Actemra Archives | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

12 Key Facts about Infusion Reactions with Biologics

November 26, 2012May 14, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 38 Comments Actemra, Biologics for RA, Orencia (abatacept), Preventive Care with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rituxan for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Tips for living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

An infusion nurse talks about safety with Biologics One practical session at the 2012 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Scientific Meeting was a short talk on preventing infusion reactions presented by a nurse from Seattle, Christine Elliot. Ms. Elliot has supervised 15,000 rheumatological infusions in over a decade as an infusion nurse. She offered an overview...Continue reading 38 Comments » Read more

Juvenile Arthritis Treatment Guidelines Adopted by ACR

April 25, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 9 Comments Actemra, Biologics for RA, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Parents of children with juvenile forms of Rheumatoid Arthritis have tough decisions to make. They must consider possible risks of medical treatments like TNF-a without comfortable long-term safety records. Families weigh the risks against almost certain damage, disability, and deformity that the disease can bring. Rheumatologists who advise families with these decisions got some help...Continue reading 9 Comments » Read more

Would RA Awareness Make a Difference? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

September 23, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 52 Comments Actemra, Professional patient, Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness

My polite warning: this post is about the author. The good I went for my third Actemra IV today. Easy peasy. The head nurse does a great job. No pain. No blood. The first Actemra IV, she told me stories of patients who were helped by Actemra during their first 5 days! It gave me a hope. The...Continue reading 52 Comments » Read more

My First Actemra Treatment

August 10, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 50 Comments Actemra, Biologics for RA, Professional patient, Unrelenting RA - Persistent disease

Actemra is my fourth Biologic treatment My first Actemra treatment was two weeks ago. I never dreamed I’d be going for my fourth different kind of Biologic treatment. When my first rheum doc said I’d feel much better soon with Humira, I believed it. When the Rheumatoid Arthritis continued to progress, the doc seemed as disappointed...Continue reading 50 Comments » Read more

Actemra Rival IL-6 Inhibitor Shown Effective in Trial

May 18, 2010May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 7 Comments Actemra, Biologics for RA, Research on Rheumatoid Arthritis

New IL-6 inhibitor brings ACR 50 to half of patients Would you believe I just realized why the Biologics’ names end in “mab”? It is short for monoclonal antibody. Must be those blonde highlights. A new monoclonal antibody referred to as ALD518 was tested on one hundred twenty-seven patients who took part in a Phase 2 clinical...Continue reading 7 Comments » Read more

Rheumatoid Arthritis News: Actemra Approved

January 11, 2010May 17, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 42 Comments Actemra, American College of Rheumatology, Biologics for RA, Unrelenting RA - Persistent disease

New medicine for unresponsive Rheumatoid Arthritis in the news Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Actemra (Tocilizumab) to treat severe RA in patients who did not respond to TNF blocking medicines like Enbrel and Humira and other disease modifying drugs DMARDs. Associated Press reports: Hal Barron, chief medical officer for Genentech, a division...Continue reading 42 Comments » Read more