SAN DIEGO—In a study titled Real-Life Use of the PEXIVAS Reduced-dose Glucocorticoid Regimen in Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis and Microscopic Polyangiitis, Nagle et al. evaluated the efficacy and safety of the reduced-dose glucocorticoid regimen in a real-world setting. Background/Purpose Glucocorticoids (GCs) in combination with rituximab (RTX) or cyclophosphamide are the cornerstone of treatment for patients with…
Lower HCQ Serum Levels Associated with SLE Flare, Damage & Mortality Background & Objectives: Nguyen et al. set out to assess the consequences of severe non-adherence to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) by measuring hydroxychloroquine serum levels, risks of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flares, damage and mortality over five years of follow-up. Methods: The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International…
Materne et al. aimed to compare the risk of infection among patients with non-renal SLE using the injectable immunosuppressant belimumab vs. an oral immunosuppressant, azathioprine, mycophenolate or methotrexate.
The accepted wisdom is that the negative effects of glucocorticoids on bone depend on the dose and treatment duration. Adami et al. conducted this study to determine, in a real-life setting, the risk of fragility fracture associated with the dose of glucocorticoids in patients with inflammatory rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases.
Marchand et al. sought to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and hip osteoarthritis (OA) in women. By analyzing data from the Nurses’ Health Study cohort in the U.S., the researchers concluded that an association may be observed between higher alcohol consumption and greater incidence of total hip replacement due to OA.
Using data from the U.K.’s Health Improvement Network, a primary care database, Wei et al. examined whether urate-lowering therapy (ULT) in a treat-to-target approach for patients with gout reduces the risk of fracture.
In a dose-finding, clinical trial, Terkeltaub et al. examined the safety and efficacy of tigulixostat, a nonpurine xanthine oxidase inhibitor, for lowering the serum urate levels of patients with gout and hyperuricemia.
Past studies have suggested that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who consume a moderate amount of alcohol may experience lower disease activity and higher quality of life than non-drinkers. In this study, Alfredsson, et al. confirmed earlier studies’ claims that alcohol consumption reduces disease activity in a dose-dependent manner, and also indicated that patients who stopped drinking post-baseline experienced worsened disease activity, more pain and a lower quality of life.
In a study, El Bannoudi et al. found that platelets contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE by secreting the proinflammatory platelet-associated lectin, galactoside-binding, soluble 3 binding protein (LGALS3BP), which also represents a novel biomarker of SLE clinical activity.
Background & Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease associated with immune responses to the patient’s own antigens and characterized by inflammation and substantial joint destruction. Prevotella copri, a gut commensal bacterium, has been reported to be an immune-relevant organism in individuals with RA. This study sought to evaluate antibody responses to anti-P….