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Cigarette Smoking and ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
JAMA Internal Medicine has reported that cigarette smoking associated with an increased odds of having antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody–associated vasculitis (AAV) (especially MPO positive AAV) and is thereby a modifiable risk factor for AAV.
Read ArticleHydroxychloroquine and QTc Prolongation
JAMA Cardiology reports the risk of QT (QTc) prolongation when hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was given to hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially when given with azithromycin.
Read ArticleLenabasum Encouraging in Systemic Sclerosis
The oral cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) agonist lenabasum showed promising results for systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a phase II study.
Read ArticleGerman Society of Rheumatology COVID Pandemic Recommendations
The Annals of Rheumatic Disease has published the preliminary recommendations of the German Society of Rheumatology for the management of Inflammatory rheumatic diseases patients during the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 pandemic.
These preliminary recommendations are based on an expert consensus from 17 experienced German rheumatologists.
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IL-6 Inhibitors May Benefit COVID-19 Infection
In the last few days there have been encouraging "preliminary" reports that IL-6 inhibition by either tocilizumab or sarilumab may be efficacious in patients with severe coronavirus infections.
High Dose Chloroquine Harmful in Severe COVID-19
JAMA Open Network reports an interim analysis of the Brazilian CloroCovid-19 trial showing thta higher doses of chloroquine (CQ) in the treatment of severe COVID-19 was associated with QTc interval prolongation and increased mortality.
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – In Times of Trouble (4.24.20)
Dr Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports, twitter feed and COVID developments from the past week on RheumNow.com
Read ArticlePotential Role of B Cells in COVID
A pre-proof letter to the editor in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology presents a series of patients with immunoglobulin deficiency disorders and how they differentially responded when infected with the coronavirus.
They identified seven Primary Antibody Deficiencies patients with COVID-19 infection; five affected with Common Variable Immune Deficiencies and two affected with Agammaglobulinemia, one with X-linked Agammaglobulinemia and one with Autosomal Recessive Agammaglobulinemia.
NIH Consensus Guidelines for the Treatment of COVID-19
A National Institutes of Health (NIH) expert panel has developed consensus treatment guidelines for the management of coronavirus (COVID-19). To date no drug has been proven to be safe and effective for treating COVID-19. Moreover, they found no evidence to recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis or treatment of COVID-19 outside of a current clinical trial.
Read ArticleCOVID-19 and the Slippery Road of Cytokine Storms
Early reports on the COVID-19 pandemic allude to a cytokine storm or hyper-inflammation, especially in patients who succumbed to the illness.
Read ArticleLower Risk of Diabetes with Abatacept
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with abatacept (Orencia) had a lower risk of developing diabetes mellitus compared with those receiving certain tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, a large cohort study suggested.
Read ArticleACR COVID-19 Guidance for Rheumatic Disease Patients
On April 11th, the ACR Board of Directors approved a COVID-19 guidance document written by an ACR task force charged with updating and clarifying recommendations for rheumatologists and rheumatic disease patient management during the current COVID-19 crisis.
Read ArticlePost 9/11 Autoimmune Disease Risk
The 9/11/01 terrorist attach on the World Trade Center (WTC) resulted in at least 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. Arthritis & Rheumatology reports that dust cloud exposure among responders and
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – The Beginning of Something Else (4.10.20)
Dr Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com
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