Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Coronavirus and Spondyloarthritis: Your Questions,

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) virus continues its global spread, many of you in the spondylitis community have reached out with concerns about how it may affect you. The Spondylitis Association of America has spoken with rheumatologists and researchers, and compiled data from trusted medical and news sources in order to create this report, with one goal in mind: to address the specific questions and needs of those with spondyloarthritis (SpA), including ankylosing spondylitis, and related diseases. Scientific understanding of the virus is still evolving, so we will update this report as new information comes to light.

https://www.spondylitis.org/About-S...pondyloarthritis-your-questions-answered

Best Regards,

Kristine Callender, MPH, CHES
Programs Manager
Spondylitis Association of America
To be a leader in the quest to cure ankylosing spondylitis and related diseases, and to empower those affected to live life to the fullest.
Direct: 818-465-4298
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Spondylitis.org

That's excellent. Thanks.

Thank you!

Thanks!

Good information. Thank you!

Thank you very much!

Much needed information from a trusted source. Thank you.

Here in south Eastern Europe they give covid 19 patients monoclonal antibodies used for Rheumatoid arthritis. They say the inflammatory reaction is to strong

Here's a link to an article in the journal Nature about all the drugs being evaluated for use against coronavirus: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41587-020-00003-1

TNF-a inhibitors are not on the list, but other drugs used to treat autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are on the list, the anti-malarials in particular.

Note, Nature is making all its coronavirus research available to the public for free right now.

I'm editing this post to include this link to a Washington Post interview: https://www.washingtonpost.com/podc...no-one-knows-why/?p9w22b2p=b2p22p9w00098

The interview is interesting because it explores the question why children aren't being severely impacted by coronavirus. Some researchers think this is key to identifying a treatment. The fact that children aren't as severely impacted suggests two things: (1) it's the immune response to the virus, rather than the virus itself, that is killing people and (2) a lifetime of damage to the lungs makes adults more vulnerable the older they get. As for (1), that explains why immunosuppressant drugs are being investigated as treatments. And that would seem to make our decisions whether to stop taking our meds more complicated. Just my two cents because I'm the kind of nerd intensely interested in these sorts of puzzles.

Hello everyone,

Thank you, Winston, for these information.

If I understand correctly, in the case of the hypothesis 1 (immune response to the virus), the AS people who don't take biologics are more at risk of complications if catching the virus? Our crazy reactive immune system would go absolutely nuts, making us really sick... I have AS but I'm not on biologics (only NSAI). I'm being very careful to avoid all unnecessary contact with people but I can't help being a bit anxious. (I live in France, not far from a cluster...)

Stay safe everyone,

Alice