In new lupus, even 5 mg/day of prednisolone over two years was linked to more organ damage

The edition in brief

A Swedish nationwide register cohort followed 3749 people with newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus from 2006 to 2024, modelling oral glucocorticoid dispensing over time. Glucocorticoid exposure over the previous two years best captured the risk of first organ damage, with an average of 5 mg/day associated with a hazard ratio of 1.42 (95% CI 1.31 to 1.53); for cardiovascular damage, dosing over three years mattered. In 102 patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis from BE MOBILE 2 and its open-label extension, bimekizumab reduced spinal MRI inflammation by week 16, sustained to two years, with little change in erosions or new bone formation. In 165 patients with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis in a Toronto cohort, antimalarial exposure before biopsy was not associated with differences in proliferative class, activity or chronicity indices. The pearl covers hydroxychloroquine dosing and retinal screening.