Stephanie Ling
Steph is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, carrying out her research at the University of Manchester. Her research interests are focused on analysis of multi-omics methods to define predictors of treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as pharmacological modelling and simulation. She is a member of the British Society for Rheumatology. She is currently an author for the 19th EULAR Online Course on Rheumatic Diseases.
Steph is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter sub-committee.
| Poster POS0027 | Wednesday 11.06.2025 03.30 PM Clinical Poster Tours: Difficult to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis Author: Toyoda, T (United Kingdom) Title: First line anti-TNF therapy in early rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a lower frequency of difficult-to-treat disease at five years and better long-term outcomes compared with usual care  The authors studied an RA cohort over the first five years of treatment following initial diagnosis. They found that first-line induction therapy with anti-TNF agents was associated with better long-term clinical outcomes compared with usual treat-to-target regimens with conventional DMARDs. This suggests that more aggressive therapy could be indicated earlier in the RA disease course. |
| Poster POS0167 | Wednesday 12.06.2025 10:18 AM Clinical Poster Tours: Risks and remedies in Rheumatoid Arthritis Author: Meng, H. (China) Title: More is not always better: High dose folic acid supplement is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis patients on methotrexate The authors carried out a large, retrospective observational study (n = 8,405) in people with RA receiving methotrexate without baseline major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Following a Cox regression analysis with time-varying covariates, they concluded that a daily dose of folic acid ≥5mg was associated with an increased risk of MACE in their study population. Comorbidities and psycho-social factors should be taken into account in this context and perhaps the higher folate doses are a proxy for other indicators, but this abstract raises awareness about consideration of cardiovascular risk in the population of people with RA and how treatment can be more personalised. |
| Oral OP0193 |Thursday 12.06.2025 11:00 AM Clinical Abstract Sessions: Management strategies in Rheumatoid Arthritis Author: Kisiel, B (Poland) Title: Dual JAK/ROCK inhibition in Rheumatology Arthritis – results of a phase 2 study of CPL’116 The authors present the results of a phase 2 clinical trial of the first dual JAK/ROCK inhibitor as a possible therapeutic option for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Blocking Rho-associated kinases (ROCK) provides cardioprotective and anti-fibrotic effects. Dual JAK/ROC blockade makes this a promising agent for the treatment of RA, as well as other autoimmune diseases with fibrotic components, such as RA with associated interstitial lung disease. |
| Oral OP0327 | Friday 13.06.2025 11:10 AM Clinical Abstract Sessions: Rheumatoid Arthritis – Prevention and early Treatment Author: Lend, K (Sweden) Title: Tapering and Discontinuation of Glucocorticoids in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Risk of Flare The authors utilise data from an international multi-centre trial to compare the risk of RA flare between patients receiving oral glucocorticoids versus intra-articular (IA) glucocorticoids versus biologics in early RA. They found that risk of flare was higher in those patients who had received longer-term oral glucocorticoids. There was little difference in flare rate between those receiving IA steroids and biologics, suggesting IA steroids may be an improved strategy compared to longer-term oral steroids. |
| Oral OP0330| Friday 13.06.2025 11:40 AM Clinical Abstract Sessions: Rheumatoid Arthritis – Prevention and early Treatment Author: Doumen, M. (Belgium) Title: One-in-three patients with early rheumatoid arthritis experience persistent disease impact despite control of inflammation: a longitudinal trajectory analysis of two randomized controlled trials The authors combined data from two RCTs to explore the differential longitudinal disease course of inflammatory disease activity and disease impact in people with early RA. They found that inflammatory disease activity improved in all subgroups, but one-third of participants experienced persistent disease impact and disability, despite intensive treatment-to-target with standard escalation protocols. This subgroup of people with RA represents a huge unmet clinical need, and future therapeutic and non-pharmacological management strategies will need to focus on improving these difficult-to-manage symptoms in an under-served population. |