Vasculitis and Giant Cell Arteritis News

CHICAGO — Vascular ultrasound, when performed by experienced sonographers, demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of large-vessel giant cell arteritis, according to data presented here.

The FDA has approved a label update for Genentech’s Rituxan to include information on follow-up treatment for adults with granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis who have achieved disease control with induction treatment, according to a company press release.

CHICAGO — A combination of PET and CT scanning of the temporal, occipital, maxillary and vertebral arteries demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy for giant cell arteritis compared with temporal artery biopsy, according to data from a late-breaking abstract presented here.

CHICAGO — Rheumatologists, as well as the rheumatology specialty as a whole, must become more aware of, and develop treatments and guidelines for, the problem of rheumatologic side effects related to checkpoint inhibitor therapy, according to Peter A. Merkel, MD, MPH, of the University of Pennsylvania.

The use of wearable devices that track movement is effective in significantly increasing the amount of and time spent performing moderate to vigorous physical activity, with high short-term adherence, among patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

An international group of researchers proposed a more “refined” definition of autoinflammatory diseases and also proposed changes to the naming convention for these diseases, according to a report in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The costs associated with the management of polymyalgia rheumatica are largely responsible for the high financial burden experienced by patients with giant cell arteritis, increasing the cost of the disease by 76% in the first 3 years compared with cases without polymyalgia rheumatica, or PMR, according to data reported in Arthritis Care & Research.

Individuals with chronic inflammatory diseases continuously fight several adversaries, including pain, loss of functionality and complications due to treatment. Women of childbearing age who wish to start families can add two more opponents to that list: fear and misinformation.

The 2018 Rheumatic Disease Report Card: Raising the Grade on Rheumatology Care in America released today by the American College of Rheumatology demonstrates that access to affordable rheumatology care varied considerably from state to state, with most states averaging a “C” grade.

We begin with a 24-year-old previously healthy female presenting with gradual worsening — over the last few months — migraine-like headaches accompanied by nausea but no vomiting. She was in a usual state of health when she started getting headaches, that were described as intermittent with a deep ache sensation. The headaches were unilateral and would switch from left to right and sometimes occur between the eyes. The patient described the severity as 8 out of 10. The headaches did not wake her from sleep, and she was unsure of what triggered them. She denied hearing loss, tinnitus, numbness or tingling of extremities, weakness, joint pain, joint swelling or rashes. She reported no new medications.