ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Tiphanie Phillips Vogel, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, moderated the session on COPA syndrome, which drew 324 attendees on a Sunday morning. This rare genetic cause of immune dysregulation can present like anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis, lupus, lupus nephritis or rheumatoid…
As more people get vaccinated for COVID-19, there’s hope that the long days of a pandemic, which has claimed more than 2.5 million lives globally and 500,000 in the U.S., will soon draw to a close and allow daily life to return to normal. However, for some people, this recovery may take longer, because the…
As a member of the ACR Government Affairs Committee, Mohammad Kamran, MD, has embraced virtual advocacy as a way to make a difference for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
A recent study of data from the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System reveals that 14 drugs commonly prescribed by rheumatologists are on the list of the top 50 drugs that can cause anaphylaxis.
(Reuters Health)—People with thumb-base osteoarthritis (OA) who receive a combination of conservative treatments, including education in self-management, ergonomics and hand exercises, may experience clinically meaningful improvements in hand function, a study suggests. Researchers randomized 204 people with thumb-base OA (1:1) to receive education on self-management and ergonomics alone (comparator) or in combination with a base-of-thumb…
(Reuters Health)—Total knee replacement surgery can be a cost-effective procedure for patients with severe obesity and osteoarthritis (OA), even when they also have comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers did a cost-benefit analysis for two patient populations (over 65 years, and age 50 to 65) who had…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—U.K. experts propose evidence-based management strategies for rheumatology patients on immunosuppressive therapy, including delaying/postponing rituximab, as appropriate. “The aim of this viewpoint article is to outline the existing data on the effect of anti-rheumatic therapy on vaccine responses in patients with inflammatory arthritis and to formulate a possible pragmatic strategy for the…
Subcutaneous tocilizumab is the first biologic agent approved by the FDA treat patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.
(Reuters Health)—Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation is safe and effective as an intervention for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a small proof-of-concept study suggests. The study enrolled 35 patients with active RA and an inadequate response to therapy with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). All DMARDS were discontinued four weeks prior to the trial. For the study, all participants…
In December, the FDA approved belimumab, the first drug approved to treat lupus nephritis, an historic action that was rapidly followed in January by the approval of a second treatment for lupus nephritis, voclosporin.