https://medicalxpress.com/rheumatology-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Rheumatology Early results from a UCL- and UCLH-led clinical trial suggest that a type of CAR T-cell therapy—developed by Autolus Therapeutics, a UCL spinout—could offer a new treatment approach for people with severe, treatment-resistant lupus. The findings, presented at the EULAR European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2026), come from the ongoing Phase I CARLYSLE study, which is evaluating obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) in patients with severe refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The early data indicate that the therapy has a favorable safety profile and may lead to meaningful improvements in disease activity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-car-cell-therapy-early-severe.html Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:20:06 EDT news700739769 Injections of platelet-rich plasma made from a patient's own blood are increasingly used to treat knee osteoarthritis, but their use is not widely accepted, and the treatment does not work for everyone. Investigators from Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have taken the first steps toward predicting which patients will benefit. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-biological-content-blood-derived-treatment.html Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:00:04 EDT news700726022 Sjögren's disease is a widespread chronic autoimmune disorder that attacks the body's own glands, yet its underlying disease mechanisms remain poorly understood. In a recent study, researchers from Japan discovered a self-reinforcing loop between different immune cells that sustains autoimmune responses in patients with Sjögren's disease. Their findings pave the way for safer and more effective therapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-scientists-reveal-autoimmune-vicious-sjgren.html Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:04 EDT news700386541 A clinical trial led by researchers from Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC) compared the effectiveness of abatacept and hydroxychloroquine in preventing the development of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with palindromic rheumatism, an autoimmune disease that progresses to arthritis in approximately half of all patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-drug-rheumatoid-arthritis-clinical-trial.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:20:04 EDT news700323722 A new review published in Calcified Tissue International highlights major advances in understanding and preventing bone loss in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), showing that modern antirheumatic therapies can significantly reduce local and generalized bone loss in RA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-modern-rheumatoid-arthritis-treatments-bone.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:10:06 EDT news700328882 A new review from the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Osteoimmunology Working Group, published in Osteoporosis International, provides a comprehensive evaluation of the role of vitamin D in inflammatory rheumatic diseases. The authors conclude that while vitamin D deficiency is common and clinically important, current evidence does not support a direct disease-modifying effect. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-vitamin-d-inflammatory-rheumatic-diseases.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:20:01 EDT news700143880 A combination of two widely available anti-rheumatic drugs offers the first effective and affordable treatment for patients with Sjögren's disease with systemic disease activity, according to new results from a clinical trial coordinated by UMC Utrecht. The study showed that treatment with leflunomide and hydroxychloroquine reduced disease activity in patients with moderate-to-severe disease while maintaining a favorable safety profile. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-common-arthritis-drugs-sjgren-disease.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 15:40:03 EDT news699978269 Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues found that a new drug, obexelimab, significantly reduces the risk of relapse in patients with IgG4-related disease, a rare chronic immune condition often misdiagnosed as cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-drug-relapse-rare-immune-disorder.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:20:07 EDT news699803308 Researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht have uncovered a previously underappreciated mechanism that helps immune cells to respond rapidly to infections. Using advanced long-read RNA sequencing, the team shows that alternative RNA splicing, which means how genes are edited into different messenger RNA variants, plays a central role in shaping immune responses. The findings provide new insights into immune-mediated diseases (such as infections, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus) and may open the door to more targeted therapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-rna-sequencing-method-reveals-hidden.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:40:03 EDT news699636061 Researchers at WashU Medicine found that adults who regularly experience short or poor-quality sleep, as well as those who work night shifts, face a significantly higher risk of developing osteoarthritis and requiring hip or knee replacement surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-night-shift-linked-higher.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:20:04 EDT news699621902 A major international study led by researchers at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford has found that osteoarthritis (OA)—the most common form of arthritis worldwide—is not a collection of separate diseases, as many scientists had previously speculated, but rather a single condition with common core underlying biological pathways. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-largest-knee-osteoarthritis-tissue-reveals.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:20:02 EDT news699623101 Millions of people in the UK suffer from joint pain and arthritis. But with long wait times for scans, specialist appointments, physiotherapy, and joint replacement surgery, many people turn to over-the-counter medicines, such as ibuprofen, to manage their joint pain, stay active, and continue working. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ibuprofen-joint-pain.