leflunomide / Generic mfg. - LARVOL DELTA

Calcineurin inhibitors reduce risk of MGUS progression to multiple myeloma in immunosuppressant users: A retrospective multi-institution cohort study (ASH 2025) - "To ensure maximal consistency across the studied population,both the exposure group and the control group had received at least one of the following IST—azathioprine, leflunomide, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, sulfasalazine, or mycophenolate mofetil—within 1 year prior to, or any time after, the initial diagnosis of MGUS but before any diagnosis of MM.Patients in CNi group were defined by additional CNi exposure (excluding topical and ophthalmic route)within the same time window, whereas control had never received CNi. These findings support thehypothesis that dampening immune activation may lower the risk of malignant transformation in MGUS.Clinically, this study alleviates concerns regarding the potential oncogenic risks of cytotoxic T cellsuppression in patients with coexisting autoimmune disorders and MGUS. Furthermore, it raises thepotential role of T cell inhibitors as one of the interventions to prevent MGUS progression in broaderpatient populations, warranting..."

Retrospective data • Amyloidosis • Chronic Kidney Disease • Hematological Malignancies • Immunology • Monoclonal Gammopathy • Multiple Myeloma • Nephrology • Ophthalmology • Renal Disease • Solid Organ Transplantation • CD8 • GZMB

Leflunomide as an alternative csDMARD for rheumatoid arthritis in a resource-constrained setting: A real-life experience. (PubMed, S Afr Med J) - "LEF has been demonstrated to be an effective alternative csDMARD for patients with inadequate response to MTX-based therapies, reducing the mean CDAI from 26 to 11. It adds a viable alternative for RA patients with poor prognostic factors and lack of access to bDMARDs."

Journal • Retrospective data • Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Rheumatology

CD19/BCMA CAR-T Cell Therapy for Refractory Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - Safety and Preliminary Efficacy Data from a Phase I Clinical Study (ASH 2023) - "After lymphodepleting chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide/fludarabine (D-4 to D-2), patients receive a single infusion of 1-2x106 CD19 CAR-T cells and BCMA CAR-T cells per kilogram of body weight at D0...All patients had active severe SLE and had received glucocorticoids, hydroxychloroquine, tacrolimus, total glucosides of paeony, merti-macrolide, leflunomide, azathioprine, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, immunoglobulin, rituximab, belimumab, and Tetracycline before treatment with CAR-T cells, which were standard treatments that were either ineffective or difficult to withdraw.3 patients received 1x10^6/kg of each of CD19 CAR-T cells and BCMA CAR-T cells, and 9 patients received 2x10^6/kg of each of CD19 CAR-T cells and BCMA CAR-T cells 2x10^6/kg... These data suggest that CD19/BCMA CAR-T cell therapy is well tolerated and can induce rapid and durable remission in severe refractory SLE."

CAR T-Cell Therapy • Clinical • P1 data • CNS Disorders • Gastroenterology • Gastrointestinal Disorder • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Inflammation • Inflammatory Arthritis • Lupus • Novel Coronavirus Disease • Renal Disease • Respiratory Diseases • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in patients with chronic kidney disease: A real-world experience. (PubMed, Reumatol Clin (Engl Ed)) - "These findings provide real-world evidence on the effectiveness and safety of DMARDs in a population often excluded from clinical trials, underscoring the need for prospective studies to inform long-term therapeutic decisions."

Journal • Real-world evidence • Chronic Kidney Disease • Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Nephrology • Renal Disease • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Rheumatology

Effectiveness of Tofacitinib in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis Initiating Monotherapy Versus Combination Therapy: Results from the CorEvitas Psoriatic Arthritis/Spondyloarthritis Registry. (PubMed, Rheumatol Ther) - P | "Monotherapy and combination therapy initiators demonstrated improvements across effectiveness outcomes. Tofacitinib monotherapy initiators experienced numerical improvements in overall work impairment/activity impairment. This highlights tofacitinib effectiveness as monotherapy/combination therapy for a diverse PsA population. However, the small sample size limited the statistical power, and so results should be interpreted cautiously."

