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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

In Memoriam … J. Timothy Harrington, MD, MACR: July 6, 1940–June 23, 2020

William Arnold, MD; Tim Bartholow, MD; Drew Johnson, MS, MBA; Joel Kremer, MD; Daniel Malone, MD; Eric D. Newman, MD; Kenneth Saag, MD; & Douglas White, MD  |  

June saw the passing of a beloved colleague, mentor and friend to many in the rheumatology community when J. Timothy Harrington, MD, died of pancreatic cancer in his hometown of Madison, Wis. Dr. Harrington trained at Massachusetts General Hospital, the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute and UT Southwestern Medical Center, and served on…

Research Beyond COVID-19: Collateral Damage

Nancy A. Delnay, MSN, CNP; Charmayne M. Dunlop-Thomas, MS, MPH; Rebecca J. Cleveland, PhD; Cynthia S. Crowson, PhD; Joshua Stefanik, MSPT, PhD; Jungwha Lee, PhD, MPH; Kendra Young, MSPH, PhD; & Dina L. Jones, PT, PhD  |  

COVID-19 has generated an outpouring of fast-paced, late-breaking new developments. The majority of countries (188) around the world have reported cases of COVID-19.1 As of April 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported cases in every U.S. jurisdiction (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and…

Zoledronate After Denosumab Does Not Fully Prevent Bone Loss

Marilynn Larkin  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In postmenopausal women and men treated for at least two years with denosumab, a single infusion of zoledronate given after denosumab discontinuation does not completely prevent bone turnover and loss, researchers say. Given the findings, “bone mineral density (BMD) should probably be higher than the current target for discontinuation of bisphosphonate treatment…

Tocilizumab Fails to Help COVID-19 Patients in Italian Study

Emilio Parodi & Carl O'Donnell  |  

(Reuters)—Roche’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra (tocilizumab) failed to help patients with early-stage COVID-19 pneumonia in an Italian study, the latest instance in which an anti-inflammatory drug has fallen through in a coronavirus trial. Despite the setback, the Swiss drugmaker said that it is pressing ahead with testing tocilizumab in another trial against COVID-19, the disease…

Respiratory Failure More Common in COVID-19 Patients with Rheumatic Disease

Marilynn Larkin  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—COVID-19-infected patients with rheumatic disease were more likely to experience respiratory failure than those without rheumatic disease, according to a retrospective study in China. “Immune dysregulation underlying rheumatic diseases may affect the disease manifestation of COVID-19,” Dr. Jixin Zhong of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, tells Reuters Health by email….

Some Rheumatic Diseases Tied to Higher Risk of Severe COVID-19

Megan Brooks  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with some inflammatory rheumatic conditions are at higher risk for hospital-diagnosed COVID-19 infection compared with the general population, but it depends on the condition and therapy used to treat it, according to a study from Spain. It’s now clear that older patients and those with some common diseases are at increased…