Because connective tissue diseases are intrinsically systemic, we regard a robust, multidisciplinary framework as indispensable. Accordingly, we partner closely with allied specialties to secure early diagnosis and timely, combination therapy—glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, biologics, and therapeutic plasma exchange—when severe organ involvement is present. We work hand in glove with Obstetrics and Gynecology to support pregnancy and childbirth in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome; with Cardiology to manage pulmonary hypertension complicating systemic sclerosis and mixed connective tissue disease, introducing advanced pharmacotherapy such as prostacyclin analogues, endothelin receptor antagonists, and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors; and, in difficult-to-treat polymyositis/dermatomyositis (including steroid-refractory cases or those with interstitial lung disease), we emphasize precise early diagnosis—grounded in comprehensive myositis-specific and myositis-associated autoantibody profiling—and deploy multiple immunosuppressants, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange to improve outcomes. For refractory vasculitides, we combine glucocorticoids with appropriate immunosuppressive agents, employing plasma exchange in fulminant disease, and we offer state-of-the-art biologic therapy for challenging spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
Most recently, we have deepened our partnership with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, developing coordinated clinical pathways and joint research initiatives aimed at preserving—and, where possible, enhancing—activities of daily living in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.