William “Bill” R. Palmer, MD, MACR, passed away on Aug. 5, 2021, from highly aggressive, metastatic thyroid carcinoma. He was surrounded by his loving family. Continuing a lifelong pattern, he was courageous, dignified and loving through his last moments. I first met Bill on July 1, 1974—my first day of my medical internship at Albany…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A significant proportion of children with rheumatic diseases develop new-onset hypogammaglobulinemia and infections following treatment with the monoclonal antibody rituximab, according to new U.S. research. “Increased risk appeared to be mediated, at least in part, by exposure to pulse dose corticosteroids,” write Marc Natter, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s…
(Reuters)—Europe’s drugs regulator said on Monday it was evaluating the use of Roche’s arthritis drug, tocilizumab, in hospitalized adults with severe COVID-19, its latest review of a potential coronavirus treatment. Tocilizumab, sold by Roche as Actemra and RoActemra, has shown promise in clinical trials in treating COVID-19, and was approved by U.S. health regulators in…
Discovered more than 3,000 years ago, colchicine is one of the oldest drugs still in use today. Like most old remedies, colchicine is a chemical substance found in many plants, most notably in colchicum autumnale, known as wild saffron or autumn crocus. It was mentioned in the oldest Egyptian medical text, Ebers Papyrus (circa 1550…
(Reuters)—AbbVie Inc. and ELi Lilly & Co. are facing fresh delays in the approval of their respective rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drugs for treating the chronic skin disease eczema as the U.S. health regulator assesses the new class of treatment over safety concerns. The treatment, called Janus kinase inhibitors (jakinibs), blocks inflammation-causing enzymes known as Janus…
CHICAGO (Reuters)—Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention will consider evidence suggesting that a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines could increase protection among people with compromised immune systems. Data presented ahead of the July 22 meeting noted that people with compromised immune systems have a reduced antibody response following the recommended primary…
On July 9, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order designed to promote competition in the U.S. economy. The order includes 72 initiatives related to various aspects of the economy, including prescription drugs and health insurance.1 For prescription drugs, Americans pay more than 2.5 times as much for the same prescription drugs as patients…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Guselkumab may be effective in patients who have psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with axial symptoms, a post-hoc analysis of data from two randomized controlled trials suggests.1 “Because PsA is a heterogeneous disease that manifests as various symptoms, treatment choices should involve consideration of all relevant domains of disease for each individual patient,” researchers…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tocilizumab induced a slow and lasting remission after an ultra-short pulse (three days) of steroids in newly diagnosed giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients, a proof-of-concept trial shows.1 His early research on cytokines and glucocorticoids led Peter Villiger, MD, of Medical Center Monbijou, Bern, Switzerland, to find ways to reduce steroid use, he…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A six-month assessment of children with pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 disease (PIMS-TS) show generally favorable outcomes, but also a range of lingering issues. Cardiac, gastrointestinal, renal, hematology and otolaryngology problems largely resolved at six months, but muscular fatigue and emotional lability were common. Long-term, serious end-organ damage occurred…