The story of rheumatoid factor could be a 10 minute episode, but in this episode, we dig deep into the history of the lab techniques leading up to this discovery…that happened twice.

· Intro 0:04

· Rheumatoid factor quick background and history 00:22

· Rheumatology blood tests 2:47

· What is Rheumatoid factor? 3:39

· Spiderman and latex agglutination: Testing for rheumatoid factor 4:49

· 4:54

· The double discovery of rheumatoid factor 7:52

· Putting agglutination on the medical map in 1896 10:03

· Pop Quiz! 11:04

· Serotherapy 13:00

· When did we start using agglutination for testing? 14:07

· First discovery of blood groups 14:44

· The complement fixation test 17:12

· Testing for syphilis with complement fixation and agglutination 20:53

· The first discovery of rheumatoid factor 24:02

· We forget about rheumatoid factor 27:48

· Rediscovering rheumatoid factor 28:20

· Analytical ultracentrifugation 32:55

· What rheumatoid factor is used for 35:50

· Thanks for listening 38:09

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Brown at rheuminationspodcast@healio.com. Follow us on Twitter @HRheuminations @AdamJBrownMD @HealioRheum.

References:

Assadian O et al. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2010;doi:10.1007/s00508-009-1297-1

Edelman GM, et al. J Exp Med. 1958;doi:10.1084/jem.108.1.105

Franklin EC, et al. J Exp Med. 1957;doi:10.1084/jem.105.5.425

Fraser KJ. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 1988;doi:10.1016/0049-0172(88)90035-2

Jonsson R. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020;doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216822

Mohd Noor NH, et al. Cureus. 2024;doi:10.7759/cureus.68903

Tan EM, et al. J Exp Med. 2016;doi:10.1084/jem.20160792

Disclosures: Brown reports no relevant financial disclosures.

Active or not active, that is the question. In this week's episode we interview Alexandra Villa-Forte, MD, MPH, a staff physician in the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research at Cleveland Clinic and a leading vasculitis expert, on a pragmatic approach to recognizing disease activity in patients with ANCA vasculitis.

• · Intro 0:01
• · Welcome Alexandra Villa-Forte, MD, MPH 0:10
• · Dr. Brown sketches a potential patient that may be seen in practice 0:40
• · How are you monitoring patients’ kidneys? 1:28
• · How reliable are ‘no casts’ results in urinalysis tests? 4:15
• · What is happening in the glomeruli? 5:23
• · The importance of monitoring the urinalysis of patients with ANCA vasculitis 7:06
• · Symptoms to watch for when tapering off medications 7:43
• · Different scenarios with lung symptoms 9:35
• · Evaluating patients with GPA; looking at the nose, ear and sinuses 12:20
• · Neurologic symptoms in ANCA vasculitis 14:24
• · Laboratory monitoring 15:52
• · Should ANCA titers be a part of routine vasculitis monitoring? 17:05
• · What is your approach using PJP prophylaxis in ANCA-associated vasculitis? 18:05
• Thank you, Dr. Villa-Forte! 20:25

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Brown at rheuminationspodcast@healio.com. Follow us on Twitter @HRheuminations @AdamJBrownMD @HealioRheum.

Disclosures: Brown reports no relevant financial disclosures. Healio was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures for Villa-Forte at the time of publication.

This special edition episode features the latest installment of Healio Community’s book club. Physician author Eric Topol, MD, discusses his book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity, a guide to the science of living a long life free of debilitating diseases with Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, chief medical editor of Healio Rheumatology.

· Intro by Adam J. Brown, MD 0:01

· A warm welcome by Leonard H. Calabrese, DO 0:47

· Introducing Eric Topol, MD 1:12

· “Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again” but did you think it would happen this fast? 1:54

· Let’s get into “Super Agers” 3:46

· What’s killing most people? 6:33

· An evidence-based treatise on healthy aging 9:42

· The role of immune health in longevity 12:55

· What’s next on the horizon? 16:14

· A candle in the dark 19:40

· Minimizing the risk of getting old while you age 22:14

· The influence of health behaviors on immunologic wellness 25:15

· The hot issues: GLP-1’s 26:28

· A new world for immunology 31:50

· Thank you, Dr. Topol 33:09

· Thanks for listening 33:57

Don’t miss out! To engage in future conversations like this with physician authors on Healio Community, register here.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Brown at rheuminationspodcast@healio.com. Follow us on Twitter @HRheuminations @AdamJBrownMD @HealioRheum.

Disclosures: No products or companies that would require financial disclosure are mentioned in this episode.