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Treating During Pregnancy (11.14.2025)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the journal articles, news and guidelines from this past week on RheumNow.com
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DAHLIAS study - Nipocalimab in Sjögren's Disease
Nipocalimab, a neonatal Fc receptor blocker that reduces circulating IgG and autoantibodies, was shown to be effective in a phase 2 trial in patients with severe Sjögren's disease.
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New ACR 2025 Guidelines for Non-Renal Lupus
MedPage Today
Written by Lisa Sammaritano, MD, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and a committee of nearly 50 other experts, the new guideline also stipulates that corticosteroids are OK for gaining symptom control in newly diagnosed patients and when flares erupt, but the duration should be kept as short as possible.
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Tocilizumab Beats Methotrexate in GCA
Dr. Mike Putman reports on abstract 0891 (MEthotrexate versus TOcilizumab for treatment of Giant cell Arteritis (METOGiA trial): a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial), presented at the #ACR25.
https://t.co/IeCWZGupqR https://t.co/SCF1guorMs
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Why I love the late breaking abstracts
https://t.co/jCSfNOoFeT https://t.co/uZWSm9SQAI
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Genentech announced positive results from the phase III DBRPCT ALLEGORY trial showin safety & efficacy of obinutuzumab in ~300 SLE pts on SOC. Results have yet to be presented publicly. https://t.co/4hoT9dBtPq
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Tapering in SELECT GCA: Steroids are the Problem
Dr. Mike Putman reports on abstract 0895 (Impact of Glucocorticoid Tapering in Giant Cell Arteritis: Analysis From the SELECT-GCA Trial) presented at #ACR25.
https://t.co/80Bl49uImB https://t.co/GjlHHjPW2u
Links:
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IL-23 Blockade Goes Oral
A new player is entering the IL-23 arena — and it’s a tablet! Icotrokinra (ICO), a first-in-class peptide that binds and blocks the IL-23R, is showing encouraging efficacy and safety across a range of psoriasis (PSO) and psoriatic disease (PsD) studies. https://t.co/MyqCjilYGL
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B Cell Depletion: Check the Lymph Node
Dr. Akhil Sood reports on abstract 2695 (B-cell depletion and lymphoid follicle disruption upon different B-cell depleting agents) presented at #ACR25.
https://t.co/bvZMGWNzfe https://t.co/dB6iQlgoYx
Links:
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Stopping therapy in GCA
At #ACR25 we saw the SELECT-GCA extension data presented in the first plenary session, looking at the second year after the 52 week original study, comparing upadacitinib versus placebo in GCA. In this second year, patients in remission on upadacitinib https://t.co/GaYNWr3Sjq
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Belimumab Before or After Immunosuppressant
Dr. Yuz Yusof reports on abstract 0803 presented at #ACR25
https://t.co/BVFhDDfTvW https://t.co/F9ZvGXIqVn
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Using AI and LLMs in Qualitative Data
Dr. Bella Mehta discusses abstract 0794 (Using AI to Analyze Multilingual Qualitative Data in Lupus Pregnancy Research: A Proof of Concept with Large Language Models) presented at #ACR25
https://t.co/HFBuNxdZOF https://t.co/gKAXURq8xR
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Nerandomilast for ILD
Dr. Mike Putman reports on abstract 1662 (Efficacy and Safety of Nerandomilast in Patients with Autoimmune Disease-Related Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis: Subgroup Analysis of the FIBRONEER-ILD trial). #ACR25
https://t.co/J0e4SbVgFE https://t.co/dlOM700yVQ
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Are we putting the CAR-T before the horse?
CAR T-cells have been a revolutionary development in rheumatology. We have seen a population of patients with severe refractory autoimmune conditions almost overnight presented with the prospect of not just improvement, but of a cure. https://t.co/niPU5cAojP
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Marketscan claims study of 62,813 IMID women w/ 70,529 pregnancies & 69,412 births, 4,485 (7.1%) were exposed to at least one TNFi during pregnancy & 3,559 postpartum. TNFi use NOT assoc w/ SIE risk during Preg (HR 1.39; 0.95-2.05) or postpartum (HR 1.22; https://t.co/NsxOLpT0ds
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B Cell Depletion: Check the Lymph Node
Dr. Akhil Sood reports on abstract 2695 (B-cell depletion and lymphoid follicle disruption upon different B-cell depleting agents) presented at #ACR25.
https://t.co/BjgIC3Kng0 https://t.co/flfyLZYW8q
Dr. John Cush RheumNow ( View Tweet)
Psoriatic Arthritis: Which biologic agent is the best first choice?
A growing arsenal of therapeutic targets in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has enhanced the landscape of treatment in patients with this disease.
https://t.co/pRMyPCvMrN https://t.co/nOgnf5F3Pw
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Topline results of ALLEGORY study (Genentech) - 300 pt. phase 3 DBRPCT obinuntuzumab vs PBO in active SLE w/ SRI-4 primary outcome at wk 52. The anti-CD20, B-cell depleter, Rx met all efficacy endpoints primary and all key secondary endpoints. Gazyva was FDA approved last wk https://t.co/Wd6EFEjvGP
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FDA is going to "fast-track" biosimilars to curtail the costs of expensive biologics https://t.co/h5NBsUaM97
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#ACR25 Abstract 1526
“Guidance for #Steroid Tapering in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”
101 international experts reached Delphi consensus on CS tapering strategies in #SLE.
🔹 Practical guidance for real-world tapering across disease activity levels and organ involvement. https://t.co/GRlUz3Y3EP
Links:
Romatolog Nurullah_Akkoc ( View Tweet)
