https://medicalxpress.com/rheumatology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Rheumatology Chronic pain, including arthritis pain, affects more than one-third of U.K. adults. Current painkillers such as methotrexate and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) work by damping down the immune system, which is overproducing inflammatory agents that cause pain, but relief is often short-lived and incomplete, and they can leave patients more vulnerable to infection. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-body-warmth-sensor-secretly-pain.html Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:20:07 EDT news708863822 Why do genetic variants that increase the risk of autoimmune disease remain so common in the population? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-antiviral-defense-gained-autoimmunity.html Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:20:01 EDT news708343982 Investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University used an experimental drug to reverse the effects of systemic sclerosis, a serious autoimmune disease. The study, conducted in a laboratory, was published in JCI Insight. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-experimental-sclerosis-treatment.html Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:00:03 EDT news707988849 A shared biological mechanism that helps explain chronic exhaustion in conditions including long COVID and PTSD has been identified by researchers at the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics. The paper, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, reveals striking biological similarities among five major illnesses that until now have largely been viewed as separate disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-scientists-uncover-biology-profound-fatigue.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 19:00:01 EDT news707556759 Why do some joints remain chronically inflamed in osteoarthritis and other rheumatic diseases? Researchers have taken an important step toward answering this question. Their findings, published in the journal Cell Death & Differentiation, highlight the key role of proteins associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a cellular mechanism that has so far been only sparsely investigated in human joint tissues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-stress-proteins-sustain-joint-inflammation.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news707393641 When the immune system encounters a virus, it produces antibodies designed to recognize and eliminate the invader. But in some people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the immune response goes awry, producing autoantibodies—antibodies that mistakenly attack the body's own tissues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-immune-cells-autoantibody-responses-covid.html Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:00:05 EDT news707045701 Immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy are used primarily to treat cancer. In the future, these patient-specific therapies, manufactured from patients' own immune cells, could also help cure autoimmune diseases. Six patients with particularly severe rheumatoid arthritis have now received this treatment at Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers report the results from the world's first clinical trial of its kind: Disease activity decreased substantially in all participants. By the end of the observation period, three of the patients no longer required any medication for rheumatoid arthritis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cell-therapy-substantially-severe-rheumatoid.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:40:03 EDT news707066581 A study published in JCI Insight and led by Northwestern Medicine scientists has uncovered new clues about why people with systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, frequently develop debilitating esophageal complications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cellular-clues-complications-scleroderma.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 07:20:07 EDT news706164301 Researchers at the Kennedy Institute have discovered that some joints may be more susceptible to inflammatory arthritis before birth, offering new insight into why rheumatoid arthritis attacks particular joints while sparing others. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-arthritis-birth.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:07 EDT news705742923 Microbiology researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have discovered why patients with the autoimmune disease lupus are susceptible to serious bacterial infections. Their new study published in Cell Press Blue shows that lupus-associated inflammatory signals can reprogram white blood cells, rendering them less effective against Staphylococcus aureus infection. Instead of producing the most protective antibacterial response, these neutrophils shift toward a less effective form of neutrophil extracellular trap (NET). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-lupus-linked-immune-misdirection-patients.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news704980201 New genetic risk factors have been identified for fibromyalgia syndrome in a landmark study that involved scientists at King's College London. The study, published in Nature Medicine, highlights how the nervous system plays an important role in the development of the disorder. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-genetic-factors-fibromyalgia-largest-kind.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 05:00:03 EDT news704366821 A study published online in the open-access journal RMD Open has linked specific imbalances and disruptions in the oral microbiome to symptomatic hand arthritis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-imbalances-oral-microbiome-linked-symptomatic.html Tue, 21 Jul 2026 18:30:05 EDT news703851062 Interferon alpha is an inflammatory mediator that can cause Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease. This was revealed in a study carried out by University Hospital Bonn together with the University of Bonn, the University of Edinburgh and Newcastle University. Their findings, published in the journal Lancet Rheumatology, could make it easier in the medium term to develop drugs to fight this chronic condition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-interferon-alpha-sjgren-disease-patients.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:40:08 EDT news703760456