Vasculitis and Giant Cell Arteritis News

PHILADELPHIA — In children with acute Kawasaki disease where fever symptoms have resolved, continued daily monitoring for 1 to 2 weeks is strongly recommended, according to new guidelines released during ACR Convergence 2022.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade, communication regarding effective and safe birth control in certain patients, including those with lupus and other rheumatic disease, has become immensely important.

I have a soft spot in my heart for our cover story, which explores the interprofessional intersection of neurology and rheumatology. As I reflect over my career, it was the exploration of central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis that was the first topic/area/disease to capture my imagination — even before HIV — and it’s been teasing me ever since.

For all the multitudes of diseases and diversity of organ systems rheumatologists are adept at managing and analyzing, the brain, spinal cord and related neurological conditions are often not among them.

SAN DIEGO — In patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, avacopan and rituximab may offer an alternative to glucocorticoids-based management, according to a presenter at the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology West.

Although the phrase “diagnosis of exclusion” may conjure images of Sherlock Holmes solving mysteries through deductive reasoning, the practice of arriving at a diagnosis by excluding others should be avoided, a group of experts wrote.

Although they exhibit a greater risk for severe immune-related adverse effects, patients with preexisting autoimmune disease receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors for melanoma had better 2-year survival than controls, according to data.

Correctly identifying cytokine pathways that are dysregulated in any given rheumatology patient could lead to better use of current biologic therapies, said a presenter at the 2022 Association of Women in Rheumatology annual conference.

Low levels of ambient ultraviolet B radiation coinciding with reduced vitamin D synthesis in winter may result in an increased risk for ANCA-associated vasculitis relapses, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

The risks for unresponsiveness to intravenous immunoglobulin and the development of coronary artery abnormalities differ between infants and older patients with Kawasaki disease, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.