In a recent investigation of Swedish patients, environmental triggers of the immune system are a common factor for patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome…
Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Prophylaxis Reduced Rituximab Infection Risk
Severe infections occurred in 25% of patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) who were treated with rituximab, according to results of an observational study conducted in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Austria. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) prophylaxis, however, reduced the risk of severe infections, the investigators reported in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.1 Andreas…
FDA Issues Safety Warning
The FDA is warning that patients with type 2 diabetes taking SGLT2 inhibitors may be at risk of developing a rare, serious infection, Fournier’s gangrene…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients on Biologics Remain At Risk of Infection
AMSTERDAM—With new therapies coming into the marketplace, researchers are working to tease out the risk of infection for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Existing data suggest the risk of infections—even fatal ones—is real. But over time, improvements have taken hold, particularly for tuberculosis, according to an infectious disease expert at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of…
Investigators Assess Infection Risk with RA Biologics
Due to a range of factors, determining the precise infection risk posed by new biologic therapies to RA patients is difficult. But progress has been made and health registries may be helpful, said Olivier Lortholary, MD, PhD, during the 2018 EULAR: Annual European Congress of Rheumatology…
5 Misconceptions about Immune Deficiency
The immune system is an ocean, wide, vast and unfathomably deep, over which we rheumatologists traverse. Beyond the ripples, waves and eddies on the surface, we can only imagine what lies under the surface. With new information from basic laboratory studies and the incorporation of immunomodulators into clinical practice, we have some new insight into…
Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Advances
SAN DIEGO—In a roundup of current research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, Mark C. Genovese, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., urged his audience to reflect on the impact therapy advances have made on RA. “In…
Rheumatoid Arthritis May Confer Higher Cardiac & Infection Risks
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of serious infections, myocardial infarction (MI) and coronary heart disease (CHD), an analysis of Medicare claims data suggests. “Higher disease activity as measured by a panel of biomarkers was associated with higher rates of hospitalized infections, MI and CHD events. These findings add…
Insights into Precision Immunology for Research, RA & Infection
Research in precision immunology is in its early stages. But new insights into cohorts, RA gene expression and infection presented at FOCUS 2017 may benefit future research and patient care…
Care Fragmentation May Increase Risk of SLE Damage & Disease Severity
Despite the wide spread adoption of electronic health records, many systems are unable to exchange data, creating the potential for fragmented care. New research examined the effect of care fragmentation on patients with SLE in the Chicago HealthLNK Data Repository, finding that care fragmentation plays an independent role in an increased frequency of infection and disease-related morbidity damage. Researchers also found a relationship between care fragmentation, race and public insurance…