Immune System Diseases Commons^™

Secondary Evans Syndrome Associated With Sle And Chronic Hepatitis C Infection, Reggie Skains Iii, Cj Weinheimar, Ritika Gautam, Nate Eisel, Riley Seay

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

When Covid Unmasks More Than Infection: A Case Of Post-Viral Lada, Mikayla Kidd, Amy Duff, Reggie Skains Iii, Sahana Parthasarathy

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Furosemide-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura: A Rare Complication Of Common Diuretic Therapy, Brenden Pearce, Reggie Skains Iii, Mohamed Faris

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Lupus Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (Ttp); An Atypical Presentation, Grace Butler, Michael Robinson

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Serum Sickness–Like Reaction As The Initial Presentation Of Undiagnosed Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Eunice Adebayo, Michael Lee Phillips, Sarah-Ellen Stephens

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Guillan-Barre Syndrome Following Campylobacter Jejuni Infection: A Case Report, Joanmarie Lewandowski, Shahla Delawalla, Tilak Patel

South Atlantic Division GME Research Days 2026

No abstract provided.

Gastroparesis – An Often-Overlooked Sign Of Multiple Sclerosis, Breveenn Kukan, Kaylee Brown, Minh Chung, Steven Veselsky, Joshua Ferrell

South Atlantic Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Skin In Patients With Systematic Sclerosis Using High-Frequency Ultrasound And Shear Wave Elastography: A Comparative Study With Histology, Molecular, And Clinical Parameters, Ruhani Desai, Filemon Tan, Minghua Wu, Jeffery L. Browning, Samuel Theodore, Meng Zhang, Brian Skaug, Harshdeep Singh Chawla, Manmohan Singh, Salavat Aglyamov, Kirill V. Larin, Maureen Mayes, Shervin Assassi

Department of Medicine Faculty Publications

Objective: Ultrasound (US) has been proposed as a potential tool for assessing skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc). However, a large-scale comparison of US-based assessment with histologic markers of skin fibrosis has not been reported. We evaluated US-based skin assessments for their face validity (differentiation between involved SSc and healthy control [HC] skin), construct validity (comparison to modified Rodnan skin score [mRSS]), and criterion validity (comparison to histologic and gene expression fibrosis markers).

Methods: Twenty HCs and 52 patients with SSc underwent clinical and US assessment followed by a forearm skin biopsy. Predefined areas were assessed on the finger, hand, …

Investigating The Role Of Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine For Cancer Symptom Management In Older Adults: A Rapid Review, Isabelle C. Karshner

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Patients with cancer often experience symptoms related to disease, complications, and treatment. One potential method of alleviating these symptoms is traditional Chinese herbal medications (TCHM). This rapid review explores the role of traditional Chinese herbal medications in treating cancer-related symptoms in older adults.

Purpose: The purpose of this rapid review is to gain and provide a better understanding of the effects of TCHM on cancer-symptom management in the older adult population. This review explores the association between TCHM and effects on cancer symptoms in older adults, including interactions, toxicity, and signs/symptoms of TCHM use that may be useful information …

Filling The Gap: Integrating Hiv Into The Counselor Education Curriculum, J. Richelle Joe, Roseina D. Britton, Tiffany Hairston

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

People living with HIV (PLWH) are vulnerable to mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders, which in turn, often affect their health outcomes. Multiple, overlapping structural and social determinants of health exacerbate the physical and mental health concerns of PLWH, presenting a need for services that are responsive to the unique implications of the illness. Professional counselors have the potential to provide such services but must be adequately prepared to do so. In response to the lack of HIV-related professional development for counselors and the minimal preparation of counselors-in-training to serve clients with HIV, this article uses …

Presentation, Diagnosis, And Acute Treatment Of Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: A Case Report, Alexandra Bartholomew, Michael Connick, Catherine Loehr, Shane Sanne

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare, immunologically driven disorder with a high mortality rate. It is typically diagnosed on the basis of clinical and laboratory criteria. We present the case of a 53-year-old woman with multiple previous hospitalizations for fever of unknown origin and fatigue. Her workup ultimately led to a diagnosis of HLH. We discuss the presentation, diagnostic criteria, and clinical treatment of secondary HLH to guide workup and management for future patients affected by this rare disease.