Journal • Monotherapy • Ankylosing Spondylitis • Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Psoriatic Arthritis • Rheumatology • Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies • Spondylarthritis

Uncovering CD248, MMP28, and SLC16A10 in primary Sjögren's disease: a machine learning-driven SHAP approach for CD4+ T cell-associated biomarker discovery. (PubMed, Clin Exp Rheumatol) - "Our bioinformatic study identifies CD248, MMP28 and SLC16A10 as candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets for SjD, with their dysregulation specifically enriched in CD4+ T cell subsets, unveiling a previously underappreciated mechanism in SjD pathogenesis. naive and memory CD4+ T cells emerge as key contributors to inflammatory cascades, with azathioprine, leflunomide, methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, iguratimod, pilocarpine, and cevimeline predicted to bind potently to these targets. This integrative multi-omics framework, combining machine learning, SHAP, and molecular docking, presents a promising approach for autoimmune disease diagnostics and early therapeutic intervention, although future experimental validation is essential to confirm its translational potential."

Biomarker • Journal • Immunology • Sjogren's Syndrome • MMP28

The effectiveness and safety of leflunomide in the treatment of giant cell arteritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (PubMed, Rheumatol Adv Pract) - "Leflunomide's utility as a GC-sparing agent is promising but remains to be elucidated in future higher-quality studies. PROSPERO protocol registration CRD42023490373."

Journal • Retrospective data • Review • Giant Cell Arteritis • Immunology • Vasculitis

Cyclosporine-induced paronychia in a case of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (ISDS 2025) - "Case Report: A 32-year-old female received Leflunomide for arthralgias, after which she developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome with severe mucous membrane affection...After which she received a single etanercept 150 mg injection together with increasing the dose of cyclosporine to 300 mg according to her weight, with gradual improvement of the condition and tapering of steroids over the next week...The condition continued to exacerbate over the next two weeks, even after decreasing the dose of cyclosporine, and only improved after nail detachment despite receiving antibiotics and chymotrypsin... Acute severe painful paronychia could be encountered in cases of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome receiving cyclosporine and can be explained by the disease insult on the periungual tissue or the inflammatory proliferative status of cyclosporine."

Clinical • Dermatology • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Inflammation • Mood Disorders • Musculoskeletal Pain • Pemphigus Vulgaris • Steven-Johnson Syndrome • CD20 • CXCL8 • EGFR • IL6

Multi-generational fidelity, ecological and social determinants of roosting in a cooperatively breeding bird (Argya squamiceps). (PubMed, R Soc Open Sci) - "We show that wild Arabian babbler groups in the Arava Desert of Israel preferred roosting in live plants with dense canopies (mostly Acacia tree spp...To the best of our knowledge, this is the longest roosting site fidelity shown for cooperatively breeding birds and mammals. This study stresses the importance of conserving roosting sites of species with strong site fidelity and lays the foundations for advanced sleep research in a highly cooperative species."

Journal

JAK1-selective inhibitors versus pan-JAK inhibitors: comparative real-world study of drug retention in chronic inflammatory arthritis. (PubMed, Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis) - "Tofacitinib and baricitinib are pan-JAK inhibitors, while upadacitinib and filgotinib are JAK1-selective inhibitors...Multivariate analysis confirmed that pan-JAK inhibitors, female sex, PsA, CV disease, prior targeted biological and synthetic disease-modifying drugs exposure, and leflunomide co-treatment increased the risk of discontinuation. Pan-JAK inhibitors may have higher discontinuation rates than JAK1-selective inhibitors in real-world CIA patients. Clinical characteristics and comorbidities should guide JAKi selection to optimize long-term treatment retention."

