2025 Rheumatology Conference Highlights 

By Jill Tyrer | Nov. 24, 2025 

Surprising findings about promising new treatments, weight-loss drugs and the promise and worries about artificial intelligence were some of the hot topics at the 2025 American College of Rheumatology’s annual scientific conference, Convergence. It drew doctors, scientists, patients, drug makers and others in the rheumatology world to Chicago from around the globe in late October. The Arthritis Foundation was there, too, sharing how we’re supporting research and care for people with arthritis, gathering insights and listening to what’s making waves in rheumatology right now. 

Promising New Treatment 

One of the most exciting topics at this year’s Convergence is a potential treatment using “chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells” that could potentially eliminate ongoing drug treatments for autoimmune diseases. This approach tweaks a person’s own T cells to target the B cells that cause the immune system to malfunction. Without the destructive B cells, the immune system “resets” so it functions as it’s supposed to. CAR-T cell therapy is currently being used for certain types of cancer. It is being studied for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune diseases. It could be a gamechanger for people living with these diseases, but the cost is also a factor — it is as much as a half-million dollars just for the drug, according to a journal on cancer research. 

GLP-1 Drugs 

Lots of discussions again this year focused on the weight-loss drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro). These drugs, approved to manage blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, have become very popular for weight loss. Some studies presented at Convergence suggest that they also help reduce cardiovascular risks in people with osteoarthritis or psoriatic arthritis, as well as kidney disease and heart attack risks in people with lupus nephritis. 

Some have been concerned that the drugs could increase the risk of developing autoimmunity. However, at least one meta-analysis found that they do not seem to raise that risk, and they might even lower it. GLP-1 receptor agonists help people lose excess weight that worsens joint issues. Plus, although more studies are needed, they might also have other effects on autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and others.  

Artificial Intelligence 

The pros and cons of artificial intelligence (AI) were another popular topic at this year’s Convergence. AI isn’t ready to replace humans, but it does promise to improve health care, from diagnosis of rheumatic conditions, including RA, to office operations.  

David Liew, MBBS, FRACP, a radiologist and clinical pharmacologist with Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia, discussed the potential for AI in reading and interpreting images, specifically in interstitial lung disease, a dangerous comorbidity of RA and other rheumatic diseases. AI can help identify subtypes of this disease as well as help manage it, he said.  

In “The Great AI Debate: Unlocking Potential or Unleashing Chaos?” Jeffrey Curtis, MD, MS, MPH, professor of medicine in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, discussed how AI can help physicians with time-consuming, repetitive tasks that don’t require a lot of thought, like writing prior authorizations for insurance or handling administrative office tasks. It can also help with more complex tasks, like processing lots of a patient’s health information that could help predict how their disease will progress, and therefore what treatment might be most effective. 

But AI needs to be used carefully, responded Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Rheumatology at UCSF San Francisco General Hospital. AI is only as good as the data used to inform it, she said. For example, clinical trials often included primarily or only white men, leading to bias and misinformation about women and people of color. AI has the potential to be a valuable tool in rheumatology, but only if standards and guardrails are established and protected, Dr. Yazdany said. 

Meeting Current Challenges 

Changes in U.S. federal priorities and funding that are affecting arthritis research and resources were also a topic of wide concern at Convergence. At two Arthritis Foundation-hosted events, Foundation leaders discussed ways we are meeting these new challenges.  

At the organization’s Arthritis Health Forum, Foundation President and CEO Steve Taylor spoke to the audience of health care providers, scientists, industry representatives and supporters about federal budget cuts that have reduced research and programs designed to help people with arthritis. And Anna Hyde, vice president of advocacy and access for the Arthritis Foundation, shared insights into research spending for six of the most common forms of arthritis — osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and gout — by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She and her team found that, as of August, the NIH for 2025 was funding 364 projects in those six types of arthritis. That total research investment is about $175 million — or about .5% of the estimated $31.2 billion in NIH grants for that period. 

“Less than 1% — less than 1% — of the NIH grant budget goes toward the leading cause of disability in the country,” Hyde said.  

