MADRID—Research into pharmacodynamic biomarkers has shown that macrophages may have an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including systemic sclerosis, an expert said at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). The findings were discussed in a session that also covered how an understanding of M1 macrophages’ role in fibrosis has evolved…
Most SLE clinical trials continue standard background medications being taken by patients at entry, based on assumptions that this minimizes the risk of serious flares and that immunologic interference is minimal. These assumptions are not evidence based, but eliminating polypharmacy in trials studying patients with active lupus remains controversial. These researchers tested the withdrawal of immunosuppressants to make SLE trial results more interpretable…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Experts at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting session, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus—Clinical Aspects and Treatment IV: Biomarkers, reported on a number of recent studies showing advancement in our understanding of the disease mechanisms underlying systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that place these patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other comorbidities. Mechanisms of CVD Risk…
A recent study suggests that metabolites may be a biomarker for disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). For the first time, researchers identified serum metabolomic profiles and 16 clinical parameters that serve as a reasonably predictive model for a patient’s therapeutic response to biological treatment of RA, specifically TNF-α inhibitor therapy…
LONDON—Josef Smolen, MD, chair of rheumatology at the University of Vienna and former president of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), expressed a “personal disappointment” in the development of useful biomarkers in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Even though a good portion of his life’s work has been researching biomarkers to help with targeting…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Newly identified biomarkers could aid in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and help guide therapy, Canada-based researchers report. Accurately differentiating between Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is important for ensuring early and appropriate treatment. However, the conditions can’t be reliably distinguished based on clinical symptoms, site of disease,…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—For rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in stable remission, a panel of inflammatory markers in blood can help predict the odds of relapse when disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy is tapered, say researchers from Germany. The multibiomarker disease activity (MBDA) score, when combined with anticitrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) testing, can predict relapse in…
Researchers used T cell transcriptome analysis in a small-scale study, identifying gene expression of specific patient subtypes and finding that expression alteration of T cells may correlate with severity of SLE rather than its presentation…
A new study found patients with early RA had increased membrane and soluble CD64. After receiving anti-rheumatic therapy, patients’ symptoms and CD64 levels decreased, suggesting CD64 is an RA biomarker…
ROME, Italy—The traditional approach to trials to assess new biomarkers and related treatments has largely been inefficient, and a better strategy is needed to make stratified treatment available for patients more quickly, an expert said at EULAR 2015, the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Mahesh Parmar, PhD, director of the Medical…