Cytokines

Adults with osteoarthritis who exercised daily reduced their pain, produced anti-inflammatory cytokines and increased their levels of endocannabinoids, according to findings published in Gut Microbes.

Yoga therapy improved quality of life, immune responses and expression of inflammatory cytokines in men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer, according to results of a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Jonas Salk said, “The mind, in addition to medicine, has powers to turn the immune system around.”

Patients with COVID-19 reported experiencing severe genitourinary symptoms during infection, and new or worsening overactive bladder symptoms after recovery, according to recent findings from two studies.

Higher disease activity and levels of cytokines or chemokines are associated with an increased risk for diabetes mellitus in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Hydroxychloroquine was not associated with either benefit or harm regarding COVID-19 mortality, and the evidence supporting the effect of other antirheumatic therapies is inconclusive, noted data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Higher Blymphocyte stimulator and low interleukin-10 levels among cigarette smokers, particularly women who are positive for antinuclear antibodies, are associated with an increased risk for systemic lupus erythematosus, researchers noted.

The novel interleukin 13 inhibitor lebrikizumab improved skin lesions, pruritis and quality of life among adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, according to data from a phase 2b trial published in JAMA Dermatology.

Comparative serum protein biomarker profiling may allow researchers to identify patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease and/or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to findings published in Arthritis Rheumatology.

John J. O’Shea, MD, is scientific director of the NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and chief of their Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch. In this ACR interview, he joins me to talk about the JAK/STAT pathway, what we’ve learned from mouse models, current FDA-approved JAK inhibitors and the future of this exciting field.