The Arthritis Foundation consults top experts in research and clinical care to guide our research and funding priorities, explained Anna Lampe, PhD, senior director, autoimmune and inflammatory arthritis. In addition to the primary Medical and Scientific Advisory Council, we have advisory boards that focus on specific areas and identify gaps in knowledge that we can help fill. 

In osteoarthritis (OA), the advisory committee saw a large gap in clinical trials, Lampe said. Because of the slow developing nature of the disease, clinical trials have been very large, long and expensive. So, we have focused on research identifying groups of people who are likely to develop OA and who may develop it in a shorter time, such as those with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repairs and post-traumatic OA. By focusing on those populations, clinical trials can be more streamlined. We are currently funding OA trials looking at OA prevention, disease-modifying OA therapies and ways to increase activity after knee replacement surgery to improve quality of life. 

An advisory committee looking at the rheumatoid arthritis landscape homed in on those people whose RA does not respond adequately to existing treatments. An estimated 20% of people live with this “refractory RA.” The Arthritis Foundation is supporting research to learn who and why certain people don’t get relief from existing treatments. For example, whether they have certain telltale signs in their genes or other biological indicators, or “biomarkers,” that can help predict who might or might not respond to certain treatments. 

Similarly, an expert group is now focusing on psoriatic arthritis to identify gaps where the Foundation might have the most impact. 

Through our partnership with the Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA), we fund research and support a registry and biobank to improve clinical care for children with rheumatic diseases. We also are partnering with the Pediatric Rheumatology – Care & Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN) to provide quality improvement education to help pediatric rheumatology fellows provide better, more thoughtful care for kids with juvenile arthritis (JA).  

Our workforce development program aims to improve access to care for all people living with arthritis by growing the number of adult and pediatric rheumatologists, Lampe continued. We are focusing on communities that do not have access to the highest quality of care, including those with geographic and socioeconomic barriers to the highest quality of care available.  

We also are partnering on an initiative to advance the use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical care, especially with a focus on shared decision-making. 

Questions of Equity 

How is the Arthritis Foundation addressing sex and gender impacts on patient care, asked an audience member. Women are affected in far greater numbers by rheumatic diseases than men, yet clinical trials have historically not included as many women or people of color. The result is that women’s concerns are often brushed aside, and people with dark skin may be overlooked in many ways, from higher comorbidity risks to unnoticed skin symptoms.  

There also is a “lack of urgency” to address the needs of people with autoimmune diseases. The attitude has been “Oh, it’s not cancer. It’s OK.” 

Women’s health also gets little NIH funding, Hyde said, “Gender is becoming a bigger attention-getter,” and the Arthritis Foundation is exploring where we can make the biggest impact. This barrier is true not just with arthritis but all autoimmune diseases, so the Foundation’s advocacy team is working with other organizational partners to strengthen our impact. 

“Funding is going away, and people don’t know what to believe,” Hyde said. According to one report, more than 6 in 10 physicians say they have patients who are influenced by misinformation or disinformation, and trust is at an all-time low. Physicians are the most trusted source by patients for medical information, but doctors already have so little time with patients that they don’t have time to clarify misinformation, so it may continue to spread, Hyde said. 

That is made worse by the elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Arthritis Program, which provided education and resources to help people living with arthritis. Dedicated Department of Defense funding for OA research also was cut substantially, although it has tentatively been partially restored for 2026, if it passes.  

The effects of the federal cuts to research are still evolving, and we don’t yet know all the impacts, said Lampe. Funding is disappearing from academic research bastions, and DEI policies are erasing funding for gender differences in diseases and care.  

“Diversity is under attack, and DEI is very important,” whether it’s women, people in rural areas or blue-collar workers, Taylor added. “DEI is having the right people involved.” Whoever is affected must have a seat at the table because only they really know and understand their challenges and needs.  

The Arthritis Foundation is focusing on arthritis as a public health crisis and will launch a campaign next year raising awareness of the seriousness of arthritis, Taylor said. Autoimmune diseases are very serious. “They’re destabilizing, they change people’s lives, they ruin people’s lives, and they do take lives,” he added. The Foundation will amplify that important message and try to prevent further funding cuts.