Rheumatology

Rheumatoid arthritis patients are more likely than healthy controls to require both doses of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in order to mount an adequate immune response, researchers report.

Findings from the DESIRES trial suggest that patients with systemic sclerosis derive significant improvements in skin sclerosis and lung function from treatment with rituximab.

Most patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases mount a humoral immune response following receipt of the second dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, say researchers.

Using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and not meeting physical activity guidelines are both modifiable clinical risk factors for radiographic progression among people with knee osteoarthritis, say researchers.

Two real-world studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine draw conflicting conclusions on the effectiveness of treatment regimens involving intravenous immunoglobulin and glucocorticoids for the treatment of multisystem inflammatory disease in children.

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Add-on treatment with the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib reduces the risk for death or respiratory failure among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who are not receiving mechanical ventilation, shows the STOP-COVID trial.

Two studies have identified serum biomarkers that could be used to differentiate between hyperinflammatory syndromes in children.

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People with osteoarthritis have a significantly higher long-term risk for developing Parkinson’s disease than those without, researchers report.

The majority of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and confirmed COVID-19 are able to produce a durable antibody response to the infection, despite the use of immunosuppressants, US research suggests.

Tender joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis may not be a suitable indicator of inflammation, study findings show.

Home-administered biologic infusions are associated with higher risks for postinfusion emergency department visits or hospital admission and treatment discontinuation compared with facility-administered infusions, real-world data show.

EULAR has developed evidence-based recommendations on the use of intra-articular therapy in adult patients with peripheral arthropathies.

A pooled analysis of data from the SELECT-PsA-1 and SELECT-PsA-2 trials suggests that treatment with the JAK inhibitor upadacitinib improves axial symptoms in patients with psoriatic spondylitis.

Further research confirming an association between rituximab and an increased risk for severe COVID-19 was reported at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress.

Findings from two real-world studies presented at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress suggest that JAK inhibitors and biologics are similarly effective for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis.

A Mendelian randomization analysis presented at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress suggests that the association between gout and hypertension may have a causal basis.

Inhibition of GM-CSF with mavrilimumab may represent a promising treatment option for patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and systemic hyperinflammation, suggest phase 2 study results.

Research confirms immunogenicity with the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in most patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases.