The new coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, reminds us how we have struggled to keep ahead of mutating pathogens through the ages.... [Read More]
Don’t Forget the Host: COVID-19 Cytokine Storm
Search results for: cytokine storm
Driving through the Storm: A Pediatric Rheumatologist Finds a Pandemic of Rheumatic Disease
A pediatric rheumatologist in the thick of treating children with COVID-19 confronts a new and evolving syndrome.... [Read More]
Oxford University to Study Adalimumab as Potential COVID-19 Treatment
LONDON (Reuters)—Oxford University said on Wednesday it will study whether the prescription medicine, adalimumab (Humira), is an effective treatment for COVID-19 patients—the latest effort to repurpose existing drugs as potential coronavirus therapies. Adalimumab, which is sold by AbbVie, is a type of anti-inflammatory known as an anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drug. Recent studies have shown… [Read More]
Jury Out on Immunomodulatory Therapy for Kids with Severe COVID-19
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Immunomodulatory therapy is not recommended for most children with COVID-19 who typically will have a mild to moderate course of illness, experts advise in a guidance document in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.1 For children with severe or critical COVID-19, immunomodulatory agents “may be beneficial,” but the risks and… [Read More]
Respiratory Failure More Common in COVID-19 Patients with Rheumatic Disease
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—COVID-19-infected patients with rheumatic disease were more likely to experience respiratory failure than those without rheumatic disease, according to a retrospective study in China. “Immune dysregulation underlying rheumatic diseases may affect the disease manifestation of COVID-19,” Dr. Jixin Zhong of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, tells Reuters Health by email…. [Read More]
Rheumatology Biologic Expertise Valued for COVID-19 Treatment Decisions
At the Loma Linda University Medical Center, Calif., rheumatologists play a key consulting role for COVID-19 patients who may benefit from the use of biologic treatments…... [Read More]
The COVID-19 Infection Inflammation Equation
The uncertainty is certain Let us draw up the curtain Unmask this serial killer’s intention. Attack of its clones gone viral Made distancing societal Disrupting every human convention. Humble hydroxychloroquine Now forced into the scene Telehealth bridges our care. Drive-thru testing PPE and sanitizing Social media fills the air. But let’s not be deceived This… [Read More]
Arthritis Drug Anakinra Shows Promise in COVID-19
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Treatment with the interleukin-1 blocker anakinra appears to improve respiratory symptoms and reduced signs of cytokine storm in nearly three-quarters of patients with acute respiratory distress and cytokine release syndrome from COVID-19 in a small retrospective study from Italy. “Our study is the first to suggest that a high dose of the… [Read More]
The COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance: Its Genesis, Development & Goals
Discover the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance & learn how it is helping rheumatologists & patients during the pandemic—& beyond.... [Read More]
On Pandemics & Uncertainty: One Rheumatologist’s Story
As the mystery solvers, we are supposed to be comfortable with the unknown, but how does that translate when COVID-19 hits home? A rheumatologist contracts COVID-19.... [Read More]