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,…
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…
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…
We need to leave behind prejudiced science
Diagnostic criteria put out by medical organizations are supposed to help make diagnosis more straightforward for doctors and patients by defining what the disease is. They should make it easier to study the disease and easier to decide treatment. But what about when those criteria are based on biased assumptions? Research for spondyloarthritis has a history of discrimination affecting women and people of color, and decisions continue to be made from that research. Doctors and researchers need to consider this when making recommendations and designing studies today. Spondyloarthritis Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of autoinflammatory diseases that mostly feature arthritis of the spine which can lead to spinal fusion. The…
