Schett and colleagues studies the secukinumab (an IL-17 inhibitor) response in patients from 3 clinical trials with enthesitis and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and demonstrated consistent efficacy with improved enthesitis scores at both peripheral and axial sites.

JAMA reports a safety survey of hospital employees showing that the risk of anaphylaxis from mRNA vaccines is 2.47 per 10,000 individuals. 

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.

Incident or worsening colitis is a rare complication of IL-17 inhibitor therapy; a real world study confirms very low rates of new IBD in patients starting secukinumab.

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

Dr. Jack Cush reviews and discusses nearly a dozen news reports and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

The NEJM has published the results of the ACCT-2 Study,  a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating baricitinib, an inhibitor of Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) and JAK2, plus remdesivir in hospitalized adults with Covid-19. The primary outcome was the time to recovery.

A systematic review of telehealth in delivering equivalent care in RA patients demonstrates there is limited evidence that virtual RA care is equivalent to conventional face-to-face care. Despite current widespread use, there is a great need for credible well-designed research that will address comparable patient outcomes, implementation strategies and long‐term health system consequences. 

The addition of an immunomodulating agent to pegloticase (Krystexxa) among patients with uncontrolled gout significantly improved response rates, a systematic literature review found.

The pendulum and jury are wavering with regard to the benefits of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in COVID-19; the current NEJM reports the results of a study favoring such biologic therapy in in critically ill COVID-19 patients.