An Italian environmental study shows that air pollution increases the risk of autoimmune diseases, in particular rheumatoid arthritis, connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).

Whether patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) would improve substantially with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor therapy was predicted with moderate to high accuracy based only on a standard lab test and two measures of disease activity, researchers reported from a modeling study.

A phase II trial in patients with active giant cell arteritis shows that mavrilimumab, a monoclonal antibody against granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor [GM-CSF]) is capable of inducing clinical remission.

The risk of developing axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) if you’re a first-degree relative (FDRs) of an ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patient has been deflined by a 35 year follow-up study showing that if you are a FDR of axSpA you may be at higher risk of acute anterior uveitis (AAU).

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Deucravacitinib, a selective tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, was studied in a phase II trial of active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients and shown to be effective and safe.

Anifrolumab is effective and FDA approved for use in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); and now, a trial in lupus nephritis that almost shows benefit.

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR), in partnership with the Vasculitis Foundation (VF), released a new guideline for the management of Kawasaki disease that addresses diagnostic issues relating to Kawasaki disease, the treatment of high-risk patients, and the management of

A recent study has shown that the combination of methotrexate (MTX) plus leflunomide (LEF) yields better disease control in psoriatic arthritis, but may not be as well tolerated as monotherapy with MTX.

Pre-print results of the RECOVERY Trial has shown that when baricitinib (BAR) is given to hospitalized severe COVID-19 patients, it results in significantly less mortality.

Gout is common but disproportionately affects certain groups (e.g., the elderly, Pacific Islander, Blacks). Ethnic links to gouts were also shown to be linked to modifiable behavioral factors and such information maybe useful in managing gout patients.

JAMA has published a meta-analysis of 15 studies of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab and corticosteroids, showing that a clinically meaningful mortality benefit from tocilizumab (and steroids) was best seen in those not requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV).

The ACR has updated its clinical guidelines for the management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), with this update focusing on oligoarthritis, TMJ arthritis, and systemic JIA (with and without macrophage activation syndrome); only the latter, systemic JIA recommendations are reported he

Drug survival may be the best measure of efficacy and safety. A new study of novel therapy durability (survival) in patients with RA, axial spondyloarthritis, PsA, and psoriasis shows that while all these drugs are approved for said conditions, drug survival varies by condition, suggesting an ongoing need for individualized treatment.

The ACR journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology, has publish a listing of top articles in 2021 as measured by Altmetric, an online service that tracks what gets "clicked" and discussed.  Interestingly, this includes 4 guidelines and 5 COVID-related papers.

Analysis of a German Crohn's disease cohort finds that in patients with early Crohn’s disease (CD), spondyloarthritis was present in nearly one out of five patients and was associated with HLA-B27 positivity and a highly active CD.

Concerns about the long-term safety of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) often results in dose reduction or drug discontinuation; yet a current study shows that, for those in remission, HCQ taper/discontinuation resulted in a significantly higher rate of SLE flares.

The American College of Rheumatology and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons released a summary of their updated guideline for the Perioperative Management of Antirheumatic Medication in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases Undergoing Elective Total Hip or Total Knee Arthroplasty.

A recent prospective, randomized, blinded clinical trial has shown that a 2 week hold of methotrexate (MTX) following COVID-19 (Sinovac-CoronaVac) vaccination resulted in greater anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunogenicity; but there was an increase in flare rates after the second dose of vaccine.

MMWR has reported the results of the National Football Leagues (NFL) change in SARS-CoV-2 testing program that went into effect in December 2021, at the height of the Omicron variant surge, showing that among those with asymptomatic infection, only half were PCR test negative and could return to