
Researchers suggest antiviral therapy is not appropriate for patients with GCA, based on their study findings and related research…... [Read More]
• By Carina Stanton
Researchers suggest antiviral therapy is not appropriate for patients with GCA, based on their study findings and related research…... [Read More]
• By Lara C. Pullen, PhD
A recent study found that the varicella zoster virus downregulates expression of programmed death ligand 1 and major histocompatibility complex 1 in brain fibroblasts, perineurial cells and lung fibroblasts. These effects may lead to persistent inflammation in the vessels and lungs, as well as promote subsequent infection of T cells and the spread of the virus…... [Read More]
• By Lara C. Pullen, PhD
Researchers have recently discovered a connection between the varicella zoster virus infection, which causes chicken pox and shingles, and giant cell arteritis…... [Read More]
• By Lisa Rapaport
(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… [Read More]
• By Susan Bernstein
Varicella-zoster-virus (VZV) reactivation, which can cause patients to develop herpes zoster (i.e., shingles), occurs more frequently in patients with systemic vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who have received intravenous cyclophosphamide than in otherwise healthy adults, according to a retrospective study published in The Journal of Rheumatology by researchers in France.1 The study also shows… [Read More]
• By Arthritis & Rheumatology
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster (HZ), is a common and sometimes debilitating disease that disproportionately affects elderly individuals and those who are immunocompromised. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a 1.5–2-fold higher risk of developing HZ compared with healthy adults. Treatment with some disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been shown to increase this risk…. [Read More]
• By Arthritis & Rheumatology
Herpes zoster (HZ) infection, also known as shingles, is caused by reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus infection generally acquired decades earlier. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the incidence of stroke immediately following HZ infection is increased in patients with autoimmune diseases compared with the incidence of stroke at later time points. Results: In patients with autoimmune diseases, incident HZ was associated with as much as a twofold increased risk of stroke. Prompt antiviral therapy was associated with lower incidence of subsequent stroke…... [Read More]
In a 24-month clinical trial, tofacitinib proved safe and effective in combination with methotrexate in adult patients with RA…... [Read More]
• By Gbemisola Olayemi, MD, Evangeline Scopelitis, MD, & Jerald M. Zakem, MD
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… [Read More]
• By Thomas R. Collins
AMSTERDAM—Low-grade inflammation in older adults can impede immune responsiveness, and researchers have shed light on how this happens. They have developed a short-term treatment that blocks inflammation and boosts the immune response, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. The findings were presented in a session on cellular senescence related to… [Read More]
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