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In this interview with Dr. Stuart Silverman, we discuss his WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2025 presentation on the clinical utility of bone turnover markers (BTMs) in osteoporosis care. BTMs such as s-CTX and s-PINP, standardized by the IOF-IFCC, provide insights into bone remodelling, support treatment monitoring, guide therapy adjustments, and help personalize drug holidays, though they complement rather than replace traditional diagnostic tools.
touchREVIEWS in RMD is proud to welcome Dr Vinod Ravindran to our editorial board. With a distinguished background in clinical rheumatology, medical education, and research, Dr Ravindran is widely recognized for his contributions to advancing care and understanding in the field.
In this episode, we explore the future of continuing medical education (CME) with the team behind touchIME. Hannah Fisher and Matthew Goodwin share insights into global and US trends, the importance of patient inclusivity and how educational outcomes are evolving to better measure the direct impact of learning on clinical practice and patient care.
Dr. Vinod Ravindran (Centre for Rheumatology, Calicut, Kerala, India) shares his highlights from RheumaPreg 2025, held in Vienna. The conference covered the full spectrum of pregnancy management in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Here, he reflects on key insights from expert-led sessions on fertility, immunosuppression, lupus care, and postpartum outcomes.
Nominated Future Leader, Dr Tom Appleton, shares insights into his career, osteoarthritis research, and the role of immunology in shaping future OA treatments. In this interview, Dr Appleton discusses the importance of early intervention, the impact of synovial macrophage dysfunction, and emerging therapies that could revolutionize rheumatology. His work bridges clinical care and research to drive innovation in osteoarthritis management and autoimmune disease.
Findings from the Spring Study – CM-101 for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: Paul Pockros, DDW 2025
In the interview, Dr Paul Pockros discusses his presentation from DDW 2025 on the SPRING study (NCT04595825), which evaluated CM-101, a novel anti-CCL24 monoclonal antibody, in adults with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). With no FDA-approved treatments for PSC, CM-101 showed promising safety, tolerability, and biomarker improvements over 48 weeks, supporting advancement to phase 3 trials.
Osteoarthritis is increasingly recognised as a heterogeneous disease with diverse clinical phenotypes and molecular endotypes. In this expert Q&A, Professor Ali Mobasheri discusses how precision medicine—through clinical phenotyping and molecular endotyping—can guide targeted therapies, accelerate the development of disease-modifying treatments, and transform OA management into a personalised, proactive approach that improves patient outcomes.
At the 2025 WCO-IOF-ESCEO congress, Professor Philip Conaghan presented the safety and efficacy findings from the phase 2 study of LEVI-04 for the treatment of adults with knee osteoarthritis. LEVI-04 is a first-in-class, NT-3 inhibitor, which works by targeting the inflammatory pathways involved in joint degeneration and selectively inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines.
The European Commission has approved upadacitinib for treating giant cell arteritis (GCA) in adults. This marks the first oral JAK inhibitor approved for GCA in the EU. Backed by the findings from the phase III SELECT-GCA trial, upadacitinib offers a new option for managing this chronic inflammatory disease in adults.
In this edition of our Future Leaders series, we speak with Dr. Santhanam Sham, a rising star in rheumatology. As a Senior Consultant at Kauvery Hospitals, Chennai, Dr. Sham is dedicated to advancing research on autoimmune diseases like SLE and vasculitis, while also fostering patient-centric care and embracing cutting-edge medical technologies.
The IMPACT-PLuS long-term follow-up trial found that children who underwent peanut oral immunotherapy in the earlier IMPACT trial maintained significant changes in their allergen-specific IgE and IgG4 profiles, which could have positive implications for long-term allergy management.
With a career that spans continents, Prof. Dedee Murrell stands out as a global leader in dermatology and a passionate advocate for women in medicine. In this episode, we sit down together to explore her inspiring journey—from her early years in the UK and medical training in the USA to pioneering therapies for some of dermatology’s rarest and underserved conditions in Australia. We also reflect on her recent MDS Lifetime Achievement Award and discuss the value of mentorship, strategies for advancing a career in dermatology and academic medicine, and how to stay at the cutting edge of medical innovation.
Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, where prompt intervention is crucial. Epinephrine sublingual film, a novel prodrug of epinephrine, is being developed to treat Type 1 allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis. In the OASIS study, epinephrine sublingual film demonstrated equal or superior pharmacokinetics compared to intramuscular epinephrine in adult patients with oral allergy syndrome. The film led to rapid symptom resolution, with a median recovery time of 12 minutes. Additionally, stability tests showed that the film remained effective under extreme temperatures and real-world conditions, ensuring its reliability as an emergency treatment for anaphylaxis.
The FDA has approved a 1 mg epinephrine nasal spray for treating type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, in children over 4 years old, weighing between 15 and 30 kg. This nasal spray offers a needle-free alternative to traditional epinephrine injections, which may be avoided due to fear, especially among children.
New research has shown that infliximab clearance is increased in patients hospitalized with severe ulcerative colitis, potentially leading to a higher risk of underexposure when standard dosing regimens are used. The study, which analyzed infliximab pharmacokinetics in 154 patients with ulcerative colitis, found that patients who were hospitalized exhibited a 35% increase in infliximab clearance compared to outpatients (0.463 L/day vs. 0.339 L/day, p<0.0001). This resulted in subtherapeutic drug levels in the majority of patients from week 2 onwards, with 74% of hospitalized patients having infliximab concentrations below 20 µg/mL at week 2, 69% below 15 µg/mL at week 6, and 56% below 7 µg/mL at week 14.
New findings from the VIVID-2 study, presented at the 20th Congress of ECCO, support the sustained efficacy of mirikizumab, an interleukin-23p19 inhibitor, in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease previously treated with ustekinumab. In this open-label extension of the Phase III VIVID-1 trial, patients were switched to mirikizumab, with dosing based on their endoscopic response status at week 52 of VIVID-1.
Itolizumab, an investigational anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody, has shown promising results in a phase II clinical trial for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. Designed to target the CD6-ALCAM pathway, a mechanism implicated in gastrointestinal inflammation, itolizumab was reported to achieve clinical remission rates comparable to adalimumab.
To gain expert insight into the most impactful developments of the past year and the trends set to shape the next, we reached out to our esteemed expert faculty. From advances in targeted therapies to the integration of AI and steps towards precision medicine, here’s what our experts had to say.
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