Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

The Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Saitama Medical University Medical Center, conducts research on the treatment of systemic rheumatic diseases and connective tissue diseases.

The etymology of "rheumatism" is the ancient Greece word "ρηευμα(rheuma)" which means "flowing." It is said that Hippocrates had seen many joint and muscle aches around 400 BC, and came to call it "rheumatism", thinking that something bad was going out from the brain and flowing through the body. Rheumatic diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, polymyalgia rheumatica, osteoarthritis associated with aging, collagen diseases, and other painful diseases that are called "Rheumatism". Among these, in rheumatoid arthritis, it is understood that what was originally thought of as "bad things which flow through the body" are known as "inflammatory cytokines" and several therapeutic drugs targeting these cytokines have been developed. We would like patients to consult with a specialist doctor early and receive the appropriate treatment.

On the other hand, what kind of diseases are collagen diseases? These are diseases where the immune response to protect from pathogens, etc. attacks its own cells and tissues(autoimmune diseases). The cause of collagen diseases is still unknown. The symptoms are very diverse and many organs are usually involved. Although steroids and immunosuppressants are used to treat successfully, these drugs have many side effects, so they should be used with care by a specialist.

When visiting our department, we would like you to consult with your local doctor if possible and have them send a letter of introduction to our department. Collagen disease is not easily cured and is a lifelong illness, however, it is not necessary to be pessimistic. When the treatment begins, trust your doctor and go through the treatment together.

The diseases that are treated in our department include rheumatoid arthritis, collagen diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, inflammatory myositis and primary systemic vasculitis such as giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, ANCA associated vasculitis. These diseases are the so-called "intractable diseases" of unknown cause, but outcomes of these diseases are highly variable from mild to life-threatening diseases. Complete cures are rare, but we set up a treatment policy according to the individual patient's condition based on the scientific basis and patients' opinions. For example, there are some patients who do not need immunosuppressive treatment and are in good condition with only paying a bit of attention to their life. On the other hand, some patients do not improve inspite of heavy immunosuppression such as high-dose steroids and multiple immunosuppressants and will be hospitalized due to the side effects and/or complications.

Recently, the diagnositic methods for collagen diseases have progressed remarkably, but it is still difficult to "diagnose", which is the first step towards medical treatment. In other words, there are some patients with real collagen diseases who gradually deteriorate because of inappropriate treatment, and there are some patients who have suffered from the side effects of the steroids and immunosuppressants even though they don't have collagen diseases. Therefore, it is important to confirm the diagnosis with certainty with a specialist first.

New immunosuppressants and various biological agents have been introduced recently for the treatment of collagen diseases and have led to favorable outcomes of these patients. However, it is still intractable in some cases, where these new treatments do not bring adequate improvement, or where the side effects of medicines force them to be hospitalized. Our department has some clinical trials of new drugs and novel therapeutic strategies for patients with collagen diseases.

If you have a problem with collagen disease, or you think you may have collagen disease, please do not hesitate to consult our department to check the diagnosis and discuss the treatment policy.

For patients who wish to visit our department

Starting from April 1, 2023, our outpatient clinic will be open from Monday to Friday with a complete reservation system by fax from the referral medical institution. No first-visit outpatient service on Saturdays. For the FAX medical appointment service (general information), after receiving the FAX medical appointment application form and medical information provision form (referral letter) sent by FAX from the referral medical institution, the outpatient department of our department will call the medical institution to make an appointment. On the day of your appointment, please bring your referral letter along with your test data, imaging test reports, and images saved on a CD-R.

Our educational goal is "To provide the best medical care to patients with collagen diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, and to foster such medical personnel." A characteristic of our department is not only to be specializing in autoimmune and auto-inflammatory diseases, but also to examine the whole body of the patients (= to see all organs) to diagnose and differentiate from various diseases other than collagen diseases, which will lead definitely to nurture high quality general physicians. We have also many cooperative medical treatments; with Department of Orthopedic Surgery for musculoskeletal disorders including rheumatoid arthritis, with Department of Dermatology for scleroderma, dermatomyositis and psoriatic arthritis, with Department of Nephrology and the blood purification center for ANCA-associated vasculitis and severe lupus nephritis, with Department of Pulmonary Medicine for interstitial lung diseases due to collagen diseases, with Department of Cardiology for pulmonary hypertension, with Department of Neurology for central nervous system lupus or mononeuritis multiplex due to vasculitis, with Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology for inflammatory bowel diseases and autoimmune hepatitis, and Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes for metabolic abnormalities and glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis. Fortunately, Saitama Medical University Medical Center has all of these departments and can exchange information each other. Our departments can provide 3 kinds of rheumatologist; a teaching doctor at a university hospital, a specialist in a core hospital, and a general physician with a special interest of rheumatism.

Please feel free to contact us anytime if you are even a little interested. It would be useful for you also to check the website of our department.

Regarding hospital and clinic collaboration