Arthritis News and Research

Latest Arthritis News and Research

WHO halts Hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 trial over safety concerns

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has taken a toll on 188 countries and territories across the globe. With the increasing number of confirmed cases, scientists race to develop treatments and vaccines to fight the novel coronavirus.

27 May 2020

Montefiore and Einstein evaluate a new drug combination to fight COVID-19

Montefiore Health System Albert Einstein College of Medicine have begun the next stage of the Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT), to evaluate treatment options for people hospitalized with severe COVID-19 infection.

26 May 2020

Children with COVID-19 presenting with sudden severe lung disease

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to seek out new victims, puzzling new presentations are further confusing the situation. A new study published online in The Lancet Rheumatology in May 2020 reports a case of severe COVID-19 in a child who rapidly developed acute respiratory distress symptoms without prior respiratory symptoms. This case should alert clinicians to consider this diagnosis in children as well.

24 May 2020

Treatment with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine offers no benefit for COVID-19 patients

A large observational study suggests that treatment with the antimalarial drug chloroquine or its analog hydroxychloroquine (taken with or without the antibiotics azithromycin or clarithromycin) offers no benefit for patients with COVID-19.

22 May 2020

Virginia Tech researcher wins $661,216 grant to study Lyme arthritis

With a $661,216 grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Brandon Jutras, an assistant professor of biochemistry in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will study Lyme arthritis, including the cellular component that contributes to it.

22 May 2020

Researchers to use digital technologies to help tackle chronic disease

Sedentary behaviours, poor sleep and questionable food choices are major contributors of chronic disease, including diabetes, anxiety, heart disease and many cancers.

22 May 2020

ACR warns about the economic impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practices

In virtual meetings with lawmakers and on Twitter tomorrow, physician and health professional leaders from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) are sounding the alarm about the economic impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practices and the urgent need for more targeted relief that will help specialty practices remain solvent and continue to serve patients.

22 May 2020

Study focuses on COVID-19 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused nearly five million cases and over 327,000 deaths worldwide. The signs and symptoms of this disease are varied, although there are typical features which assist diagnosis.

20 May 2020

Taking blood pressure medicines as usual is important during COVID-19 pandemic

Keeping your blood pressure under control is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic – so keep taking your blood pressure medicines!

20 May 2020

Australian COVID-19 prevention trial begins for frontline and allied healthcare workers

COVID SHIELD is a major collaborative effort led by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in partnership with human data science company IQVIA.

19 May 2020

Texas A&M lab produces 3D-bioprinted bone tissue to benefit bone regeneration

Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, associate professor, has developed a highly printable bioink as a platform to generate anatomical-scale functional tissues. This study was recently published in the American Chemical Society's Applied Materials and Interfaces.

19 May 2020

The use of rheumatoid arthritis drug sarilumab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports the beneficial effects of the monoclonal antibody sarilumab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

19 May 2020

Researchers develop novel method to diagnose and monitor autoimmune disorders

Researchers from Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have developed a novel method for diagnosing and monitoring autoimmune disorders.

19 May 2020

Tocilizumab improves survival in COVID-19 patients with ARDS

The current COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2), has already nearly 4.8 million confirmed cases and more than 318,000 deaths.

18 May 2020

Chasing the elusive dream of a COVID cure

Although scientists and stock markets have celebrated the approval for emergency use of remdesivir to treat COVID-19, a cure for the disease that has killed nearly 260,000 people remains a long way off — and might never arrive.

15 May 2020

NIH begins clinical study to evaluate hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19

A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 May 2020

ACTG initiates clinical trial to evaluate treatment for COVID-19

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group, the world's largest and longest established HIV research network, today announced the initiation of ACTG 5395, a clinical trial to evaluate whether the drug combination hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19 (which is caused by infection with the virus SARS-CoV-2).

14 May 2020

Anti-inflammatory drug may improve respiratory function in some severe COVID-19 cases

A small study in Greece found that the clinically approved anti-inflammatory drug anakinra, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, improved respiratory function in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 May 2020

11 healthcare centers participate in clinical trial of Russian drug against novel coronavirus

Initially, the drug was developed to treat rheumatoid arthritis. BIOCAD developers receive regulatory authorization as part of the procedure approved by Decree No. 441 of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 4, 2020 since the mechanism of action of the active substance is associated with the cytokine storm, a life-threatening immune system response in patients with COVID-19.

14 May 2020