Precision Dosing of Intravenous Tocilizumab: Development of Pharmacokinetic Model-Derived Tapering Strategies for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background: Tocilizumab targets the interleukin-6 receptor, and dosing is complex owing to its nonlinear clearance related to target binding. Therefore, tapering tocilizumab requires a different approach than that of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi). This study aimed to identify these differences and enable personalized treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) beyond TNFi therapy.

Patient-perspective and feasibility of home finger-prick testing to complement and facilitate large-scale research in rheumatology.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed a digital research platform to longitudinally investigate COVID-19-related outcomes in patients with rheumatic diseases and healthy controls. We used home finger-prick testing in order to collect serum samples remotely and increase the overall efficiency of the platform. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the success rate of the finger prick and patients' perspective towards the finger prick.

Tocilizumab Dose Tapering Based on a Model-Based Algorithm is Feasible in Clinical Practice: A Short Communication.

Background: Tocilizumab in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a potential candidate for concentration-guided tapering because the standard dose of tocilizumab results in a wide range of serum concentrations, usually above the presumed therapeutic window, and an exposure-response relationship has been described. However, no clinical trials have been published to date on this subject. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of the tapering of intravenous (iv) tocilizumab with the use of a pharmacokinetic model-based algorithm in RA patients.

Post-COVID condition in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a prospective cohort study in the Netherlands.

Background: Studies on long-term consequences of COVID-19, commonly referred to as post-COVID condition, in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases are scarce and inconclusive. Furthermore, classifying patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases as having post-COVID condition is complicated because of overlapping symptoms. Therefore, we investigated the risk of post-COVID condition and time until recovery, and compared the prevalence of symptoms seen in post-COVID condition, between patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and healthy controls, with and without a history of COVID-19.

Antibody development and disease severity of COVID-19 in non-immunised patients with rheumatic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: data from a prospective cohort study.

Background: Research on the disease severity of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) has been inconclusive, and long-term prospective data on the development of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in these patients are lacking.

Methods: Adult patients with rheumatic IMIDs from the Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center, Amsterdam were invited to participate. All patients were asked to recruit their own sex-matched and age-matched control subject.

Development of a SARS-CoV-2 Total Antibody Assay and the Dynamics of Antibody Response over Time in Hospitalized and Nonhospitalized Patients with COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infections often cause only mild disease that may evoke relatively low Ab titers compared with patients admitted to hospitals. Generally, total Ab bridging assays combine good sensitivity with high specificity. Therefore, we developed sensitive total Ab bridging assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 Abs to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and nucleocapsid protein in addition to conventional isotype-specific assays.

A continuous repetitive task to detect fatigability in spinal muscular atrophy.

Background: To determine the value of a continuous repetitive task to detect and quantify fatigability as additional dimension of impaired motor function in patients with hereditary proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Results: In this repeated measure case-control study 52 patients with SMA types 2-4, 17 healthy and 29 disease controls performed five consecutive rounds of the Nine-Hole Peg test to determine the presence of fatigability. We analysed differences in test performance and associations with disease characteristics.

Mandibular dysfunction as a reflection of bulbar involvement in SMA type 2 and 3.

Objective: In a cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine (1) the effect of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2 and 3 on mandibular function reflected as masticatory performance, mandibular range of motion, and bite force and (2) the predictors of mandibular dysfunction.

Methods: Sixty patients with SMA type 2 and 3 (mean age 32.3 years, SD 17.