Canakinumab, an interleukin (IL) 1 blocker, can now be prescribed to treat patients with active Still’s disease and adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD)…


Canakinumab, an interleukin (IL) 1 blocker, can now be prescribed to treat patients with active Still’s disease and adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD)…

The recommendations for pediatric rheumatology patients address various treatment options and provide general guidance, as well as direction for when to start, stop or reduce medications.

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…
Lisa Rapaport |
(Reuters Health)—The live herpes zoster vaccine does not provide reliable long-term protection in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking tofacitinib, a recent study suggests. Current ACR guidelines conditionally recommend that patients with RA who are 50 years and older be vaccinated against herpes zoster prior to starting therapy with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib or…
Will Boggs, MD |
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,…

Francis Essien, DO, & Matthew B. Carroll, MD, FACP, FACR |
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…

The reach of Lyme disease is expanding across the U.S., and cases may be under-reported. A recent CDC case report describes the experiences of two patients with fatal cases of Lyme carditis…

The identification of specific transcription factors linked to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) provides new information on the molecular mechanisms underlying the link between EBV and autoimmune disease. A recently published study, “Transcription Factors Operate Across Disease Loci, with EBNA2 Implicated in Autoimmunity,” co-led by John B. Harley, MD, PhD; Leah C. Kottyan, PhD; and Matthew…

Naveen Raj, DO, & Lisa Duncan, MD |
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is an increasingly rare vasculitis in developed countries due to advances in HBV vaccination and antiviral therapy. However, the condition does persist, and rheumatologists should consider it when evaluating vasculitis cases. Below, we discuss a case that illustrates the varied clinical presentations PAN can encompass. A high…

Catherine Kolonko |
The body uses B cells to produce antibodies that can fight off infection by invading antigens and bacteria. But in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the immune system produces autoantibodies that work against the body’s proteins to attack joint tissues. Researchers believe this process is helped along by autoreactive B cells that live in bone matter and…