CHICAGO—Rheumatologists often come to Brian Schwartz, MD, associate professor of medicine and vice chief for clinical affairs in the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, with a concern: A patient on immunosuppression has a family member who needs a live vaccine, but the patient may be vulnerable to the vaccine’s effects. Should…
If approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), difficult-to-treat patients with axial spondyloarthritis who fail or are intolerant to standard treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) may have a new treatment option. That new option is a high-affinity monoclonal antibody, called ixekizumab, which selectively targets an area linked to the immunopathology of…
Vaccines are often safe for rheumatology patients, but precautions may be needed, said Brian Schwartz, MD, at the 2019 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium…
In a 24-month clinical trial, tofacitinib proved safe and effective in combination with methotrexate in adult patients with RA…
In a recent investigation of Swedish patients, environmental triggers of the immune system are a common factor for patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome…
As we turn the corner on the second decade of biologic use for rheumatic disorders, a reappraisal of approach in our communication with patients is due. In practice, the impact these agents have on patients’ lives justifies the friction rheumatologists face when connecting patients to them. You can understand why older rheumatologists who apprenticed on…
Vasculitis is a group of chronic inflammatory diseases in which the blood vessel is the target of an immune reaction. They can be secondary to connective tissue disease, idiopathic or due to infection, neoplasm or drugs.1 Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is a rare syndrome characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration and necrosis…
The FDA has approved Truxima (rituximab-abbs), which is biosimilar to Rituxan (rituximab), for treating adults with CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma…
New research underscores the possibility that interleukin (IL) 12, IL-23 or both play roles in the immunopathology of SLE. In the study, when added to standard-of-care treatment for active SLE, ustekinumab demonstrated better efficacy than placebo and had a safety profile consistent with that of ustekinumab therapy in other diseases…
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous, autoimmune, inflammatory, connective tissue disease affecting multiple organs. Neither central nervous system nor peripheral nervous systems are spared. The neurologic system is involved in a wide range of 10–80% of patients with SLE. Peripheral neuropathy, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and its variants, can occur in neurologic complications…