A special article in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology summarizes the current understanding of the cardiac toxicity of HCQ and CQ.
A Look Back at the ACR’s Strong Response to COVID-19
We are now a year-and-a-half into the COVID‑19 pandemic, and rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals are still facing some of the same challenges that began in spring 2020, as well as new ones. Most recently, we learned that COVID‑19 vaccine efficacy is reduced in some patients on immunosuppressive therapies and the need for additional immunization is…
A 2021 Update on Lupus Management & Treatment
At the 2021 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, Saira Sheikh, MD, associate professor of Medicine and director of the Rheumatology Lupus Clinic, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, provided an update on the past, present and future of the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This year, hydroxychloroquine received a great deal of attention, given early…
ACR, Ophthalmologists & Dermatologists Issue Joint Hydroxychloroquine Statement
Since 1991, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been a staple for the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus; it has been shown to improve survival, reduce cardiovascular risk, thrombosis and renal damage, delay or prevent lupus cerebritis and more. However, HCQ can potentially bind in the retinal pigment epithelium and cause degeneration of photoreceptors, leading to…
Dr. Blair Solow’s Picks for the Top RA Research Presented at ACR Convergence 2020
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Held Nov. 5–9, the ACR’s first fully virtual annual meeting provided participants with a vast repository of new research related to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To help you sort through the noise, Elizabeth (Blair) Solow, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatic Diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, offered …
New Findings on Hydroxychloroquine, Denosumab
ACR Convergence 2020—At two plenary sessions, speakers highlighted key findings, including results on the QTc interval in patients on hydroxychloroquine, and data from a study on denosumab vs. alendronate for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. The QTc Interval & Hydroxychloroquine The safety profile and optimal dosing of hydroxychloroquine has been a topic for decades because it is known…
ACR Leaders Discuss Hydroxychloroquine Issues with FDA Commissioner
The conversation with Stephen Hahn, MD, addressed challenges associated with hydroxychloroquine access during the COVID-19 public health emergency and handling patient concerns about potential cardiac side effects.
Influential Lancet Article on HCQ Retracted
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters)—Three of the authors of an influential article that found hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) increased the risk of death in COVID-19 patients retracted the study, citing concerns about the quality of the data behind it. The anti-malarial drug has been controversial in part due to support from U.S. President Donald Trump, as well…
Hydroxychloroquine Combination Risky for Cancer Patients with COVID-19
CHICAGO (Reuters)—Cancer patients with COVID-19 who were treated with a drug combination promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump to counter the coronavirus were three times more likely to die within 30 days than those who got either drug alone, U.S. researchers reported on May 28. The preliminary results suggest doctors may want to refrain from…
WHO Expects HCQ Safety Findings by Mid-June
ZURICH (Reuters)—The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday promised a swift review of data on hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), probably by mid-June, after safety concerns prompted the group to suspend the malaria drug’s use in a trial on COVID-19 patients. U.S. President Donald Trump and others have pushed HCQ as a possible coronavirus treatment, but the WHO…