Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) may benefit from targeted stroke screening or prevention therapies. A recent study revealed SSc may be independently associated with stroke, finding the risk of stroke was 20–30% higher in SSc patients than healthy controls…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A new chikungunya virus-like-particle vaccine appears to be safe and immunogenic, according to results from a phase 2 trial. “The phase 2 safety, tolerability and immunogenicity were similar to the data seen in an earlier phase 1 study,” Grace L. Chen, MD, of the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center, Bethesda,…
ZURICH (Reuters)—Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG says it will test the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in a randomized trial to see if the much talked about medicine is actually effective against COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The company hopes to have data on its efficacy by June, a lead researcher for the trial…
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…
ATLANTA—Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), a subset of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) disease, can be a fatal result of rheumatic disease. But there’s good news: New therapeutic options for refractory MAS targeting individual cytokines are emerging. At the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, possible therapeutic options were presented during a pediatric-focused clinical and translational research track, Therapeutic Approaches…
In this time of COVID-19, you may be considering ways to deliver routine rheumatologic care via some form of telemedicine. Here are some of the legal considerations.
ATLANTA—New drug approvals, new and expanded drug indications, and important safety and other updates relevant for rheumatologists were presented by three physicians from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on Nov. 11 at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. New JAK Inhibitor Approved for RA On Aug. 16, 2019, the FDA approved upadacitinib (Rinvoq), an…
Reproductive health can be a concern for patients with rheumatic diseases, and practitioners in both rheumatology and obstetrics/gynecology often work closely together. The 2020 ACR Guideline for the Management of Reproductive Health in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases, new clinical recommendations developed by an ACR-convened group for pregnant women, post-menopausal women, lactating women, and women and…
Twenty-five veteran organizations have signed a letter to Congress supporting the ACR’s request for dedicated DOD arthritis research funds.