😍New AAO recommendations for HCQ screening 👉CLICK: www.aaojournal.org/article/S016... Previously: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual field (VF10-2) 10-2 as the screening tests of choice. NEW RECOMMENDATION: OCT plus a wide-pattern fundus autofluorescence (FAF)

😍New AAO recommendations for HCQ screening 👉CLICK: www.aaojournal.org/article/S016... Previously: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual field (VF10-2) 10-2 as the screening tests of choice. NEW RECOMMENDATION: OCT plus a wide-pattern fundus autofluorescence (FAF)

👉 I've known for years that chromatin antibodies fluctuate predictably with #SLE #lupus disease activity in some of my patients. Now a study confirms this: lupus.bmj.com/content/13/1...

💊Study shows adding quinacrine (mepacrine and Atabrine) to hydroxychloroquine, immunosuppressants, steroids improves disease activity and was safe in #SLE #lupus. Link to "How to Prescribe Quinacrine: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/quinacrine/ Link to the study: lupus.bmj.com/content/12/2...

❤️‍🔥 #SLE #lupus: lupus.bmj.com/content/12/2... Moderate disease activity fullfills at least 1 of the following Clinical SLEDAI: score between 4 and 8, excluding C3, C4, dsDNA. ​ Physician Global Assessment: > 1 and up to 2 on a 0–3 scale. ​ + NO Severe SLEDAI and non-SLEDAI manifestations. ​

👁️ It is Winter time when dry eyes in #Sjogrens #SLE #lupus can worsen. There are many easy tricks to help your dry eyes. If those fail, ask your doctor about the products in the image. See my post here: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/dry-eyes-and...

👉 Winter is the time of year when the air is typically very dry, leading to dry, itchy skin: a common problem for #SLE #lupus #Sjogrens. There are easy tricks to help dry, itchy skin: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/dry-skin-in-...

Blog #SLE #lupus

UCTD explained in easy to understand language: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/uctd/

A New Years blog post by @LupusMore www.morethanlupus.com/post/looking...

The Lupus Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Health Care Providers, edition 2 ⚕️ RHEUMATOLOGISTS & PATIENTS: Learn practical tips and tricks for managing #SLE #lupus and understanding this disease. tinyurl.com/2u5nddcu

🩸Be proactive when you have #lupus #SLE #Sjogrens. After lab draws, go online to look at results. Look up each abnormal lab to learn more about how they may relate to your situation. ALWAYS ask your doctor as well. "How do these pertain to my situation?": www.lupusencyclopedia.com/lupus-lab-te...

❄️ It is that time of the year! Dry, itchy skin! #SLE #lupus and #Sjogrens patients are especially affected. I updated my dry skin care blog with tips from a dermatologist specializing in dry skin. I updated the recommended soaps: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/dry-skin-in-...

👁️ Many #SLE #lupus patients have dry eyes that worsen during Winter. Often, it is due to also having #Sjogrens (occurs in one fourth of SLE patients and most are undiagnosed). I updated my dry eye care post and included newer and better therapies: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/dry-eyes-and...

Lowest in NE Highest in South #SLE #lupus journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1191/... pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39936240/ acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1191/... pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39936240/ acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

😍A study shows that structured exercise and dietary changes improved energy and quality of life in #SLE #lupus . journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.... - three 40-minute home-based regimens per week - exercises aimed at large muscles - Mindful eating - Eat unprocessed or minimally processed foods

🔥 Knowing what to do for peripheral nervous system involvement in systemic autoimmune diseases like #Sjogrens #SLE #lupus is challenging. We now have evidence based guidelines that will help health care providers take better care of patients! acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Dooren surprisingly showed that anti-Smith and RNP were reduced in tandem with antidsDNA. The fluctuations were not statistically significant, but numerically, they fluctuated with disease activity. I just checked a patient: her Smith DID as well. acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

My Aunt’s cat, Molly, is a fan of my book but I don’t think she realizes it is upside down

This is my Aunt Nikki who I dedicated my 2nd edition of The Lupus Encyclopedia. She means a lot to me and I love her very much. Of course she is spoiling me with delicious food. Where would we be without those who love and believing us?

Highly recommended: Michelle Miranda, Life Coach. Living well with chronic illness is about much more than taking medicines and seeing doctors: www.michellemirandalpc.com

🔥 Knowing what to do for peripheral nervous system involvement in systemic autoimmune diseases like #Sjogrens #SLE #lupus is challenging. We now have evidence based guidelines that will help health care providers take better care of patients! acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Boy! I cannot believe it has been 33 years of continuous rheumatology board certification! ABIM Foundation just sent me this. I think I might know what I am doing by now :-)

My kitty

rheumnow.com/news/acr-app... Thanks to lawmakers at least for our Medicare patients! Let's HOPE the wealthy insurance company lobbyists don't pay off lawmakers to have this fail. Then if it passes... we need this for ALL insurance companies and NOT just CMS (Medicare/Medicaid)

😍 I LOVE the @EULAR guidelines for 1st-line therapy for LN! If everyone did this IMMEDIATELY (include a CNI, obinutuzumab, or belimumab) instead of just mycophenolate or CYC with steroids, greater numbers of patients would go into renal remission & fewer to end stage renal disease! #SLE #lupus

Thanks Republicans and those Democrats who caved. This is the reality. You do not know what it is like to live pay check to pay check. You are hurting my patients!! These are posts on the lupus subreddit

😍 I LOVE the @EULAR guidelines for 1st-line therapy for LN! If everyone did this IMMEDIATELY (include a CNI, obinutuzumab, or belimumab) instead of just mycophenolate or CYC with steroids, greater numbers of patients would go into renal remission & fewer to end stage renal disease! #SLE #lupus

I just got a 22 page, 108 question drug prior auth for patient from @expressscripts.bsky.social @bluecrosspa.bsky.social for patient's adalimumab: she has been on for years. We proved she needed this many times in the past. My notes very clearly show how she failed so many and doing great on this.

