An abundance of events are afoot around the world to mark Rare Disease Day 2020 on Feb. 29. The activities are focused on heightening awareness about rare diseases and the hundreds of millions of individuals they are thought to affect. Patients, caregivers, and advocates worldwide will sport denim ribbons…
Women with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and other inflammatory conditions who take TNF inhibitors during pregnancy may be at higher risk for preterm birth, cesarean section, and smaller babies, according to a study from Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Yet the findings varied by type of…
A new genetic variant in the RELN gene was identified in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients in the same family, an Iranian study reports. The study, “Identification of RELN varient p.(Ser2486Gly) in an Iranian family with ankylosing spondylitis: the first association of RELN and AS,” was published in the…
Health Canada approved Taltz (ixekizumab) for the treatment of adults with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who have responded poorly to or are unable to tolerate conventional therapies. Eli Lilly‘s Taltz is a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) that works by blocking the activity of interleukin-17A, a…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a vast government bureaucracy, employs about 17,500 people and had a budget of $5.7 billion in 2019. Yet even with its enormous resources, the FDA these days relies more and more on patients to…
Poor mental health, not having a full-time job, spending fewer years in school, and having comorbidities such as hypertension or diabetes all contribute to failure to respond to initial treatment with TNF-alpha inhibitors among people with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), according to a real-world study. The study, “Predicting…
The gleaming new Dutch headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), fronting Domenico Scarlattilaan in Amsterdam’s suburban Zuidas business district, finally opened for business last month — just over two years after the European Union decided to relocate the EMA to the Netherlands in the wake of Brexit.
Variations in the LTAÂ gene can alter a person’s risk of developing ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a new study suggests. The study, “Associations of lymphotoxin-a (LTA)Â rs909253 A/G gene polymorphism, plasma level and risk of ankylosing spondylitis in a Chinese Han population,” was published in the journal…
Low levels of Humira (adalimumab)Â early in the course of treatment and the presence of neutralizing autoantibodies in the blood of people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are associated with failure to respond to this treatment, a study says. The study, “Early adalimumab and anti-adalimumab antibody…
People with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are almost three times more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) than healthy individuals, a population-based study in Taiwan shows. The risk is higher in middle-aged patients and those diagnosed more recently. The study, “Ankylosing Spondylitis Is Associated With Risk of…
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