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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) had slower rates of decline in lung function over 1 year when treated with nintedanib (Ofev), an intracellular inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, according to a post-hoc analysis from a larger trial known as INBUILD.
Among patients with RA-ILD randomized to nintedanib, the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) at 52 weeks was -82.6 mL/year compared with a rate of -199.3 mL/year among those receiving placebo, which represented a difference of 116.7 mL/year (95% CI 7.4-226.1,
P=0.037), reported Clive Kelly, MD, of Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne in England, at the European League Against Rheumatism virtual congress.
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Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) for dermatomyositis was effective in a pivotal phase III randomized trial, a researcher reported.
At week 16, 78.72% of patients receiving IVIG were considered responders versus 43.75% among those given placebo, which represented a difference of 34.97% (95% CI 16.70-53.24,
P=0.0008). This was a highly significant difference, said Rohit Aggarwal, MD, co-director of the Myositis Center at the University of Pittsburgh, during a plenary abstract session at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) virtual congress. Dermatomyositis is a rare, chronic autoimmune disease characterized by progressive proximal muscle weakness and a characteristic skin rash, he explained. Current therapeutic options include corticosteroids, other immunosuppressants, and IVIG. However, none of these therapies have been evaluated in phase III studies.
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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with rituximab (Rituxan) or JAK inhibitors had more severe COVID-19 disease courses, analysis of data from a large registry found.
In an adjusted multivariate analysis compared with patients on tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, those on rituximab had a fourfold higher risk for worse disease (OR 4.15, 95% CI 3.16-5.44), while those on JAK inhibitors had a twofold greater risk (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.60-2.65), reported Jeffrey Sparks, MD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, at the European League Against Rheumatism virtual congress. As we all know, there has been intense interest during the pandemic in repurposing immune modulating drugs for COVID-19 treatment, he said.