😍😍Click on "2025 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Guidelines" here: rheumatology.org/lupus-guidel... @ACRheum @ACR_Journals

😍😍Click on "2025 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Guidelines" here: rheumatology.org/lupus-guidel... @ACRheum @ACR_Journals

Meeting with like-minded people to improve lives of patients at @ACRheum #ACR25 is wonderful #Sjogrens #lupus #SLE

A wonderful awards and opening session at #ACR25 by the ⁦‪@ACRheum‬⁩ …. Celebrating better care for our patients…. Dedicated professionals who love our profession and giving to society

Private practice rheumatologists: PLEASE: If you do not belong to the ACR, please do. If you do, please volunteer for committees when the time opens up in a few months. I just joined the Board of Directors and learned that only 10% of applicants are private practice! rheumatology.org

😍 A cellular therapy that only attacks pathologic B cells in #SLE #lupus and not healthy cells; unlike most CAR-T therapies that target healthy B -cells. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Hope for other B-cell driven diseases like #Sjogrens ? 👉Thanks to Maximilian F. Konig and collaborators!

⚡️Consider loading your patients initially with higher dose HCQ: ✅It works faster ✅✅It is safe ✅✅✅Warn them if they get GI side effects immediately go down to 5 mg/kg/d

🔥One of my favorite parts of the 2025 ACR SLE Management Guidelines! I have been doing this for over 20 years as a "loading dose": HCQ works faster. This is another steroid-sparing tactic to use in SLE patients. I do this for 1-3 months initially.

FDA approved #obinutuzumab #Gazyva for the treatment of #SLE #lupus nephritis when used with other standard therapies! Complete renal responses: higher than standard therapies. Studies show deep tissue B-cell depletion.

💵We raised $127,000 for the @ArthritisFdn at the OCT 9 Washington DC Gala! #SLE #lupus and #Sjogrens commonly cause arthritis! Good job to Rebecca Caldwell (CEO), Madeline Martin, MPH (Development Manager), Dr. Herbert S. B. Baraf, MD, FACP, MACR and the entire AF team! #arthritis

Exactly 13 years ago I accidentally won this adorable puppy at an auction at the @ArthritisFdn Gala. I was raising my hand to drive up the price. Little did I know … the bidding stopped and I became the shocked owner of this adorable Bichon. Please consider donating to the Arthritis Foundation

I visited the Basilique de St. Martin in Liege, built in honor of St. Martin due to St. Martin healing the Bishop of Liege of his #SLE #lupus in 963AD. youtube.com/watch?v=R67I... Watch all three episodes. Episode 2 shows the Bishop's sarcophagus replica (1st person in history with lupus)

Please donate to the Arthritis Foundation Metro DC! In these trying times of drastic research funding withdrawals from today's administration, science-based advancements are in jeopardy. CLICK here (then click DONATE), even just a little makes a big difference: my.onecause.com/event/organi...

Dry mouth and poor dental health occur much more commonly in #Sjogrens #SLE #lupus. There are many things patients can do to proactively prevent tooth loss and help dry mouth: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/prevent-earl...

The App for the @ACRheum Annual Meeting Convergence #ACR25 is available! Cruise the sessions, pick those you are interested in now. It is easy, just hold your finger down a couple of seconds, and it is saved: rheumatology.org/annual-meeti...

SC #Saphnelo meets its primary endpoint. How exciting for patients who find IV infusions too time consuming and difficult! I hope it is approved and available for my patients quickly! www.astrazeneca-us.com/media/press-...

💵 Please help with arthritis research and advocacy. Give to the Arthritis Foundation by helping with their 2025 DC Gala. I'm honored that they named me their Medical Honoree for this year. Click below to give to the @ArthritisFdn ... JOIN my team! CLICK👉: onecau.se/_c8wu31

Unfortunately, people with #SLE #lupus have a higher chance of developing numerous types of cancers. However, there are steps people can take to reduce their risk. One of those is to take hydroxychloroquine regularly: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/lupus-and-ca...

🌞 An easy way to correctly measure sunscreen for protection when you have #lupus #SLE #Sjogrens ... CLICK to see more tips: www.lupusencyclopedia.com/sun-protecti...

8:30 AM arrived at Washington Dulles airport. I have never seen no one at all in either long. Perfect timing for me. Shreveport, Louisiana here I come to give a lupus talk.

🔥 We need help from the public to get back high-quality scientific integrity and stop looking like a foolish nation: rheumnow.com/news/acr-con... Write your Congress People: ESPECIALLY Republicans who need to grow a spine and get up the courage to speak up against Trump and RFK, Jr.