Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

New Studies Showed Mixed-But-Promising Results for New Lupus Drug Anifrolumab

Lupus patients have been waiting a while for some good news. Only one drug, belimumab (Benlysta), has been FDA-approved for lupus in more than 50 years — and that happened back in 2011. Since then, scientists have been trying to develop additional therapeutic agents (and failing for various reasons). But research presented at the 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ACR/ARP) Annual Meeting in Atlanta suggests that a new lupus medication, anifrolumab, might…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Nearly Half of Giant Cell Arteritis Patients on Actemra for a Year Stay in Remission After Stopping It

“Giant cell arteritis requires ongoing management, but it does not necessarily require continuous treatment.” In 2017, tocilizumab (Actemra), a biologic drug that inhibits interleukin-6 (IL-6), was FDA-approved for giant cell arteritis — an inflammation of the lining of the arteries. At the time there was sufficient research showing that tocilizumab was better than prednisone (a steroid) for helping many patients reach remission in GCA. Yet it was unclear whether those who had reached remission should…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A New Way to Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Some people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) take a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) and/or a biologic and reach remission. Others try drug after drug after drug and never find one that’s effective — or that treats their symptoms without causing intolerable side effects. At the same time, other patients with active disease refuse to take the most powerful and effective medications on the market or can’t take them because of their medical history or personal risk…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Taking Hydroxychloroquine for RA or Lupus Can Reduce Heart Risk by 17%

The anti-malarial drug lowers cholesterol and blood sugar makes blood less sticky, which is good for reducing blood clots and heart attack risk. If you take the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) as part of your treatment for lupus or rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you may be getting cardiovascular protection as an added bonus. That’s welcome news because it’s estimated that about half of lupus patients experience heart complications, and heart attacks occur at younger ages in…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

More Than 75% of Arthritis Patients Don’t Get Hepatitis Screening Before Starting a Biologic

Screening is important because silent hepatitis B and C infections can spring to life when you start biologics or new synthetic DMARDs. Before you start taking a biologic drug or one of the new targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), several screening tests are recommended. These include tests to see whether you have hepatitis B or C in your body that isn’t causing symptoms but might be reactivated after you start these powerful immune-suppressing drugs.…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Nearly 40% of Fibromyalgia Patients May Have a History of Being Abused

A new study adds support to the theory that psychological stress might increase the risk of fibromyalgia and make symptoms worse. No one knows what causes fibromyalgia but some experts believe that stress may be a common trigger, especially in people who are susceptible to this chronic pain condition for physiological reasons. Now a new study adds support to the theory that psychological stress might increase the risk as well as lead to worse symptoms…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Could the Weather Affect Lupus Symptoms? New Study Suggests Warm, Humid Weather Does

As the temperature increased, so did the risk of rash, joint inflammation, kidney problems, and other lupus symptoms. Shifts in weather patterns have long been associated with a variety of health ailments, from seasonal allergies to migraine and joint pain. Now a new study suggests that changes in the outdoor environment may make people who have lupus more susceptible to flare-ups of specific symptoms. The study, presented at the 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

Have Asthma or COPD? You Could Have a Higher Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Researchers hope that identifying the link between respiratory issues and RA will result in better ways to prevent or screen for rheumatoid arthritis in people with lung disease. You may have already heard that people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are more likely to develop the serious lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which makes it increasingly difficult to breathe. In 2017, Harvard researchers examined data from the huge Nurses’ Health Study and found that…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

If You’re in Remission on a DMARD for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Should You Taper? Here’s What New Research Says

New data compares what happens when the dosage of DMARDs such as methotrexate is tapered or kept steady. For most rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, sustained remission (inactive disease) is the goal of taking methotrexate or biologic DMARDS to manage their disease. However, what to do after reaching that goal hasn’t been clear. Should RA patients stick with the medication dose that’s working or gradually taper the dose — and thus lessen both the expense of…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0

If Rheumatoid Arthritis Inflammation Is Improving, Be Patient: Less Pain and Fatigue May Be Coming

Knowing there could be a lag between objective measures of improvement and patient–reported outcomes could help prevent over-treatment. When a rheumatologist measures disease activity in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), objective clinical measures like C-reactive protein levels in the blood and swollen joint count are essential to factor in, but so are patient-reported measures including pain and fatigue. While both are certainly important, there may be some benefit to evaluating clinical factors and patient-reported…

by chronicwoman•03/31/202108/23/2025•0