Honoured to be part of📢 A year in review: Expert voices on the developments that defined 2025 in immunology @touchIMMUNOLOGY Read the full review: touchimmunology.com/insight/…

An article I was very happy to collaborate on, and one I am delighted to see published. I consider myself fortunate, and I would like to thank Larisa for this collaboration. Larisa Pinte is highly skilled in research methodology, with Cochrane training, and the amount of work behind a rigorous systematic review is truly impressive. For this article, the initial search identified almost 13,000 records, of which only 14 studies met the inclusion criteria after the entire selection process. Why was I so pleased to accept the invitation to collaborate? Because this systematic review aimed to answer a question that has generated considerable discussion over the past few years: Is there an increased risk of new-onset systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination? One of the aspects I find most interesting about this study is that it integrated two types of evidence that actually answer different questions: pharmacovigilance data, which are useful for detecting safety signals, and comparative population-based studies, which allow us to estimate risk. Safety signal ≠ disease risk ≠ causality. Pharmacovigilance databases identified signals for certain diseases, most consistently for polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis. Interestingly, however, the strength of these signals depended substantially on the comparator used, and most became neutral when influenza vaccines were used as the reference. In comparative population-based studies, these signals were not consistently confirmed. Some specific associations were observed – including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis after a booster dose, and polymyalgia rheumatica in older adults – but the findings were heterogeneous and were not consistently replicated across studies. The main conclusion: the currently available evidence does not support a consistent population-level increase in the incidence of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Beyond COVID-19 vaccination, I believe the message is also relevant to the future of mRNA platforms: a signal detected in a spontaneous reporting system should generate a hypothesis, not a conclusion of causality. That hypothesis must then be tested in population-based studies, with a denominator, an appropriate comparator, and sufficient follow-up. Safety signals are meant to be investigated, not interpreted as proof of causality. mdpi.com/2076-393X/14/8/706

Poate ca uneori suntem putin prea infatuati - vorbesc, desigur, despre mine - ca sa recunoastem ca unele lucruri, candva, ni s-ar fi parut foarte departe. Sa fiu coautor al unui ghid european nu mi se parea doar departe, ci imposibil. Acum pare firesc. Ghidul pentru sarcopenie este un proiect al EFIM Multimorbidity Working Group, realizat in colaborare cu Critical Appraisal of Guidelines in Internal Medicine Working Group, din al carui Methodology Group fac parte. Prof. Máximo Bernabeu-Wittel, Chair al EFIM Multimorbidity Working Group, a fost pentru mine si o lectie foarte buna de leadership. Am invatat mult de la el in acest proiect, dincolo e sarcopenie; despre cum poti fi foarte diplomat fara sa pierzi eficienta: politicos, echilibrat si, in acelasi timp, incredibil de eficient. Conceptul ghidurilor EFIM "critically appraised and adapted" are o abordare pe care o consider foarte utila acum, cand exista atat de multe surse de informatie. Practic, este o modalitate de a concentra, uniformiza si adapta informatia deja existenta asemanator unui umbrella review. Sarcopenia este foarte frecventa la adultii cu multimorbiditate si contribuie important la fragilitate, dizabilitate, spitalizari prelungite si mortalitate. In Romania, cred ca sarcopenia ramane inca prea putin diagnosticata si prea putin integrata sistematic in evaluarea pacientului cu multimorbiditate. #EFIM #EJIM #InternalMedicine #Sarcopenia #Multimorbidity sciencedirect.com/science/ar…

@AutoimmunityReviews sciencedirect.com/science/ar…

Congratulations to Alexandru Constantin on leading the publication of this outstanding systematic review and meta-analysis in @AutoimmunityReviews! Behind every high-quality systematic review and meta-analysis lies an enormous amount of work—from developing the protocol and screening the literature to extracting data, assessing risk of bias, and synthesizing the evidence. This paper is a great example of that effort. This work provides one of the most comprehensive syntheses to date of reproductive hormone profiles in systemic lupus erythematosus, clarifying which hormonal alterations are consistently supported by the available evidence while identifying key priorities for future research. sciencedirect.com/science/ar…

#EULAR2026 London, UK | Day 3 The EULAR Congress meeting of the EUSTAR centres. It is encouraging to see how this network continues to grow and expand worldwide — we might even say it is becoming "WUSTAR". Seven years ago, just one month after joining my department, I supported the establishment of the Colentina Hospital EUSTAR centre (for which I remain grateful to Dr Magda Parvu, who gave me the freedom to do so). Maintaining activity within such a network is not easy, and I have been fortunate to receive invaluable support from Flori Negoi and Maria Veciunca. Romania now has several active centres, and I was pleased to see in the registry statistics that approximately 4% of the patients included come from Romania. As my surname starts with "A", it was also easy to spot my name on the list of colleagues who reviewed EUSTAR clinical research project applications this year. #EULAR2026 #EUSTAR #SystemicSclerosis #Scleroderma #Rheumatology #ResearchNetwork

#EULAR2026 London, UK | Day 3 I was delighted to meet Victoria Smith, Senior Content Editor at touchIMMUNOLOGY, in person for the first time. Thank you for the invitation to contribute to the coverage of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Congress 2026. I have to admit that I was a bit more nervous than I expected, so I am curious to see the final result. #EULAR2026 #EULAR #touchIMMUNOLOGY #Rheumatology #London

#EULAR2026 London, UK | Day 2 I attended the first face-to-face kick-off meeting of the EULAR QoC035 Task Force, "Piloting a Pragmatic Dissemination and Early Implementation Model for EULAR Recommendations/Points to Consider." Turning recommendations into clinical practice. #EULAR2026 #QualityOfCare #ImplementationScience #Rheumatology

#EULAR2026 London, UK | Day 2 I was delighted to attend the reception organized by the Association of Women in Rheumatology (AWIR). A very good experience and a great opportunity to meet new people from the rheumatology community. And, as a bonus, an excellent venue and a beautiful setting by the water at Hawksmoor Wood Wharf. #EULAR2026 #AWIR #Rheumatology #London

#EULAR2026 London, UK | Day 1 Today, I also spent some time in the patient organisations area, and it was one of the highlights of the day. As physicians, we learn a great deal from our patients. Their experiences and perspectives often teach us things that cannot be found in guidelines or textbooks. I already knew about the remarkable World Scleroderma Foundation project "A Soul in Struggle", which will premiere in Venice in October 2026. The good news is that it will subsequently be taken up by an important international distribution network. I also had the opportunity to see the new Consultation Lupus Card from Lupus Europe in its printed format. I find it a very useful practical tool. Last but not least, I had a very interesting discussion with Coralie Boulloud from Sjögren Europe. I was impressed by the number and quality of the materials they have developed, particularly those dedicated to fatigue. "A simple reminder: we learn about diseases from science, but we learn about living with them from our patients." #EULAR2026 #LupusEurope #SjogrenEurope #PatientVoice

#Digi24Ro #Digi Tinerețe fără bătrânețe despre artrita reumatoida

Congresul National de Medicina Interna #SRMI 13 - 16 iunie 2026 - Bucuresti Societatea Română de Medicină Internă

Congresul National de Medicina Interna #SRMI 13 - 16 iunie 2026 - Bucuresti Societatea Română de Medicină Internă