News & Updates

A diagnosis of discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) at age 25 years or below, phototype V to VI, and antinuclear antibody titers of ≥1:320 are significantly associated with the development of severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a study.

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA), initiation of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor treatment does not carry a higher short-term risk of cancer, with the exception of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), as compared with initiation of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) including tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, according to a study.

Use of antihypertensive agents that modify the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) helps lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), suggests a study.

Vaccines are safe and effective in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease (AIIRD), according to several physicians who participated in a recent international survey. However, many of the respondents are also responsible for not encouraging their patients to get vaccinated.

A real-world study during Hong Kong’s Omicron BA.2.2 wave has shown that viral burden rebound is uncommon in hospitalized COVID-19 patients not requiring supplemental oxygen on admission, regardless of whether they were treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir or molnupiravir. However, immunocompromised patients, regardless of oral antiviral use, are more likely to have viral burden rebound.

Young patients with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are vulnerable to psychiatric comorbidity, which tends to increase healthcare utilization, according to a study.

Based on observational studies, patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) treated with biologics are at higher risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), while findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) suggest that treatment with etanercept (ETN) tends to increase such risk compared to other antitumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies, according to the result of a meta-analysis.

A collaborative clinic led by a pharmacist helps patients with gout to attain better clinical outcomes in the management of their condition, even in the presence of renal impairment, reports a Singapore study. The clinic provides safe, stepwise increments of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) in addition to serum uric acid (SUA) monitoring and adherence reinforcement through frequent initial visits.