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Chris Wincup chriswincup ( View Tweet)
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NOR-DRUM Study: TNF Inhibitor Therapeutic Drug Monitoring is Effective
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatologyâs annual meeting, shows that proactive therapeutic drug monitoring, a newer treatment strategy where a patientâs drug serum levels are regularly assessed to adjust the dose and intervals, controlled disease more effectively than standard therapy with infliximab, a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor.
Read ArticleRituximab Patients May Benefit from Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatologyâs annual meeting, shows immunocompromised patients using rituximab (a drug used to treat diseases like rheumatoid arthritis) were able to produce antibodies against COVID-19 (seroconvert) after receiving a t
Read ArticleJAK-pot Study: Cycling JAK Inhibitors Effective in Difficult-to-Treat RA
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatologyâs annual meeting, shows that people with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis who do not have success with one Janus kinase inhibitor (JAK inhibitor) can achieve success either cycling to other JAKi medic
Read ArticleUltra-Low Dose Rituximab Controls Disease Activity in RA
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatologyâs annual meeting, shows that in one study, the majority of rheumatoid arthritis patients on an ultra-low dose of the drug rituximab maintained low disease activity for up to four years, and rarely needed to switch to other biologic drugs or glucocorticoids to control their disease (Abstract #1443).
Read ArticleManagement of Immune-Related Adverse Events - ASCO Guideline
The American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc (ASCO) has updated its guidelines and recommendations for the management of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPi) therapy. Below are select statements from this guideline.
Read ArticleSerologically Active, Clinically Quiescent SLE
Lupus management is guided by assessment of both clinical and serologic features; but what happens with the patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) serologically active, but clinically quiescent (SACQ)? A large cohort study shows that nearly one-third of such patients may flare
Read ArticleClues to Survival and Mortality with VEXAS Syndrome
New research to be presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatologyâs annual meeting, shows a relationship between genotype, bone marrow failure and survival in patients with the rare autoinflammatory disease VEXAS syndrome, which was only identified in 2020.
Read ArticleBEAT-LUPUS: Sequential Belimumab After Rituximab in SLE
The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that targeting B-cells in refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with sequential belimumab after rituximab may significantly reduce dsDNA antibody titers and lessen the number of future severe flares.
Read ArticleNew Hope for NonAlcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
The current issue of the NEJM has two articles on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD also called NASH - nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), one dealing with the prognoses, outcomes and mortality of NAFLD and another prospective and promising interventional trial in NASH patients.
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast â Rheumatologist Smoke-Enders (10.22.2021)
Today I have a few questions: Is tramadol really a weak narcotic? Should we really still be doing placebo-controlled trials? What are we going to do about our patients who are smokers? This and more, in this week's review of the news and journal articles.
Read ArticleStevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Insights
Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are among the most severe drug reactions, as they come with substantial mortality and morbidity. A review of European centers dealing with SJS and TEN shows that despite best treatment practices, the 6-week mortality rate was 21%.
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