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RheumNow Podcast – Great Associations (3.19.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush rants on the journal reports, news and FDA actions featured this past week on RheumNow.com.
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MDA-5 Antibodies and Juvenile Dermatomyositis
A multicentre, retrospective study examined MSA profiles (by immunoprecipitation) from 96 juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM) at nine pediatric rheumatology centres in Japan. MSA were found in 85 of 96 cases with over 90% of patients having one of the following three MSA
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COVID-19-Related Deaths in Rheumatic Disease Patients
There is a growing body of evidence regarding COVID-19 outcomes (including death) in rheumatic disease patients; analysis of a German registry shows that poor control, rituximab, sulfasalazine and other immunosuppressives could be risk factors for COVID-related death.
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Actemra FDA Approved for Systemic Sclerosis Interstitial Lung Disease
Genentech announced Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration approved tocilizumab (Actemra) for the treatment of Systemic Sclerosis-associated Interstitial Lung Disease (SSc-ILD), specifically indicated for slowing the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adul
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RheumNow Podcast – Pounds of Prevention (3.5.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews and discusses nearly a dozen news reports and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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RheumNow Podcast – Sweet Lies or Hard Truths? (2.26.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews and discusses the news and Journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Lung Preservation with Tocilizumab in Early Systemic Sclerosis
Arthritis & Rheumatology has published the results of a subanalysis from tocilizumab (TCZ) clinical trials showing that Il-6 inhibition was associated with preservation of lung function patients with early systemic sclerosis (SSc).
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High Risk Cancer Profiling with Inflammatory Myositis
A recent metanalysis of studies suggest you may be able to use certain clinical factors to stratify cancer risk in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs).
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Avacopan - Is it Really a Win for ANCA-Associated Vasculitis?
The NEJM has reported the results of a study showing that avacopan, a C5a receptor inhibitor, is as effective as steroids at treating patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitis (AAV).
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Alveolar Hemorrhage and Mortality in Lupus
Metanalysis of patients with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), show this to be a rare and life-threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), that is more apt to affect older, severe lupus patients with active infection.
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Checkpoint Inhibitor Use with Pre-existing Autoimmune Disease
Annals of Internal Medicine reports treating advanced melanoma with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients with pre-existing autoimmune disease (AID) was as effective and safe in those with AID compared to those without AID, although severe colitis occurred more frequently among pati
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MIRROR Study: Pegloticase With Methotrexate in Uncontrolled Gout
Botson et al has reported that the combination of methotrexate (MTX) and IV pegloticase is safe and effective in patients with uncontrolled gout.
This exploratory, open-label clinical trial screened 17 patients and treated 14 patients (all men, 49.3 ± 8.7 years) with IV pegloticase with MTX (15 mg/week) and folic acid (1 mg/day) 4 weeks prior to and throughout pegloticase treatment.
Comorbidity and Drugs Drive COVID-19 Severity and Survival in Rheumatic Disease
While comorbidities are associated with severe COVID-19 infection, it appears they also influence severity and survival in rheumatic disease (RMD), according to a a French cohort study,
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IVIg in MIS-C
Among children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), treatment with IVIG and methylprednisolone vs IVIG alone was associated with a more favorable fever course. MIS-C is a rare but serious pediatric condition associated with COVID-19 where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
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Voclosporin FDA Approved for Lupus Nephritis
On January 22nd, the FDA approved voclosporin (Lupkynis) for use in adults with active lupus nephritis; voclosporin is a calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppressant indicated for use in combination with a background immunosuppressive therapy. FDA approval was based on data from the pivotal AURORA Phase 3 study and the AURA-LV Phase 2 study, which demonstrated the ability of voclosporin to significantly improve LN outcomes after 52 weeks of followup in SLE nephritis patients receiving background standard of care therapies like MMF, and low dose steroids.
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ProDERM Study: IVIG in Dermatomyositis
The ProDERM study design and outcomes are previewed in Medicine; and as promised the results were revealed at ACR Convergence in November 2020 showing that IVIg is safe, effective and superior to placebo i(PBO) in patients with dermatomyositis (DM).
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Rhapsody Study: IL-1 Inhibition in Recurrent Pericarditis
Recurrent pericarditis is a rare, probable autoinflammatory disorder mediated by interleukin-1 (IL-1); and is often refractory to glucocorticoids and colchicine.
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Update on Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis (Best of 2020)
JAMA has published a clinical update of recent studies on GCA. While PET/CT scanning are novel means of demonstrating activity, they have not changed the diagnostic approach to GCA or PMR and although there are no new proven treatment strategies for PMR beyond glucocorticoids, the FDA has approved tocilizumab as a first-line glucocorticoid-sparing agent.
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Best of 2020: The COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Registry
What started out as online tweets and sharing newsfeed and case reports, has progressed to the formation of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance, whose mission is to create an international rheumatology registry of patients affected by the disease in order to better understand the disease and guide clinicians in assessing and treating patients.
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New Lyme Disease Guidelines
2020 evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease was cooperatively developed the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
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