Novel Rx

Deucravacitinib (Sotyktu), a first-in-class, oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, is the only approved TYK2 inhibitor worldwide and the first innovation in oral treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in nearly 10 years.

Can we predict the bad outcomes? Like when ITP evolves into SLE; or when psoriasis will develop arthritis; or if Sjogren's will develop lymphoma? Let's dive in and review these journal reports and this past week's news from RheumNow.com.

Dr. Jack Cush discusses declining survival rates in the USA, FDA approvals of new COVID subvariant boosters and other odd and possibly true new research reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.

This week's NEJM has published the efficacy results of a large phase 3 trial of olokizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that directly targets IL-6 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This is in contrast to two other marketed IL-6 inhibitors (sarilumab, tocilizumab) that bind to the IL-6 receptor.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow and discusses a case of refractory juvenile dermatomyositis with calcinosis.

The DESIRES trial studied rituximab (RTX) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and showed clinically significant improvement in skin and lung outcomes after a subsequent 24-week open-label extension phase.

We've got a lot to discuss this week: psoriasis; fatigue; sleep; sural nerve biopsies; uveitis and SpA; diet and RA; tofacitinib and the ORAL surveillance study; what not to take with mycophenolate - and more. In what order should these items be discussed? This week the run down is based on popularity, measured by rheumatologist engagements on the website and social media.

A population-based study from Ontario, Canada suggests an increased mortality risk in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA), according to a recent report in Arthritis Care & Research. A health administrative data study looked at 22,677 GCA patients (≥50 years of age) compared to an age matched population for mortality rates between 2000 and 2018. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were estimated.

A small retrospective study suggests that patients with difficult to treat adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) or sytemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) may respond well to JAK inhibitor (JAKi) agents - presumable by blocking pro-inflammatory cytokines, notably IL-6 and IFN.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, FDA approvals, journal articles from the past week on RheumNow; plus viewer questions. This week great hopes for vitamin D, the great unknows of CSA and the great big mess that is the gout.

The ACR has posted a new ACR Clinical Practice Guideline Summary providing recommendations on the use of vaccinations for children and adults with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). This guideline builds on past ACR vaccination guidance, last published in 2021.

Tan and Buch have reviewed the approach to difficult to treat rheumatoid arthritis (D2T-RA), with a new EULAR definiation of D2T-RA to foster an approach rationale and concideration of treatment options.

The janus kinase inhibitor, upadacitinib, has been shown to significantly improve the signs and symptoms of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-AxSpA), extending the efficacy of UPA beyond classic ankylosing spondylitis.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and rheumatologist cases from the past week on RheumNow.com. This podcast is brought to you by StillsNow.com - be sure to sign up for our monthly StillsNow email and Monthly StillsNow Podcast.

Patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) related to systemic sclerosis continued to see less progression when treated with nintedanib (Ofev) in the pivotal 100-week SENSCIS trial, researchers said.