Psoriatic Arthritis News and Research

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Like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joints and connective tissue. The disease causes joint pain and swelling that can lead to crippling along with inflamed and irritated scaly red patches of skin throughout the body. It is a progressive and debilitating disease and because there are no treatments specifically approved for psoriatic arthritis, doctors often use therapies approved for RA, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). However, no DMARDs are currently approved for use in psoriatic arthritis. There are approximately 300,000 patients with psoriatic arthritis in the United States and the disease affects both men and women most commonly between the ages 30 and 50. Psoriatic arthritis patients are generally treated by rheumatologists and dermatologists.

New clinical trial to test third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people

A new clinical trial to determine whether a third dose of vaccine will improve the immune response for people who have weakened immune systems is launching in the UK.

24 Aug 2021

Investigational treatment improves survival rate of babies lacking thymus

An investigational treatment pioneered by a Duke Health pediatrician resulted in a one-year survival rate of 77% among children born with a rare condition in which they lack an immune system.

4 Aug 2021

EULAR Patient Research Partners join in new research project to advance treatment of psoriatic arthritis

Eleven Patient Research Partners (PRPs) from three organizations (EULAR, GRAPPA-EU, and EUROPSO) participate in the new research project HIPPOCRATES, ensuring the patients' perspective is preserved and prioritized in all research activities to maximize the project's impact.

2 Jul 2021

Exploring young people’s perspectives on patient-reported outcome measures in inflammatory arthritis

Inflammatory arthritis is the name for a group of diseases that cause joint pain and swelling. This happens because the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and causes inflammation.

23 Jun 2021

Switching to a balanced diet restores gut health and suppresses skin inflammation

The secret to healthier skin and joints may reside in gut microorganisms. A study led by UC Davis Health researchers has found that a diet rich in sugar and fat leads to an imbalance in the gut's microbial culture and may contribute to inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis.

22 Jun 2021

Passive smoking and air pollution associated with arthritis risk, poor response to RA treatment

RA is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. It can also cause fatigue, and the underlying inflammation may affect other body systems.

18 Jun 2021

Study explores COVID-19 outcomes in people with RA

Arani Vivekanantham and colleagues investigated the association between RA and the risk of COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization with COVID-19,and COVID-19-related death.

18 Jun 2021

Methotrexate users fail to achieve adequate immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Up to a third of patients taking methotrexate – a common treatment for immune mediated inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis – failed to achieve an adequate immune response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in a small study accepted for publication in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

4 Jun 2021

New therapeutic approach developed to treat psoriatic arthritis

An international team of researchers, led by UC Davis Health, has developed a new therapeutic approach to treating psoriatic arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the joints.

3 Jun 2021

People taking anti-inflammatory drug mount a weaker immune response to COVID-19 vaccine

One-quarter of people who take the drug methotrexate for common immune system disorders -- from rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis -- mount a weaker immune response to a COVID-19 vaccine, a new study shows.

2 Jun 2021

Shared genetic architecture between COVID-19 severity and other health conditions

Researchers in the United States have identified a shared genetic architecture between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and other health conditions.

24 May 2021

Certain immune cells unexpectedly change their behavior to cause psoriasis lesions

Millions of people suffer from psoriasis, a chronic, autoimmune disorder that causes scaly patches on the skin and often precedes psoriatic arthritis. While no cure exists, treatments range from topical creams to injected medications that block inflammation.

13 May 2021

New clinical trial to test possible therapeutics for COVID-19 in hospitalized patients

The Clinical Trials Network of Tennessee (CTN2) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has contracted a new clinical trial to test possible therapeutics for COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. This new trial brings the total generated by CTN2 contracts for the university to nearly $7 million.

12 May 2021

Regular exercise improves vascular function in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases

The risk of developing atherosclerosis - a narrowing of the arteries as cholesterol plaque builds up, leading to obstruction of blood flow - is higher for people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases than for the general population.

27 Apr 2021

IQWiG's new threshold proven feasible in practice for early benefit assessments of drugs

Current examples prove the feasibility of the 15 percent threshold newly defined by IQWiG for the acceptance of responder analyses in early benefit assessments of drugs.

5 Mar 2021

Researchers demonstrate link between inferior physical fitness and elevated risk of psoriasis

In a major register-based study, scientists at University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now demonstrated a connection between inferior physical fitness in young adults and elevated risk of the autoimmune disease psoriasis. For the male recruits to compulsory military training who were rated as the least fit, the risk of developing psoriasis later was 35 percent higher than for the fittest.

12 Jan 2021

Targeted Therapies Alliance provides new information, resources about the rheumatoid arthritis journey

Taking the first step and getting medical help for joint pain can be hard, but for autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, delaying treatment can lead to increased permanent joint damage and disability.

18 Dec 2020

Steroids used to treat inflammatory disease increases risk of cardiovascular disease

Researchers have found that prescribed low doses of steroids, often to combat inflammatory diseases, are at an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

3 Dec 2020

Somatic mutation may act as a natural gene therapy in patients with rare autosomal disease

Researchers affiliated with the Center for Cell-Based Therapy in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, have identified for the first time a non-hereditary mutation in blood cells from a patient with GATA2 deficiency, a rare autosomal disease caused by inherited mutations in the gene that encodes GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2).

17 Nov 2020

Researchers launch clinical trial to assess therapeutic drug monitoring for patients with inflammatory diseases

New research presented at ACR Convergence, the American College Rheumatology's annual meeting, showed that patients with rheumatic diseases whose infliximab treatment was individually assessed and adjusted with a new strategy called therapeutic drug monitoring did not achieve remission at higher rates compared to those who received standard care.

8 Nov 2020