Patients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience on average double the risk of developing malignant lymphoma when compared with the general population. With the major changes in RA treatment taking place over the past decade, has there been a reduction in the risk of lymphoma in this population? Researchers from the Karolinska Institute… [Read More]
The P2X7 receptor inflammasome axis may have a role in the pathogenesis of Sjögren’s syndrome and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. According to new research, patients with Sjögren’s syndrome who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma had an increased expression of the P2X7R-inflammasome axis and the glandular expression of IL-18, suggesting a possible novel biomarker…... [Read More]
Consulting rheumatologists often assess patients with atypical clinical presentations for the possibility of an underlying rheumatic disease. Inflammatory syndromes that are not clearly rheumatic in nature can be particularly challenging to diagnose. Here, we share the case of a young woman with a long-standing undiagnosed illness and highly elevated inflammatory markers, and describe the evaluation… [Read More]
On Oct. 15, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first interchangeable biosimilar product to treat certain inflammatory diseases. Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm), originally approved in August 2017, is both biosimilar to and interchangeable with (i.e, may be substituted for) its reference product Humira (adalimumab) for Cyltezo’s approved uses. Cyltezo is the second interchangeable biosimilar… [Read More]
As treatments for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) emerge, a clinical trial comparing the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor upadacitinib and the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor adalimumab provided some new insights. Published earlier this year in The New England Journal of Medicine, the SELECT-PsA 1, double-blind, phase 3 trial found that a 30 mg dose of upadacitinib… [Read More]
About 30% of patients with psoriasis have psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a complex, multi-faceted, chronic, inflammatory musculoskeletal and skin disease for which the treatment has changed considerably over the past few years.1 Biosimilars and other new drugs have become a therapeutic turning point for many patients suffering from rheumatic illnesses, including PsA. The treatment of PsA… [Read More]
(Reuters Health)—Adults 50 years and older who take tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi’s) for a range of inflammatory disorders can receive effective protection from shingles with a live varicella zoster vaccine, a clinical trial suggests.1 Researchers randomized 617 participants receiving TNFi’s in a 1:1 ratio to receive either the Zostavax live varicella zoster vaccine or… [Read More]
Sarcoidosis and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) are both immune-mediated, often multi-organ, diseases of uncertain etiology capable of presenting with diverse clinical manifestations. Many clinical features are common to both conditions, including hypergammaglobulinemia, the ability to form inflammatory masses and involvement of the lymph nodes, lacrimal glands, salivary glands, meninges and lungs. Although imaging modalities, such as… [Read More]
Research indicates mRNA vaccination for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection may induce a T cell response in vulnerable, immunocompromised patient populations being treated with rituximab.... [Read More]
On Sept. 1, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it is requiring revisions to the Boxed Warning for the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors Xeljanz/Xeljanz XR (tofacitinib), Olumiant (baricitinib) and Rinvoq (upadacitinib) to include information about the risks of serious heart-related events, cancer, blood clots and death.1 Recommendations for healthcare professionals will include… [Read More]