In one of two Great Debate sessions at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, two experts teamed up to provide opposing stands on whether now is the right time to be treating people at risk for rheumatoid arthritis in the preclinical stages of the condition in order to prevent disease onset.

Peresolimab, a PD-1 receptor agonist, may represent a promising approach to treating rheumatoid arthritis, with an “encouraging” safety profile, suggests research reported at the ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

“Inhibition of BTK has emerged as a potential therapeutic option for a number of autoimmune diseases,” including chronic urticaria, presenter Thomas Dörner (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany) told delegates at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

“In high doses, methotrexate can be used to treat miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy,” explained Kristin Wipfler (The National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases, Wichita, Kansas) in a poster presentation at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

The phase 3b study – SURPASS – was presented at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, by Xenofon Baraliakos (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany), who highlighted that it “is the very first and only study that has been conducted in [axSpA] with a head-to-head comparison in the main outcome of radiographic progression.”

They point out, however, that “many questions remain to be addressed,” such as the potential benefits of combination therapy including rituximab, and the optimal duration of treatment. medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group ACR Convergence 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: November 10–14 Lancet Respir Med 2022; doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00359-9 Lancet Respir Med 2022; doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00356-3  

ACR Convergence 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: November 10–14

Using this score could help to determine when a high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan is necessary, and “may be useful in routine practice with limited resources in requesting HRCTs,” said Cosimo Bruni (University of Florence, Italy) in a poster presentation at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

medwireNews : The Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor baricitinib has the potential to be “an important part of the treatment landscape” for juvenile arthritis, reported Athimalaipet Ramanan at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

In his poster presentation at ACR Convergence 2022, Shanahan said that the trial additionally showed “high levels of patient satisfaction in the active group compared with the placebo arm.”

The presenter concluded that community-based diet and exercise programs “may be a practical alternative to academic center-based programs for improving clinical outcomes in people with knee OA and overweight or obesity.” medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group ACR Convergence 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: November 10–14

medwireNews : Addition of the recombinant fusion protein telitacicept to standard care may reduce disease activity and is well tolerated in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), suggests research reported at ACR Convergence 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

ACR Convergence 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: November 10–14

ACR 2022 news: The SURPASS trial of secukinumab vs adalimumab biosimilar in axSpA.

. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group Arthritis Care Res 2022; doi:10.1002/acr.25037

. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group Arthritis Care Res 2022; doi:10.1002/acr.25015

They say that the symptoms they identified “have meaning for patients in terms of managing their condition,” and may therefore “lead to poor treatment adherence, persistence, increased health care use, and worse clinical and patient outcomes.” medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group ACR Open Rheumatol 2022; doi:10.1002/acr2.11467

. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group Arthritis Care Res 2022; doi:10.1002/acr.25002

. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group Arthritis Care Res 2022; doi:10.1002/acr.25016