A Rare Case Of Severe Disseminated Pyoderma Gangrenosum Of The Upper Body With Concurrent Nasopharyngeal And Inferior Orbital Wall Necrosis, Robert M. Branstetter, Isabel E. Baird, Mohammed S. Rais, Danielle N. Ledet, Megan N. Terrebonne

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare neutrophilic dermatosis usually linked to autoimmune or inflammatory bowel disease and typically affects the lower extremities. This case is notable for extensive upper-body, oropharyngeal, and nasal involvement in a patient without an underlying autoimmune disorder. A 56-year-old man with chronic cocaine use and stage IV renal cell carcinoma presented with rapidly progressive ulcerations of the face, neck, shoulders, and back, along with nasal septal collapse and oropharyngeal destruction. Prior biopsy demonstrated sterile neutrophilic inflammation without vasculitis, infection, or malignant infiltration, supporting PG as a diagnosis of exclusion. Imaging showed erosive sinonasal disease. He was …

The Impact Of Extramedullary And Paraskeletal Plasmacytomas On Treatment Outcomes In Multiple Myeloma Treated With Teclistamab: U.S. Myeloma Immunotherapy Consortium Real-World Experience, Aimaz Afrough, Danai Dima, Beatrice Razzo, Utkarsh Goel, Aishwarya Sannareddy, Oren Pasvolsky, Mariola Vazquez-Martinez, Christopher Ferreri, Rahul Banerjee, Jack Khouri, James Davis, Mahmoud Gaballa, Alex Lieberman-Cribbin, Masooma Rana, Kelley Julian, Faiz Anwer, Leyla Shune, Shaun Dejarnette, Ariel Grajales-Cruz, Evguenia Ouchveridze, Gabriel De Avila, Sandra Susanibar-Adaniya, Andrew Portuguese, Daniel Schrum, Erin Eberwein, Hitomi Hosoya, Lekha Mikkilineni, Gurbakhash Kaur, Joseph Mcguirk, Adriana Rossi, Megan Herr, Omar Castaneda, Frederick Locke, Shahzad Raza, Yi Lin, Shebli Atrash, Douglas Sborov, Peter Voorhees, Shambavi Richard, Alfred Garfall, Surbhi Sidana, Krina Patel, Doris Hansen, Andrew Cowan, Larry Anderson, Hans Lee

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Teclistamab, a bispecific antibody targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), is effective in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), but its impact on patients with soft tissue plasmacytomas is unclear. We studied 385 RRMM patients treated with teclistamab at 13 U.S. centers through September 2023, with follow-up to April 2024. Soft tissue plasmacytomas were classified as true extramedullary disease (EMD; not contiguous with bone) or paraskeletal plasmacytomas (PSK; contiguous with bone). Patients with the simultaneous presence of both were classified as true-EMD, reflecting its adverse prognosis. Of those, 109 (28%) had true EMD, 33 (9%) had PSK, and 243 (63%) had …

Promising Effects Of Car T-Cell Therapy In Refractory Stiff Person Syndrome And A Hopeful Future For All Neuroautoimmunities, Marinos Dalakas

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are genetically modified T cells expressing CARs, initially developed to recognize tumor antigens and kill cancer cells that evade T-cell recognition. Because of their impressive success in hemato-oncologic malignancies, CAR T cells are being repurposed with redesigned constructs for safety and sustained efficacy to target refractory systemic autoimmune or neurologic diseases. The CD19 CAR T cells-targeting those CD19-positive, antibody-secreting, long-lived plasma cells, and plasmablasts-are now extensively explored in refractory neuroautoimmunities with promising benefits based on case series in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), stiff person syndrome (SPS), neuromyelitis, myositis, and multiple sclerosis; some patients …

Permanent Visual Impairment Following A Behçet’S Disease Flare While On Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor Antagonist Therapy: A Case Report, Fawad A. Khan, Alaa Malik, Evan Nelson, Kian Fahimdanesh, Karmveer Kaur, Jasmine Elison, Mohamed Sayed

