Rare Diseases

Voclosporin FDA Approved for Lupus Nephritis

Save

On January 22nd, the FDA approved voclosporin (Lupkynis) for use in adults with active lupus nephritis; voclosporin is a calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppressant indicated for use in combination with a background immunosuppressive therapy. FDA approval was based on data from the pivotal AURORA

ProDERM Study: IVIG in Dermatomyositis

Save

The ProDERM study design and outcomes are previewed in Medicine; and as promised the results were revealed at ACR Convergence in November 2020 showing that IVIg is safe, effective and superior to placebo i(PBO) in patients with dermatomyositis (DM).

Rhapsody Study: IL-1 Inhibition in Recurrent Pericarditis

Save

Recurrent pericarditis is a rare, probable autoinflammatory disorder mediated by interleukin-1 (IL-1); and is often refractory to glucocorticoids and colchicine. A novel trial of IV rilonacept, an IL-1 α and IL-1β cytokine trap, resulted in rapid resolution of recurrent pericarditis and to a

Update on Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis (Best of 2020)

Save

JAMA has published a clinical update of recent studies on GCA. While PET/CT scanning are novel means of demonstrating activity, they have not changed the diagnostic approach to GCA or PMR and although there are no new proven treatment strategies for PMR beyond glucocorticoids, the FDA has

Best of 2020: The COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Registry

Save

What started out as online tweets and sharing newsfeed and case reports, has progressed to the formation of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance, whose mission is to create an international rheumatology registry of patients affected by the disease in order to better understand the disease

New Lyme Disease Guidelines

Save

2020 evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease was cooperatively developed the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The guideline

Rheumatic Disease and COVID-19: Who Is at Risk?

Save

Patients with rheumatic and inflammatory diseases who develop COVID-19 share risk factors for severe disease with the larger population, including older age, male sex, obesity, and hypertension, but also are at increased risk if they are on corticosteroids, French investigators reported.

ACR20 - Autoinflammatory & Still's Disease Panel

Save

This podcast features a discussion of autoinflammatory and Still's disease abstracts from virtual ACR 2020. Dr. Jack Cush is joined by a panel of experts including Drs. Olga Petryna, Bella Metha and Michael Ombrello.

You can listen to this podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Apple Car Play

Undifferentiated Autoinflammatory Syndrome Called VEXAS

Save

Saturday's session on autoinflammatory syndromes featured Dr. Dan Kastner addressing - The Adult with Undifferentiated Autoinflammatory Disease.

ACR20 - Day 3 Report

Save

Here are my highlights from day three, Sunday, of the ACR 2020 Convergence. 

QD Clinic Podcast - 106 thru 109

Save

Here is the last of our QD Clinics in Podcast form, just before we start ACR2020 coverage.

In this compilation from the past week we talk about

- HIV and arthritis

- Hyperuricemia in PsA

- An odd kind of dermatomyositis

- Running out of options in

RheumNow Podcast – ACR 20 is Coming to Town (10.30.20)

Save

Dr Jack Cush overviews the RheumNow commitment, upcoming bonus coverage of ACR20 and the good news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com

Abatacept in Early Systemic Sclerosis (ASSET study)

Save

An open-label extension of the ASSET trial (abatacept in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis) showed continued safety with significant improvements in the modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) at 12 months, suggesting abatacept (ABA) may benefit early systemic sclerosis (SSc).

ASSET was

Immune Necrotizing Myopathy

Save

A full read review of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy is portrayed as a distinct subtype of inflammatory myopathies first described in 2004.

This form of myositis has been associated with antibodies to signal recognition particle (anti-SRP) or anti-3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coA

RheumNow Podcast – Back Talk: Questions from Listeners (10.23.20)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports, survey results and "Back Talk" questions from Rheums.

ICI Arthritis Tied to Cancer Progression

Save

Cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) who develop severe arthritis may be at risk for progression of the malignancy, a single-center study suggested.

Almost 90% of patients treated with ICI develop immune-related adverse events, which can include pulmonary,

Biologics Beneficial in Eosinophilic Vasculitis

Save

Two biologic therapies showed promise in the treatment of refractory or relapsing eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) in a retrospective European study.

Among 63 patients who were treated with rituximab (Rituxan), remission or partial responses at 1 year were observed

2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes to the Discovery of Hepatitis C

Save

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus. These three scientists made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne

RheumNow Podcast – Function Follows Form (10.2.20)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. Regulatory approvals, update on global rheumatology alliance, smoking and psoriasis, gabapentin let down and defining difficult RA.

Slow Lung Decline Typical in Systemic Sclerosis

Save

The interstitial lung disease that develops in a subset of patients with systemic sclerosis tends to be heterogeneous, with the majority of patients experiencing a slow pattern of decline in lung function, analysis of outcomes in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database

Novel Biologic Promising in Mid-Stage Scleroderma Trial

Save

The anti-interleukin agent romilkimab showed significant benefits on skin fibrosis among patients with systemic sclerosis in a phase II trial, researchers reported.

At week 24, the least squares mean change from baseline on the modified Rodnan skin score was -4.76 for patients

RheumNow Podcast – Cardiovascular Risk in Psoriatic Disease (9.25.20)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and Journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Livedo, Purpura and Coagulopathy in Severe COVID-19

Save

JAMA Dermatology expands the spectrum of complications seen with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection describing cutaneous purpura and livedo lesions in patients with severe COVID-19.

A flurry of recent reports have described livedoid and necrotic

Insights into Antinuclear Antibodies in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Save

Pisetsky and Lipsky have reviewed the evolving literature on the utility of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). ANAs generated as part of an autoimmune disorder may form immune complexes that mediate pathogenesis by tissue deposition or cytokine induction.

ANAs are directed at DNA or