Lupus News

Among participants of a multiethnic lupus cohort recruited using the 1982/1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria, those who failed to achieve the new 2019 EULAR/ACR criteria accrued less damage than those who did, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The Arthritis Foundation is more than 70 years old, but its newest theme — Live Yes! — is in its infancy. Historically, the organization has zeroed in on key pillars, including access to care, advocacy in government and attention to the often-overlooked juvenile arthritis. Yet, the Foundation also understood the importance of interpersonal connections and support networks to patient well-being: An idea that laid the foundation for an online community that simultaneously educates and empowers patients, while cultivating their input to develop solutions for issues common to the arthritis population.

Older patients with chronic autoimmune rheumatic diseases — rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis — who have sustained disease activity or organ damage should be evaluated for cognitive deficits, according to a review published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

A review of the available literature suggested that although preclinical results are promising, there remains little evidence supporting the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to prevent COVID-19, according to findings published in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.

The use of a wearable activity tracker, paired with counseling sessions with a physiotherapist, may potentially improve physical activity among patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

The very idea of social distancing runs contrary to congregation and celebration, two things that lie at the core of New Orleans culture. It is for this reason, perhaps, that New Orleanians were initially resistant to quarantine measures to contain COVID-19. But as the death toll climbed and Mayor LaToya Cantrell canceled St. Patrick’s Day festivities, the city slowly awakened to the idea that this was serious business.

Federal and state regulators, as well as distributors and pharmacies, must act now to establish anti-stockpiling measures and expand mail-order programs, as well as other policies, to ensure access to needed medications in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an editorial published in JAMA.

Novartis has reached an agreement with the FDA clearing the way for the company to sponsor a large clinical trial studying the use of hydroxychloroquine among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, according to a press release.

The FDA granted fast track designation to the recombinant fusion protein RC18 for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, according to the drug’s manufacturer.

Treatment goals for lupus nephritis should include complete response by 12 months, according to updated recommendations published by EULAR, along with the European Renal Association–European Dialysis and Transplant Association, in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.