Vasculitis and Giant Cell Arteritis News

MADRID — No association was observed between pharmacokinetic levels of rituximab and clinical response in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Sexual dysfunction and intimacy issues may rank high among the complaints reported by patients with rheumatic diseases, but these complaints often remain unaddressed in the clinical setting, for several reasons. Poor communication between physicians and patients is the most likely explanation, along with poor communication between patients and their partners. However, the reasons for this communication gap, which may range from stigma to time constraints in the clinic, are up for debate.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody-negativity prior to maintenance therapy was linked with a reduced risk for relapse in patients with vasculitis, according to a recently published analysis from England.

The FDA has approved Actemra for the treatment of adults with giant cell arteritis.

At last year’s American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, preliminary results of the GiACTA study made a splash among clinicians who deal with giant cell arteritis. The findings offered tangible hope that tocilizumab might be the next step in GCA therapy that rheumatologists have been looking for since prednisone hit the market some 70 years ago.

In this issue of Healio Rheumatology, we feature an update on giant cell arteritis as provided by a panel of experts, which charges me with excitement about a disease that continues to challenge us. I thought for some time about what to say about giant cell arteritis in this Editorial, and all I could do was mull over the twisting and turning history of this form of vasculitis that continues to fascinate us.

DESTIN, Fla. — At the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Robert F. Spiera, MD, from Hospital for Special Surgery, spoke about the need to find a steroid-sparing agent for patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) and how biologics have shown efficacy and safety in some small studies for these patients.

DESTIN, Fla. — At the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Carol A. Langford, MD, MHS, spoke about how to optimize outcomes for patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Among 30 patients with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, treatment with interferon-alpha led to remission in 25 patients, according to a recently published, observational cohort study.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of biosimilars by Sandoz for rituximab and etanercept for the same indications as the respective reference products.