Articles By Eric Dein, MD
Psoriatic Arthritis and Pregnancy
At RheumNow Live this weekend, Dr. Christina Chambers, an epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego and the principal investigator of MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies, reviewed the available data on psoriatic arthritis and pregnancy. There is little evidence at this time that pregnancy affects PsA, though studies reliably demonstrate increase in disease activity in the post-partum period in both skin and joint disease.
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Thresholds of Hydroxychloroquine Blood Levels
Hydroxychloroquine remains the backbone of treatment for SLE, and the only drug clinically proven to decrease mortality. Optimization of usage is therefore critical in maximizing benefit and preventing harms. Hydroxychloroquine blood level testing is available in clinical practice and can help guide this management.
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Is exercise the missing medicine in lupus?
For lupus, sedentary lifestyle may be a driving force of disease activity. Today, the final day of ACR, Sarah Patterson, MD from UCSF will present
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Potential new treatment for Sjogren's
Is there finally something new on the horizon in Sjogren’s syndrome?
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Malignancy risk on b/tsDMARDs in patients with prior malignancy history
For autoimmune patients with a history of malignancy, the initiation of biologic or targeted synthetic disease modifying agents (bDMARD/tsDMARDs) may provoke concern.
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Real World Data on Urate Lowering Therapy
Urate lowering therapy (ULT) is the backbone therapy for long-term gout treatment and maintenance, but real-world gout management is often imperfect and suboptimal.
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Can "Ultra-low" dose Rituximab work for RA?
The REDO trial presented data in abstract 1443 in an oral presentation challenging how low we can go with rituximab for rheumatoid arthritis. Their study randomized 118 patients with rheumatoid arthritis to 1000 mg, 500 mg, and "ultra-low" dose 200 mg.
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After failing a JAK inhibitor, can you still hit a JAK-pot?
Januse kinase (JAK) inhibitors are targeted synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (tsDMARDs) that have risen in popularity as earlier treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis.
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Can the Focus Score predict Lymphoma in Sjogren’s syndrome?
Patients with Sjogren’s syndrome are nearly 19 times more likely to develop lymphoma, so identifying factors that impact this risk development is a major goal in caring for this disorder.
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Is Rituximab and Belimumab the Combination to Beat Lupus?
On day 2 of EULAR conference, Dr. Michael Ehrenstein presented OP0129, a presentation on the BEAT-LUPUS trial looking at belimumab therapy after rituximab. B cell depletion with rituximab is common treatment for refractory SLE, though real-world data for rituximab has been uncertain. It is known that B-cell activating factor (BAFF) levels can increase after rituximab, which can lead to disease flares. Using belimumab, a human monoclonal antibody inhibiting BAFF, could be a potential therapeutic option after rituximab infusions.
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