Given how unexpectedly front and center hydroxychloroquine has been in discussions about the treatment of COVID-19 this year, it makes sense to look at how it became so central to the treatment of a rheumatologic condition. In 1991, an article appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine that would alter the way rheumatologists approached…
Primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is caused by genetic mutations and inherited syndromes; it therefore occurs in the pediatric age group. Secondary HLH, however, is more common in adults and is often triggered by other disease states, such as malignancies, chronic immunosuppression, infections and autoimmune disease.1,2 Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a subset of secondary HLH…
“No!” she screamed. My niece just finished her first semester as a freshman at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. If the institution sounds familiar to you, it may be because you remember a particularly famous graduate—William Windsor, who sometimes goes by his formal titles: Duke of Cambridge and heir to the British throne….
Serological testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies may play a critical role in the management of the worldwide health crisis. Such testing may reveal key information for epidemiology, convalescent plasma therapies and vaccine development. However, the situation is complex, and much is unknown. Although such testing may ultimately be used to…
(Reuters Health)—U.S. commercial health plans only covered biosimilar treatments as preferred products in 14% of coverage decisions last year, according to an analysis of publicly available data on coverage decisions.1 Researchers examined records from the Tufts Medical Center Specialty Drug Evidence and Coverage (SPEC) database, which has information on coverage decisions made by 17 of…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients treated with biologic therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis don’t appear to be at increased risk of melanoma, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis. However, because the study found trends toward increased melanoma rates with long-term therapy, “a clinically meaningful increase in risk cannot…
Clinically amyotrophic dermatomyositis (CADM), a subset of dermatomyositis (DM), is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by typical DM cutaneous findings (e.g., heliotrope rash, Gottron papules, Gottron sign) without evidence of myositis.1 The incidence of DM and CADM is approximately 9.63 per 1 million people and 2.08 per 1 million people, respectively.2 The association with development…
ATLANTA—At the ACR/ARP 2019 Annual Meeting, several widely renowned experts across an array of specialty subjects provided a comprehensive and compelling review of advances in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of a number of rheumatologic conditions. Sjögren’s Syndrome Frederick Vivino, MD, FACR, chief of rheumatology at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and professor of clinical medicine…
A 59-year-old woman presented to our rheumatology clinic with a six-month history of a symmetric polyarthritis. She initially experienced pain in both knees. As time progressed, she began to notice pain in her ankles, hips, shoulders, hands and feet. She experienced joint stiffness lasting for more than 30 minutes every morning. She also described worsening…
Angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL) is an aggressive, peripheral T cell, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with an incidence of 0.05 cases per 100,000 person-years in the U.S., and it typically manifests in adults older than 60 years.1,2 AITL was previously known as angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia, immunoblastic lymphadenopathy or lymphogranulomatosis X, due to the hypothesis that the…