Science
The body, medicine, and research explained simply
The COVID Vaccines and Autoimmune Disease
As the COVID vaccine rolls out, people with arthritis and other autoimmune diseases are wondering what this means for them. Is the COVID vaccine safe if you’re taking immunosuppressants, like methotrexate, Humira, Enbrel, and other biologics? Does it work? We don’t have all the answers to these questions, unfortunately. The vaccines are too new, and they haven’t been fully tested on immunocompromised people. That doesn’t mean we can’t find some guidance, though. So, what do we know so far about the COVID vaccine for people with autoimmune diseases? (I am not a doctor, and more importantly, I and others on the internet are not your doctor. Each person is unique,…
First Biologic Medications Approved for nr-ax Spondyloarthritis
After years of waiting, patients with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) can officially be prescribed biologic medications in the US. Since the beginning of the year, three biologic medications have been approved by the FDA for people with nr-axSpA: Cimzia, Taltz, and Cosentyx. As someone who spent years waiting for diagnosis and treatment, I’m excited by the game-changing potential of nr-axSpA treatments being officially recognized. nr-axSpA? Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of autoimmune arthritis conditions that affect the spine, other joints, and entheses. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the most well-known (and easily diagnosed) type, but it requires joint damage to be visible on imaging. This leaves doctors with a conundrum: how…
We don’t know if hydroxychloroquine is safe for COVID
Hydroxychloroquine (and related drug chloroquine) has been in the news a lot lately for its supposed ability to cure or prevent COVID-19. These drugs are commonly used to treat autoimmune diseases lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, especially under the brand name Plaquenil (hydroxychloroquine). This leaves those of us with autoimmune conditions wondering: could I be taking hydroxychloroquine to both treat my autoimmune disease and prevent coronavirus? In a time when taking immunosuppressants is unnerving, is hydroxychloroquine a safe treatment? If I’m not on hydroxychloroquine, should I start taking it? The short answer is no. The long answer is that a lot of studies are showing contradictory results, and the small study…
COVID-19 and immunosuppressants: new data
Since COVID-19 is so new, there’s a shortage of important information on how it affects people with autoimmune disease. Many of us have asked our doctors for guidance with our conditions and medications, but in the end, no one really knows how COVID-19, autoimmune diseases, and immunosuppressants interact. We need data and cases to truly understand how we should proceed. We don’t yet have any large-scale studies, but a small study from New York was released this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. It can give us some much-needed insight into how coronavirus impacts those of us who have autoimmune diseases and take immunosuppressants. Where my last article…
How common are bladder problems with ankylosing spondylitis?
I’ve had bladder problems since high school. I’ve variously been told that it’s endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, and the more recent term, bladder pain syndrome. However, hanging around ankylosing spondylitis (AS) forums has me wondering if there’s more to it than just another health problem for the list. Could my bladder problems actually be caused by my spondylitis? A pattern emerges The first I knew my bladder problems definitely weren’t normal was when I was in high school and had to use the bathroom constantly. I even had to get a doctor’s note to be able to use the bathroom that frequently at my strict high school. It’s not that I…
Coronavirus and biologics: Some good news?
The current coronavirus pandemic is concerning, but it can be especially so for people who take immunosuppressant biologics, including TNF and IL-17 inhibitors. Medications like Humira, Enbrel, and Cosentyx are known to suppress the immune system—after all, that’s how they stop autoimmune disease. Does taking these medications put someone more at risk for coronavirus? There’s a lot of information out there, and nothing is conclusive, but I’m going to share what I’ve seen. Some of it has even reassured me! For an updated report from 5/2/20, see COVID-19 and immunosuppressants: new data. It provides data on biologics, oral steroids, methotrexate, and Plaquenil. For current research on Plaquenil, see We don’t…
Wait, spondylitis isn’t autoimmune?
Until recently, I felt confident telling people I have an autoimmune disease. After all, any inflammatory arthritis is clearly autoimmune, right? My body is attacking itself and causing inflammation, so it must be autoimmune. Wrong. I was surprised to learn about a new category of conditions that has been identified: autoinflammatory. Knowing whether spondyloarthritis is autoimmune or autoinflammatory will be important for finding new treatments. But what does autoinflammatory mean? Immunity overview The immune system has two parts: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Innate immunity isn’t specific to any one threat that your body might face. The innate immune system includes barriers like skin and mucus as well as cells…
Spondyloarthritis’s link to the gut: biomarkers
This week’s research is brought to you by my inability to leave anything that can be researched alone. I recently had a blood test report that there’s a good chance I have ulcerative colitis (UC), a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Constant back and forth with doctors leaves me worried that this will end up being nothing, yet hoping that it will be something. Especially since I’ve already mentally accepted that it could (probably) be something. Countless times in the past I’ve had doctors get excited because a test seemed to show something. Inflammation! A positive blood marker! A little something here on this x-ray! And then they run…
The cool engineering behind Xeljanz XR
My doctor mentioned this, and the engineer in me thought it was extremely cool. So here’s how they got Xeljanz XR to work properly, so that it’s a once-daily pill instead of twice-daily: they coated it and put a hole in the end! What is Xeljanz? Xeljanz XR (for “extended release”) is a once-daily pill used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. It’s also being tested for ankylosing spondylitis currently. You may know it from its aggressive marketing campaign. The makers are really pushing the fact that it’s a pill, not an injection like many other similarly effective arthritis medications (biologics). Though not technically a biologic medication,…
Person-first and identity-first language: Is there a right answer?
I was on Facebook the other day when I came across an infographic shared by an acquaintance of mine. It purported to list the correct language to use when referring to people with various kinds of disabilities: “person with a disability” instead of “disabled person,” “person with autism” instead of “autistic person,” and so on. If you clicked on the picture, though, you would see that some of the top comments were informing the makers of the infographic that many disabled people actually prefer the opposite. So what’s behind this divide? And what’s “right”? This is the person-first versus identity-first language debate, and unfortunately, it’s not a simple issue to…
