The Department of Rheumatology at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea first introduced a treatment program for rheumatic patients in 1989 as a subdivision of internal medicine (Kangnam St. Mary’s Hospital) and become a specialized institution for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic patients as it opened the Rheumatology Clinic in 1989.

The clinic further developed into the Rheumatology Center in 1998 and now boasts an internationally renowned extensive treatment facility for lupus patients.
 

The Department of Rheumatology at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea first introduced a treatment program for rheumatic patients in 1989 as a subdivision of internal medicine (Kangnam St. Mary’s Hospital) and become a specialized institution for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic patients as it opened the Rheumatology Clinic in 1989. The clinic developed into the Rheumatology Center in 1998 and now boasts an internationally renowned extensive treatment facility for lupus patients.

The Rheumatology Center at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital is not only involved in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gouty arthritis, other arthritis, and connective tissue-related illnesses (scleroderma, Sjogren syndrome, inflammatory myopathy, Behcet’s disease, and vasculitis), but also provides a comprehensive quality treatment along with surgery, rehabilitation, and complication treatment in cooperation with the Departments of Orthopedics, Rehabilitation Medicine, Dermatology, and Ophthalmology.

Research activities
The Rheumatology Center established itself as a world-class research center as our outstanding medical researchers strive to identify the cause of rheumatic diseases and develop new therapies in their excellent research facilities, publishing around 20 articles in international journals.

•    Development of new therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (Profs. Kim Ho-yeon(김호연), Cho Cheol-soo(조철수), Park Sung-hwan, and Kim Wan-uk)
•    Investigation of generic and immunologic background for rheumatoid arthritis (Profs. Kim Ho-yeon(김호연) and Park Sung-hwan, Bone Marrow Data Bank of CUK)
•    Examination of autoantibody (Prof. Cho Cheol-soo(조철수), Researcher Kim Sun-joon(김선준)
•    Study of lupus pathogenesis and treatment
•    Future directions of research
•    Antigen-specific TCR usage investigation: cause of autoimmune disease
•    Development of new therapy for rheumatoid arthritis using TCR vaccination
•    Development of new oral tolerance inducing agent and study of intestinal tolerance induction
•    Development of new therapy for reducing anti-cardiolipin antibodies in lupus

Ultrasonography Clinic (Joint Precision Diagnosis Clinic)
Arthritis Clinic
International Clinical Clinic
Lupus Clinic
Behcet Clinic
Fibromyalgia Clinic