Karoshi - {Japanese  過労死: Death by Being Overworked} Over the last few decades, Japanese workers were collapsing dead at their desks or committing suicide due to the high stress stemming from their jobs; Japan coined this phenomenon, “Karoshi.” In 2021, the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization issued a warning:  working 55+ hours a week is a serious health hazard and increases the risk for death from heart disease and stroke. But since the pandemic, I see many colleagues working hard at the expense of their health, family life, mental and emotional wel ..read more

Best of 2023: PMR: glad or bad tidings? Please don’t tell your patient that PMR “typically” lasts two years. According to real-world data from the UK, one in four patients with PMR is prescribed steroids by their primary care physician for over four years. But nobody tells them this at the start, and that causes big problems later on ..read more

Best of 2023: New ACR RA-ILD Treatment Guidelines – What Were They Smoking!? Rheumatoid arthritis related interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) is common, with symptomatic RA-ILD affecting approximately 8% of RA patients. There is a very limited evidence base supporting treatment and therefore the recent release of ACR guidelines is to be welcomed. However, the published guidelines appear discordant with the best available evidence base.  ..read more

RheumNow recently highlighted a publication that reported about a third of physicians in academia intend to leave. To our colleagues in non-academic situations, this may seem incredibly high. I think an important contributor to the intention to leave academics is that something that used to be a benefit has now become a challenge: namely, teaching ..read more

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Please don’t tell your patient that PMR “typically” lasts two years. According to real-world data from the UK, one in four patients with PMR is prescribed steroids by their primary care physician for over four years. But nobody tells them this at the start, and that causes big problems later on ..read more

Frailty in PMR: Why do I need to care? It is important to clarify that frailty is not a synonym of age (chronological age). Although there are only a few studies studying the impact of frailty in PMR, frailty is a relevant issue due to several important factors ..read more

IL-6 Inhibitors in PMR: Give early or late? It's exciting to be able to have this conversation because it's only in the past year that we have an approved non-corticosteroid therapy for PMR that's been shown to be effective in a well done clinical trial ..read more

What Goes Wrong with the Immune System in PMR? Kornelis van der Geest, MD, PhD Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a common inflammatory rheumatic disease. The exact trigger for PMR onset remains unknown. However, immunology studies and clinical trials with biological DMARDs now shed light on the immune pathways involved in PMR ..read more

Aatke van der Maas, MD, PhD Treatment of PMR is still largely based on glucocorticoids. Where in other inflammatory rheumatic disorders, such as RA and PsA, early initiation of methotrexate is common practice, this is not the case in PMR.  ..read more