Rheumatoid Arthritis News

Experimental studies indicate that sleep loss can lead to elevated concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and enhance the perception of pain among patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, according to a speaker here.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States made “substantial” medication changes in the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with and without physician guidance, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Given the link between puberty and autoimmune rheumatic disease, a group of researchers has recommended that clinical assessments of young patients with such conditions record pubertal issues at every encounter.

Combined rheumatoid factor and anti-citrullinated protein antibody seropositivity was strongly associated with prevalent rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease in a cohort of U.S. veterans, researchers reported.

While many of the forthcoming American College of Rheumatology guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis capture the reality of clinical practice, some recommendations are “puzzling,” according to a speaker at the ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium.

Rituximab was associated with more severe COVID-19 in patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

The incidence of scleritis declined by about a third in the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2018, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease, but especially those with autoimmune conditions, as well as those treated with rituximab, may be at greater risk for severe COVID-19 pneumonia than the general population, according to data.

COVID-19 is more severe, with more complications and higher mortality, than influenza among patients with autoimmune disease, according to data published in Rheumatology.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who start biological therapy after failing methotrexate are about two times more likely to be adherent and achieve sustained remission at 1 and 2 years than with triple therapy, according to data.