Tom Collins is a freelance writer in South Florida, who has written about medical topics from nasty infections to ethical dilemmas, runaway tumors to tornado-chasing doctors. He travels the globe gathering conference health news and lives in West Palm Beach.
Researchers sought to identify predictors of patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) who took rituximab for maintenance had a better sustained remission rate through 60 months than those taking azathioprine, according to the latest results from the maintenance of remission using rituximab in systemic ANCA-associated vasculitis (MAINRITSAN) trial, a prospective, randomized trial…
AMSTERDAM—It’s been many years since adipose tissue came to be appreciated not just as a store of energy, but also as a regulator of metabolism and an important player in immune function. Rheumatology researchers continue to drill down into the role of fat cells in the search for mechanisms that could reveal targets for the…
AMSTERDAM—With new therapies coming into the marketplace, researchers are working to tease out the risk of infection for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Existing data suggest the risk of infections—even fatal ones—is real. But over time, improvements have taken hold, particularly for tuberculosis, according to an infectious disease expert at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of…
AMSTERDAM—Just how seldom prednisone is successful at inducing remission in giant cell arteritis (GCA), despite such a long history of use for the disease, is one of the many lessons to emerge from the data in the GiACTA trial, said the principal investigator of the trial, which is the largest ever in GCA and is…
AMSTERDAM—Newly proposed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) classification criteria and new findings on SLE pathogenesis are two ways in which researchers and clinicians are getting a better grasp on the heterogeneous disease. The criteria and findings were discussed this June in a session at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. ‘Paradigm Shift’ Sindhu Johnson, MD,…
AMSTERDAM—Low-grade inflammation in older adults can impede immune responsiveness, and researchers have shed light on how this happens. They have developed a short-term treatment that blocks inflammation and boosts the immune response, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. The findings were presented in a session on cellular senescence related to…
AMSTERDAM—Early identification and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are two of the most pressing concerns in the field, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. He described the latest efforts to identify patients at risk of RA development and insights on quick referral to rheumatologists. Karim Raza, BM, BCh, PhD, Arthritis…
AMSTERDAM—A variety of factors lead to delays in patients seeking medical care for rheumatoid arthritis—from the nature of symptoms to coping tendencies—requiring more awareness from physicians when managing patients, researchers said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. Longer delays in treatment bring about more emotional distress to patients, missed chances to ease symptoms…
AMSTERDAM—Clinicians who are counseling women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have the benefit of an array of new insights into factors linked with increased risk of pregnancy loss, how SLE therapies affect pregnancy and data on outcomes of children born to mothers with SLE, an expert said in a session at EULAR: the Annual European…
AMSTERDAM—Research in myositis treatments is beginning to find its way, with investigators pursuing avenues special to the disease so therapy for patients may no longer involve piggybacking on existing treatments for other illnesses, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. “Finally, in myositis there are targets being investigated that are more…