Journal • Real-world evidence • Ankylosing Spondylitis • Cardiovascular • Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Psoriatic Arthritis • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Rheumatology • Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies • Spondylarthritis • JAK1

Leflunomide Treatment for MEN1 Patients - the LUMEN1 Trial (clinicaltrials.gov) - P=N/A | N=15 | Active, not recruiting | Sponsor: University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland | Recruiting ➔ Active, not recruiting

Enrollment closed

The Burden of Tuberculosis Reactivation in Malignancy: A Retrospective Analysis in a Diverse Australian Cohort (APSR 2025) - "8/108 (7.4%) patients had received one or more immunosuppressive treatment including prednisone ( n  = 4), methotrexate ( n  = 2), hydroxychloroquine ( n  = 1), leflunomide ( n  = 1) and ravulizumab ( n  = 1). Conclusion : This study demonstrated an increased risk of LTBI reactivation in patients with malignancy and immunosuppression. Therefore, targeted LTBI screening should be considered prior to initiating immunosuppressive or anti-cancer therapy, especially in migrant patients from TB- endemic countries, to mitigate the risk of reactivation."

Retrospective data • Diabetes • Infectious Disease • Metabolic Disorders • Oncology • Respiratory Diseases • Solid Tumor • Tuberculosis

Cost-effectiveness of risk-stratified blood-test monitoring strategies for adults with inflammatory conditions. (PubMed, Rheumatology (Oxford)) - "Extending the interval between monitoring blood-tests appears to be cost-effective with annual monitoring producing consistently good results regardless of assumptions related to risks of AEs, risk decile, or treatment."

HEOR • Journal • Inflammation

Targeted Therapies and Pharmacologic Advances in Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid: A Comprehensive Review. (PubMed, Dermatol Pract Concept) - "Considering the severity of the condition, progressive fibrosis, and resistance to therapy, more research is required in relation to the pathogenesis of MMP and the efficacy and safety profile of novel pharmacological options. Pharmacological agents should provide the achievement and maintenance of remission with minimal adverse effects. A broader spectrum of pharmacological agents will allow a personalized approach and more alternatives, in particular for recalcitrant cases, failure of the previous therapy, and in patients with MMP and malignancy."

Journal • Review • Dermatology • Fibrosis • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Oncology

IgAN with Orthostatic Proteinuria: A Case Report (KIDNEY WEEK 2025) - "Over this period, due to poorly controlled proteinuria, he had been given various treatment regimens on top of RASi support therapy, including steroids, Tacrolimus, leflunomide, hydroxychloroquine, mycophenolate mofetil, ambrisentan, and Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside, but his spot urine protein levels remained unsatisfactory...We thus considered that the patient had IgAN coexisting with orthostatic proteinuria and withdrew immunosuppressive medications, retaining only irbesartan at 150 mg/day...This case underscores the importance of considering this diagnosis in adult IgAN patients with discordant findings or poor response to treatment. Routine use of split urine collections, especially in patients with variable home test results, can help avoid misdiagnosis and overtreatment."

Case report • Clinical • Glomerulonephritis • IgA Nephropathy • Ophthalmology • Renal Disease

Effects of Vitamin D, Infliximab, and Leflunomide on Isolated Rat Striated Muscle with Electrical and Mechanical Stimuli in Statin-Induced Rhabdomyopathy. (PubMed, J Clin Pract Res) - "Twenty-four rats were induced rhabdomyopathy using atorvastatin (100 mg/kg/day for three weeks). Monitoring vitamin D levels in dyslipidemic patients may serve as a predictive marker for adverse effects of statins. Providing these patients with vitamin D supplementation may improve statin intolerance."

Journal • Preclinical • Metabolic Disorders

Trapped between darkness and heat: desert birds (Argya squamiceps) initiate daily activity earlier (and terminate it later) in response to heat. (PubMed, Proc Biol Sci) - "Though, subsequent analyses of the climate in the Arava Desert demonstrate (iv) a ~2°C increase in summer temperature over the past 31 years, and (v) that Arabian babblers advanced the onset of daily activity by 8.8 min during the last 11 summers. We thus propose the existence of a 'heat versus dark trap': rising temperatures drive diurnal desert endotherms to increase activity during the cooler pre-dawn and post-dusk times, but the leeway of these temporal adjustments is strictly constrained by nocturnal predation risk and reduced foraging efficiency in poor light conditions."

