The Yale Rheumatology State-of-the-Art Symposium: Pre-autoimmunity and the Prevention of Rheumatic Diseases, convened international thought leaders to review the conceptual basis and available clinical data for implementing preventive strategies in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and vasculitis. Experts in type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis also contributed their experience with similar approaches with those autoimmune conditions.
“Recent progress in our understanding of the development of autoimmunity suggests the opportunity of intervening in the earliest ‘pre-clinical phase’ of autoimmune rheumatic diseases to prevent progression to symptomatic arthritis,” said Richard Bucala, MD, PhD, Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology), Pathology, Epidemiology & Public Health, and section chief of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at Yale School of Medicine.
The symposium, presented as a live webinar, was held May 19, 2021; 216 people attended.
The covered topics included the definition of at-risk individuals, interventions currently under study, and prospects for continued progress. Leaders in regulatory affairs and health care implementation also offered their views on prospects for applying new preventive strategies.
Yale Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology would like to thank Allison Rentfro, PhD, associate director of Yale Continuing Medical Education (CME), for all of her work on behalf of the event. Another symposium is planned for next year on another exciting topic.
The Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology is one of the eleven academic sections within YSM’s Department of Internal Medicine. To learn more about its work, visit Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology.