Rituximab and cyclophosphamide have similar overall efficacy in patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease, but rituximab may be associated with fewer adverse events, suggest findings from a phase 2b trial.

Of these, 46.1% had inflammatory arthritis, 41.9% had osteoarthritis, 33.4% had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or a connective tissue disease, 18.2% had crystalline arthritis, and 7.3% had vasculitis, with categories not mutually exclusive.

Telephone-delivered exercise and cognitive behavioral interventions improve fatigue severity and impact versus usual care in people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, LIFT study data show.

Low glucocorticoid doses are not associated with reduced bone mineral density in people with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, observational study findings indicate.

A monthly selection of topical peer-reviewed articles from the Adis journals, curated by the editors.

EULAR has issued recommendations for managing cardiovascular risk in people with antiphospholipid syndrome, gout, mixed connective tissue disease, myositis, Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, or vasculitis.

How can rheumatologists respond to the challenges associated with rituximab use during the pandemic?

These findings are based on a randomized controlled trial involving 55 rituximab-treated patients with rheumatic or neurologic diseases – most commonly arthritis (38%) or connective tissue disease (29%) – who had no detectable antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein at least 4 weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech (BNT162b2) or Moderna (mRNA-1273) vaccine.

The VEDOSS registry includes 1150 patients with Raynaud's phenomenon and no history of SSc or other connective tissue diseases from 20 countries in Europe, North America, and South America between 2010 and 2018.

Treatment with the JAK1 inhibitor filgotinib or the spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor lanraplenib does not significantly improve outcomes for people with cutaneous lupus erythematosus, indicate phase 2 study results.

3–9 November: Keep up with the latest news and interviews from the conference.

Perspective on the approval of anifrolumab and the importance of endpoints in lupus trials.

In a pediatric cohort of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases who contracted SARS-CoV-2, infection was generally mild with good outcomes and had no significant impact on underlying disease activity, report researchers.

Disease flares are uncommon in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases following receipt of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, researchers report.

5 – 9 November: Preview the conference with session recommendations and updates on upcoming coverage.

Findings from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance suggest that people with inflammatory arthritis may have a lower risk for hospitalization than those with other rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

Initial data from the COVAX Registry offer reassurance for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases that adverse events with the COVID-19 vaccines are similar to those seen in the general population.

How will the FAST trial results impact regulatory guidance & clinical practice?

Moderate-to-high disease activity may be a risk factor for COVID-19-related death among people with rheumatic diseases, suggests research from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance.