Reuters Staff |
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….
Temporal arteritis was first described by Sir Jonathan Hutchinson in 1890 in an elderly retired gentleman’s servant who developed red, painful streaks on his temples and was found to have bilaterally swollen temporal arteries with feeble pulses.1 Sir Hutchinson disputed the suggestion that the red streaks were caused by the man’s hat and, instead, called…
New research indicates that vaccination for the herpes zoster virus in patients with rheumatoid arthritis starting tofacitinib appears to be both safe and useful. Rheumatologists may want to check the patient’s pre-existing immunity status prior to administering the vaccine…
Researchers have recently discovered a connection between the varicella zoster virus infection, which causes chicken pox and shingles, and giant cell arteritis…