Advancing Tailored Diagnostics and Therapeutics in Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases via Integration of Traditional Approaches and AI Technologies

A special issue of Journal of Personalized Medicine (ISSN 2075-4426). This special issue belongs to the section "Personalized Therapy in Clinical Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2026 | Viewed by 886

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Clinical Pathology Laboratory Unit, S. Giuseppe Hospital, Azienda USL-Toscana Centro, 50053 Florence, Italy
Interests: microbiome; diet; microbial metabolites; gut–brain axis; autoimmune and rheumatic diseases; gastrointestinal cancerr; inflammatory response; immunology; artificial intelligence; clinical pathology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Central Laboratory, Careggi University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
Interests: rheumatic diseases; autoimmune and rheumatic diseases laboratory diagnostics; immunology; clinical pathology; hematology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Autoimmune and rheumatic diseases are complex disorders characterized by dysregulated immune responses leading to chronic inflammation and tissue damage. Traditional diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have improved patient outcomes, yet the heterogeneity of these diseases calls for more precise and personalized strategies.

Over recent decades, advances in molecular immunology and biomarker discovery have revolutionized disease understanding and management. Targeted therapies such as monoclonal antibodies and cytokine inhibitors marked a shift toward precision medicine, supported by evolving molecular profiling technologies.

This Special Issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research on tailored diagnostics and therapeutics in autoimmune and rheumatic diseases, emphasizing the integration of traditional clinical methods with emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Our goal is to foster multidisciplinary approaches that accelerate the transition to personalized, effective care.

Key areas include biomarker-driven therapies and molecular profiling, targeted immunotherapies, autoantibody profiling for therapeutic stratification, modulation of the gut microbiota, therapeutic vaccines for immune tolerance, pharmacogenomics and individual response to biologic therapies, as well as AI-driven machine learning models. These innovations collectively promise to refine diagnosis, predict treatment response, and customize therapeutic interventions, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

We welcome different types of manuscript submissions, including original research articles and up-to-date reviews (systematic reviews and meta-analyses).

Dr. Edda Russo
Dr. Francesca Romano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • autoimmune diseases
  • personalized therapeutics
  • biomarker profiling
  • artificial intelligence (AI)
  • targeted immunotherapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 247 KB  
Article
The Impact of PRAC EMA/AIFA Recommendations on the Prescriptions of JAKi and b-DMARDs: Preliminary Results of the Survey from 21 Rheumatological Italian Centers Affiliated with CReI
by Emanuele Antonio Maria Cassarà, Daniela Marotto, Crescenzio Bentivenga, Luis-Severino Martin Martin, Gianpiero Baldi, Norma Carrozzo, Raffaele Zicolella, Riccardo Terenzi, Andrea Delle Sedie and Maurizio Benucci
J. Pers. Med. 2026, 16(2), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm16020107 - 10 Feb 2026
Viewed by 621
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the impact of recommendations issued by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) and endorsed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) on rheumatologists’ prescribing patterns of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAK inhibitors) and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic [...] Read more.
Objective: To evaluate the impact of recommendations issued by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) and endorsed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) on rheumatologists’ prescribing patterns of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAK inhibitors) and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), within a personalized, risk-adapted care framework. Methods: A brief survey was conducted across 21 Italian rheumatology centers. This retrospective multicenter study included 4421 RA patients assessed before PRAC recommendations (1 January 2022–1 January 2023) and 4376 patients evaluated afterward (2 January 2023–1 January 2024). Prescribing behaviors, cardiovascular risk management, and clinical outcomes were compared between cohorts. Results: Following PRAC recommendations, a more individualized cardiovascular risk management strategy was observed, with increased use of targeted treatments for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes. The post-PRAC cohort showed a significant reduction in myocardial infarction incidence (0.90% vs. 0.47%; p = 0.02) and increased statin use (8.25% vs. 11.1%; p = 0.05). No increase in cardiovascular risk was observed among JAK inhibitor users. Notably, upadacitinib utilization remained stable despite regulatory restrictions. Conclusions: PRAC recommendations promoted safer prescribing practices and improved cardiovascular risk stratification in RA. These findings support a shift toward precision medicine, integrating real-world evidence with advanced diagnostic and decision-support tools, including future artificial intelligence-based approaches, to optimize personalized therapeutic strategies in autoimmune diseases. Full article
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