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic, relapsing, systemic vasculitis that can involve both arteries and veins. Ocular involvement, including non-granulomatous panuveitis and occlusive retinal vasculitis, is common and a significant cause of morbidity. Erenumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor approved for migraine prevention Although it is generally well tolerated, recent concerns have emerged regarding its vasoconstrictive potential in patients with underlying vascular disorders. Case presentation: We report a case of a 44-year-old woman with a history of BD, well-managed with azathioprine and methotrexate, who developed painless, bilateral subacute visual loss eleven days after …

Delayed Diagnosis Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Presenting As Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia: A Case For Heightened Clinical Suspicion, Diana Acosta Pozo, Luis Álvarez Pérez

Research Colloquium

Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by multisystem involvement, including hematologic manifestations. Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA), though an established feature, is relatively uncommon and may occur early or in isolation. When AIHA presents without overt systemic symptoms, the underlying autoimmune etiology may be overlooked, resulting in delays in diagnosis and treatment. Prompt recognition is essential to prevent unnecessary interventions and prolonged morbidity.

Case Presentation: A 39-year-old woman residing in Texas presented to the Rheumatology office with persistent synovitis and severe transfusion-dependent anemia, requiring red blood cell transfusions every 48 hours for over three months. She …

Barriers To And Strategies For Improved Treatment Adherence In Vitiligo: A Systematic Review, Lauren Gawey, Aditya Joshi, Muhammad Rahman, Tyler Hernandez, Krishna Babaria, Roshni Sabhaya, Debbie Wang, Raveena Ghanshani, Jennifer L. Hsiao, Vivian Y. Shi

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Management Of Atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome With Triggers: Diagnostic And Treatment Algorithms From An Asia-Pacific Perspective, Hee Gyung Kang, Danny Hsu, Noritoshi Kato, Jin Seok Kim, Masayoshi Okumi, Min Hua Tseng, Kun Hua Tu, Desmond Yat Hin Yap, Wai H. Lim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Complement-amplifying events/conditions associated with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) include pregnancy/postpartum period, severe hypertension, autoimmune diseases, drug exposures, infections and organ transplantation. Some of these ‘triggers’ may exist comorbidly with atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome (aHUS; a complement-mediated form of TMA), unmask previously undiagnosed aHUS, or occur secondary to aHUS, thus creating a considerable diagnostic challenge. A major goal in patients presenting with TMA is to differentiate complement-mediated aHUS from other causes of TMA such that appropriate targeted treatment with complement 5 (C5) inhibitors can be initiated rapidly to avoid irreversible end-organ damage. To this end, nephrologists and haematologists from Australia, Hong Kong, …

Antimicrobial Resistance Of Clostridioides (Clostridium) Difficile In Cambodia, Lengsea Eng, Papanin Putsathit, Su Chen Lim, Jessica M. Chisholm, Deirdre A. Collins, Archie C.A. Clements, Kefyalew Addis Alene, Thomas V. Riley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains a major topic of interest in infectious disease management. We studied AMR in Clostridioides difficile isolated in Cambodia. Methods: Agar dilution susceptibility testing was performed according to the CLSI guidelines to determine minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 10 antimicrobials for 192 isolates of C. difficile from four populations in Cambodia: hospitalised adults, hospitalised children, children from an outpatient department (OPD), and healthy adolescents in the community. Results: Using the CLSI MIC breakpoints for anaerobes and EUCAST breakpoints for C. difficile, all isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, metronidazole, fidaxomicin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and none were resistant …

Proposed Theoretical Model Of Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis And Restrictive Eating Behaviors, Anna L. Smith

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic, demyelinating, autoimmune disease that causes an array of physical and cognitive symptomatology, is commonly diagnosed in adulthood. Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) is characterized by diagnosis of the disease before age 18 and accounts for about 5% of MS cases. While there is a growing body of literature examining the impact of adult-onset multiple sclerosis on psychosocial functioning, research specifically addressing POMS remains limited. Moreover, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the risk of eating disorders among individuals with POMS. This paper will explore a constellation of potential risk factors that may …