Watch Poor Long-term Clinical Outcomes and Health-Related Quality of Life in Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis

Poor Long-term Clinical Outcomes and Health-Related Quality of Life in Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis

Presented by Dr. Rohit Aggarwal, sponsored by Kezar Life Sciences

Dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM) are rare autoimmune inflammatory myopathies characterized by muscle weakness and multiple extra-muscular manifestations that have detrimental impact on patients’ lives. Despite various therapies used in clinical practice, a large proportion of patients do not achieve sustainable remission. There is a need to better understand the clinical and humanistic burden of DM and PM. This presentation is to review current data on the long-term disease outcomes and the true impact of DM and PM on patient’s health-related quality of life.

This presentation is sponsored by Kezar Life Sciences and will be presented by Dr. Rohit Aggarwal, MD, the Co-Director of the Myositis Center of University Pittsburgh.

Rohit Aggarwal, MD, MS

Professor of Medicine,
Medical Director, Arthritis and Autoimmunity Center;
Department of Medicine / Division of Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Dr. Aggarwal is a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and medical director of Arthritis and Autoimmunity Center at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is the co-director of UPMC Myositis Center. His research and clinical areas of interest are clinical and translational research in inflammatory muscle diseases (myositis) and associated interstitial lung disease. He is the past-chair of the medical advisory board of The Myositis Association (TMA) as well as past-chair of the scientific committee of IMACS, which are the largest patient and physician groups working in the field of myositis, respectively.

Dr. Aggarwal is an established independent clinical investigator with significant funding from the NIH, foundations and industry, and currently leading several collaborations internationally with other key leaders in the world. He has maintained an extremely high publication record and received national and international recognition of his work. He continues to be a leader in disease criteria and outcomes measures in myositis as well as in clinical trials of novel therapeutic agents for myositis. He is currently the principal investigator or member of the steering committee for several international phase 2/3 clinical trials in the area of myositis and associated ILD. Dr. Aggarwal is also mentoring the future generation of rheumatologists with great success and attracting younger rheumatologists towards myositis research for the advancement of the field. Dr. Aggarwal lectures at various international conferences and promotes patient education through his YouTube channel.