polychondritis, supporting the concept that relapsing polychondritis is more than one disease.
The accurate homogeneous differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into chondrocytes is crucial for cartilage regenerative therapies. Discovery of the signalling pathways responsible for the differentiation of unwanted cell types during in vitro chondrogenesis could herald a breakthrough for in vitro cartilage generation.
Immune-related disorders in patients with COVID-19 are increasingly being reported worldwide, with thousands of cases recorded of manifestations that can mimic a broad range of systemic and organ-specific inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Salivary gland dysfunction is an important characteristic of primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS). In this Review, the authors discuss various epithelial abnormalities in pSS and the mechanisms by which epithelial cell–immune cell interactions contribute to disease development and progression.
Type III interferons (IFNλs) affect innate and adaptive immune responses and are associated with the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases. In this Review, the authors provide an overview of IFNλs in rheumatic diseases and discuss therapeutic strategies to target them.
The prevalence of rheumatic diseases is increasing in African countries, leading to an increased need for specialist rheumatologists and disease-modifying drugs. In this Review, the authors outline what is currently known about the state of rheumatic diseases in Africa.
