A study found resident memory T cells may mediate inflammatory arthritis and trigger flares in specific joints, suggesting local depletion of these cells could be a therapeutic strategy…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The prevalence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in the blood of U.S. adolescents and adults has increased over the past 30 years, signaling a rise in autoimmunity, researchers say. “It is not known if these same increases are occurring in other parts of the world, but because ANA are associated with many autoimmune…
(Reuters Health)—The live herpes zoster vaccine does not provide reliable long-term protection in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking tofacitinib, a recent study suggests. Current ACR guidelines conditionally recommend that patients with RA who are 50 years and older be vaccinated against herpes zoster prior to starting therapy with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib or…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A new chikungunya virus-like-particle vaccine appears to be safe and immunogenic, according to results from a phase 2 trial. “The phase 2 safety, tolerability and immunogenicity were similar to the data seen in an earlier phase 1 study,” Grace L. Chen, MD, of the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center, Bethesda,…
(Reuters)—On April 16, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) cautioned that with a lot of its staff allocated to the coronavirus crisis, it may not be able to sustain its current level of timely reviews and approvals of marketing applications. FDA says it was working to ensure that the drug programs continue to see…
ZURICH (Reuters)—Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG says it will test the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in a randomized trial to see if the much talked about medicine is actually effective against COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The company hopes to have data on its efficacy by June, a lead researcher for the trial…
A recent study found SLE patients may improve their daily physical function, pain and overall quality of life by adding upper limb exercises to stable treatment regimens and routine care…