Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) contribute to the pathogenesis of multiple autoimmune diseases. And research has shown that patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) have higher levels of circulating anti-NET antibodies than healthy controls, indicating a potential biomarker.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Risankizumab, an inhibitor of interleukin (IL) 23, provides some relief for patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) whose symptoms have responded poorly to standard treatments, according to 24-week results of a phase-3 trial. “Despite the range of available therapies for psoriatic arthritis, efficacious, well-tolerated therapeutic options are needed to treat the diverse…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Zinc supplementation may exacerbate rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new laboratory data suggest. In monocytes from patients with RA, researchers found high concentrations of intracellular zinc, which regulates immune responses by affecting signaling pathways, according to a report in Science Signaling.1 They also found increased expression of Zip8, a zinc-specific importer, in peripheral and…
(Reuters Health)—It takes 12.4 months of bisphosphonate therapy to prevent one nonvertebral fracture per 100 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials suggests.1 Researchers examined data on 10 randomized clinical trials with a total of 23,384 women who had an osteoporosis diagnosis based on either existing vertebral fractures or a bone mineral…
On Dec. 8, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for AstraZeneca’s Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab and administered together) for the pre-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) of COVID-19 in certain adults and pediatric individuals (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kilograms [about 88 pounds]). The product…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who are resistant to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), guselkumab was more effective than placebo in a phase 3b trial. “Guselkumab is a relatively new treatment and is the first drug in its class (IL-23 inhibitor) to gain approval for PsA,” Dr. Laura Coates of the…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tofacitinib significantly reduces the number of flares in children with polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), according to the first phase-3 clinical trial to assess the efficacy of a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor in JIA. JIA is a heterogeneous group of chronic conditions with no known cause that develop before age 16…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), telehealth-delivered exercise and diet programs are superior to electronic health information for reducing pain and improving function, although the contribution of diet is modest, a randomized trial shows.1 “This research provides evidence from a large clinical trial to help tease out how much benefit dietary weight…
Practical tips for the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of a spectrum of conditions commonly encountered in a rheumatology practice are offered.
ACR Convergence 2021—The Pediatric Rheumatology Year in Review began with a fascinating talk by Mara Becker, MD, MSCE, a professor of Pediatrics and vice chair of faculty at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. Dr. Becker began by describing her search strategy to select high-yield clinical science publications in pediatric rheumatology from the past…