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ICYMI: Bimekizumab is Coming…in Third Place
Of the many exciting advancements for patients with psoriatic arthritis at ACR Convergence, one upcoming therapy stood out: the dual IL-17A/F inhibitor bimekizumab. Nearly two dozen bimekizumab abstracts will be featured at this year’s meeting and it recently received authorization in Europe and the U.S. for psoriasis. That makes this the year I plan to figure out where this drug will be useful for my patients with PsA.
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ICYMI: Glucocorticoids-free zone in SLE?
For over 70 years, glucocorticoids, (GC) have been a part of standard therapy in SLE. They are classically used to not only induce remission or treat an acute flare, but also as maintenance therapy. They are a valuable 'friend' if used wisely, and can become a 'foe' if used excessively.
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FDA Warning on CAR-T Cell Therapy
On Nov. 28, 2024, FDA issued a safety alert regarding CAR-T cell immunotherapies; noting reports of T-cell malignancies (CAR-positive lymphoma) arising in patients treated with BCMA- or CD19-directed autologous CAR T cell immunotherapies and that if there is a risk, this only applies to currently approved BCMA-directed and CD19-directed genetically modified autologous CAR T cell immunotherapies.
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ICYMI: The Fallacy of Biologic Treatment to Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis
The window of opportunity concept in RA shifted our focus to trying to treat disease earlier and more aggressively to improve long term outcomes. A natural development of this was to reconsider the possibility of therapeutic interventions aimed at the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis.
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ICYMI: New Biomarkers and Therapeutics Show Potential in Still's Disease
Adult-onset Still’s disease is a rare complex, sporadic, systemic autoinflammatory disease similar to systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis characterized by sustained fever, salmon-colored rash, and arthritis. The 2023 ACR convergence featured several abstracts spotlighting developments in understanding and managing this complex disease spectrum.
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ICYMI: Towards Personalised Care in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Since the millennium, we have seen an expansion in the number of advanced treatments both biologic and targeted synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs for rheumatoid arthritis. The challenge remains on how best to characterise the subtypes of RA in order to choose the best drug to ensure optimal outcome for patients.
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When should we be starting therapy in GCA and PMR?
The problem with having therapies that work is that you then have to figure out what to do with them. You cannot hide behind a shrug of the shoulders, or the ambiguity of therapeutic inadequacy. The question that follows the presence of a therapy is the question as to how to best use it.
GCA and PMR are at the stage in the growth of their therapeutic development where this problem is moving to the front of mind, and it made for a fitting topic in the ACR Great Debate. Drs. Rob Spiera and Phil Seo - two luminaries in the vasculitis and PMR worlds - were pitted head to head to discuss.
Here’s what will change my practice in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Here's what I learned at ACR23 that will change the way I practice in rheumatoid arthritis.
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Withdraw DMARDS after remission?
The possibility of withdrawing DMARDs after patients achieve remission has been in our minds for a while. Yet when our patients ask whether it is a good idea to taper or stop their DMARD when they are doing well, most of us don’t have a black or white answer for them.
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