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 13:40:01 EDT news699528662 Chikungunya virus, which is transmitted to people by infected Aedes mosquitoes and characterized by high fever and intense joint swelling and pain, has made a resurgence in many countries around the world in recent years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-chikungunya-virus-infections-chronic.html Sat, 30 May 2026 16:00:02 EDT news699190591 There is good news for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Research from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital may have opened the door to an entirely new way of reducing inflammation in the joints. The study is published in the journal EULAR Rheumatology Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-treatment-rheumatoid-arthritis.html Thu, 28 May 2026 21:00:03 EDT news699183640 According to researchers at Semmelweis University, not only inflammation, but also sleep disorders, depression, obesity, and smoking may sustain persistent rheumatic symptoms. In their publications in the journals Nature Reviews Rheumatology and The Lancet Rheumatology, they also proposed a model that can help identify and treat the true causes of symptoms in time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-depression-consequence-rheumatoid-arthritis.html Thu, 28 May 2026 10:40:06 EDT news699180361 At age 49, Jan Janisch-Hanzlik's multiple sclerosis was destroying her freedom to live the life she wanted. She gave up her active nursing job for a desk role. Frequent falls made her afraid to carry her grandchildren. She had to move to a bigger house to make room for the wheelchair she feared she might end up needing full-time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-car-cancer-autoimmune-disease-immune.html Tue, 26 May 2026 11:40:01 EDT news699012782 A Japanese pharmaceutical firm has warned doctors against prescribing a drug for rare autoimmune diseases to new patients following the deaths of 20 people who took it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-japan-pharmaceutical-firm-rare-diseases.html Sat, 16 May 2026 05:13:38 EDT news698127201 Involving a collaboration with 118 investigators contributing from 89 institutions, scientists from Queen Mary University of London's Precision Healthcare University Research Institute and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité have led the world's largest study on the genetic regulation of blood proteins. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-protein-people-uncovers-disease.html Wed, 06 May 2026 15:20:27 EDT news697289341 Women who have given birth multiple times are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while no or fewer pregnancies was a risk factor along with obesity and smoking, a University of Queensland study has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-pregnancy-odds-rheumatoid-arthritis.html Tue, 05 May 2026 17:00:05 EDT news697218721 Bone marrow is the spongy tissue located within the hollow center of bones, serving as the primary site for the continuous production of red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. Despite its physiological importance, the developmental mechanism by which this soft tissue is formed within the rigid confines of hard bone has remained largely unknown. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-bones-marrow-newly-cells-reappear.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:30:01 EDT news696614941 Kidney damage is a serious complication affecting individuals with lupus, an autoimmune disease where immune B cells malfunction and produce antibodies that attack the body's own cells, tissues, and organs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cells-culprit-kidney-lupus.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:20:01 EDT news696585602 EULAR—the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology—has updated its recommendations on physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis or osteoarthritis. These align with current World Health Organization (WHO) efforts to reduce sedentary behavior and promote regular activity and exercise. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-physical-people-inflammatory-arthritis-osteoarthritis.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:40:01 EDT news696504316 The body's immune reaction to increased levels of a toxic molecule, part of a bacterial species in the human gut, may reveal who is most at risk of developing lupus nephritis, according to a new study led by NYU Langone Health. In people with the disease, which often leads to long-term kidney damage, the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. Bouts of lupus nephritis have been tied by past studies to upticks in growth of the bacterial species Ruminococcus gnavus. This triggers excess production of the key molecule, a lipoglycan, which is a key part of the bacterium's outer wall. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-high-gut-bacterial-toxin-trigger.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:01 EDT news696091005 A study published in Rheumatology & Autoimmunity challenges the assumption that achieving clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis is sufficient, showing that patient-reported outcomes vary significantly by drug class even when disease activity is comparable. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-drugs-similarly-combat-disease-differing.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:00:05 EDT news695977515 The University of Tasmania's Menzies Institute for Medical Research has found that the commonly prescribed medication, Diacerein, does not improve knee osteoarthritis symptoms, following a national study. Diacerein, a medication derived from plants such as rhubarb and aloe vera, has long been recognized for its anti-inflammatory properties and is commonly used to treat osteoarthritis in Europe and Asia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-common-drug-ease-knee-osteoarthritis.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:20:01 EDT news696004081 Often diagnosed in the teenage years, childhood-onset lupus is a serious, potentially fatal autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack itself. For as many as 10,000 U.S. youths, it can bring extreme fatigue, mood changes, pain and inflammation that affect many parts of the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-therapy-kids-lupus-sessions.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:00:02 EDT news695564219 New research from Swansea University has identified significant delays and diagnostic barriers affecting rheumatology patients in Wales. The study is published in the Journal of Patient Experience. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-decadelong-specialist-nhs-rheumatology-referral.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:00:05 EDT news695637721 Arthritis includes a range of conditions that affect the joints, from inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis to more common conditions like osteoarthritis. Many people experience pain, stiffness, and a reduced quality of life. Treatment today focuses on reducing inflammation and relieving symptoms, depending on the type of arthritis. However, researchers from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University have now identified a new possible route for future treatments. Their research is published in The Lancet Rheumatology journal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-glp-joint-fluid-weight-loss.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:00:05 EDT news695569381 A research team has discovered a new mechanism and drug combination strategy that can effectively treat osteoporosis, a representative disease of super-aging societies. The research findings were published on April 2 in Bone Research. The researchers were led by Seoul National University College of Engineering's Prof. Sunghoon Kwon and Prof. Sang Wan Kim. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-laser-breakthrough-supercharges-osteoporosis-treatment.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:40:04 EDT news695394053 Scientists investigating the naturally occurring immunopeptide PEPITEM have shown reductions in arthritic joint swelling to a degree comparable to the current standard of care, and reduce the inflammatory changes that cause joint damage. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pepitem-therapy-potential-early-stage.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 04:00:02 EDT news695035561