How Might ICI Therapy Lead to Checkpoint Inhibitor-associated Arthritis?

2-dimensional visualization of CD38hi CD8 T cells in checkpoint arthritis synovial fluid

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies have revolutionized the treatment of advanced cancers, but they have a downside. Rheumatologist Deepak A. Rao, MD, PhD, is part of a study examining the rheumatologic manifestation of checkpoint inhibitor-associated arthritis in patients treated with a specific ICI therapy.

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Pioneering Registry Remains a Driving Force in Rheumatoid Arthritis Research

Nurse walking down staircase with glass walls in background

The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Rheumatoid Arthritis Sequential Study (BRASS) has played an important role in advancing the study of rheumatic arthritis and development of related therapies. Co-principal investigator Michael E. Weinblatt, MD, discusses what this patient registry has helped make possible.

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No Increased Risk of VTE With Tofacitinib vs. TNF Inhibitors in Routine Care

3D Rendering of Tofacitinib Drug Molecule

The Brigham’s Seoyoung C. Kim, MD, ScD, Michael E. Weinblatt, MD, Rishi J. Desai, PhD, and colleagues have analyzed new data that shows no increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who use tofacitinib.

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‘Disease Deconstruction’ Approach Yields Insights on Autoimmune Diseases

Arthritic hand of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

Brigham experts have taken a molecular-driven, single-cell approach to studying the underpinnings of autoimmune diseases—specifically rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Much of the work by Michael B. Brenner, MD, relies on “disease deconstruction,” an approach grounded in discovery-based research.

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Progress Towards a Midlife Risk Score for Decline in Women’s Physical Health and Function

Doctor sits with female patient, holding a clipboard and pen

Daniel H. Solomon, MD, MPH, and colleagues have examined data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation to identify several risk factors that might form the basis of a clinically useful risk score, which may point to preventive or therapeutic midlife interventions.

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Interest in COVID-19 Vaccination High Among Patients With Systemic Rheumatic Disease

Doctor administers COVID-19 vaccine to patient

Daniel H. Solomon, MD, MPH, Sara K. Tedeschi, MD, MPH, and colleagues surveyed patients with systemic rheumatic disease (SRD) about their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination. They report high interest and a high trust in physician recommendations about vaccination.

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Nearly Half the Cost of Opioid Prescribing for Knee Osteoarthritis Is Unrelated to Care

Elena Losina, MD, PhD, of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and colleagues estimate the total lifetime cost of opioid use among patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis is $14 billion. 47% of that cost is unrelated to pain management or other clinical care.

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SGLT2 Inhibitors Have Similar Benefits to GLP-1 Receptor Agonists for Myocardial Infarction or Stroke but Greater Benefits for Hospitalization for Heart Failure in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Exenatide diabetes drug molecule

Practice guidelines recommend considering sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) for patients who have both diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). The choice between the drug classes is left to the physician, except that SGLT2 inhibitors are advised for patients with a history of heart failure.

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Childhood Exposure to Parental Smoking Increases Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Adulthood

A hand and wrist x-ray showing severe arthritis of the wrist or carpus and Boutonniere deformity of the thumb.

Active cigarette smoking is the best-established modifiable risk factor for the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but whether passive smoking can be linked to RA is unclear.

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Perspectives: Immune-mediated Inflammatory Disease Therapeutics

woman using a wheelchair in a park;

Over the past two decades, the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) has moved from broad-spectrum immune modulators to agents that have exquisite specificity. Substantial toxicity is no longer the norm, and remission or low states of disease activity are typical outcomes.

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