Journal

Letter to the editor regarding "Kara M, Alp G, Pekdiker M, Ketenci S, Porreca A et al. Evaluating leflunomide and methotrexate combination vs. monotherapy in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences: 2025; 55 (3): 632-643". (PubMed, Turk J Med Sci) - No abstract available

Journal • Monotherapy • Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Psoriatic Arthritis • Rheumatology • Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies

Decitabine Activity Against TP53-Mutated Myeloid Neoplasms Is Enhanced By Combination with a Non-Cytotoxic p53/BAX-Independent Inhibitor of Pyrimidine Synthesis (ASH 2024) - "DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1)-degraders decitabine (Dec) or 5-azacytidine (Aza) (hypomethylating agents, HMA) with or without the BCL2-inhibitor venetoclax (Ven), are standard-of-care for TP53-mutated (m) acute myeloid leukemias (AML)...(iv) We thus considered p53/BAX-independent methods to reduce pyrimidine nucleotides : teriflunomide (Teri), approved to treat multiple sclerosis, directly inhibits de novo pyrimidine synthesis at dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH)...Conclusion. Mechanism and in vivo proof-of-principle thus support metronomic, timed-combination Teri/HMA, or Teri pro-drug leflunomide/HMA, as candidate solutions for Ven/HMA-resistance, including to treat TP53-mutated disease."

IO biomarker • Acute Myelogenous Leukemia • CNS Disorders • Hematological Malignancies • Inflammatory Arthritis • Leukemia • Multiple Sclerosis • Oncology • DCK • DNMT1 • GLI2 • PTPRC • TP53

Atypical Culprit: BK Virus-Induced AKI in a Native Kidney (KIDNEY WEEK 2025) - "He was maintained on tacrolimus, MMF, and prednisone...Management included discontinuation of sirolimus and administration of IVIG due to hypogammaglobulinemia...While reduction of immunosuppression remains the primary treatment, the benefit of adjunctive therapies such as IVIG, cidofovir, and leflunomide remains unclear and requires further research. Clinicians should be aware of BKPyV induced AKI in native kidneys, particularly when more common etiologies have been excluded."

Acute Kidney Injury • Chronic Kidney Disease • Fibrosis • Immunology • Nephrology • Scleroderma • Systemic Sclerosis

Native Kidney BK Polyoma Virus Nephropathy Treated with Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) and Leflunomide in a Patient on Bispecific T Cell Engager Therapy (KIDNEY WEEK 2025) - "He was being managed with Carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone. Two years ago treatment was changed to Teclistimab a BiTE agent due to an increase in disease activity...His CR improved to 2.9 with a GFR of 21 in 8 weeks BiTE therapy was restarted with Talquetamab for 3 months now...We have extrapolated from the transplant patients and have used IvIg and leflunomide with good outcome. With the usage of new immunotherapy agents, one has to have a high suspicion for unusual causes of renal failure and we describe an unique one here."

Clinical • Bone Marrow Transplantation • Hematological Malignancies • Infectious Disease • Multiple Myeloma • Nephrology • Plasmacytoma • Renal Disease

Adult Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Caused by Human Rhinovirus During Janus Kinase Inhibitor Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Case Report and Literature Review. (PubMed, Cureus) - "An adult with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving methotrexate (MTX) and tofacitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, developed rapidly progressive hypoxemic respiratory failure following a brief coryzal prodrome...MTX was reintroduced without pulmonary relapse; leflunomide was added for residual articular activity. After shared decision-making and due to the patient's aversion to injectables, tofacitinib was restarted, resulting in continued respiratory stability and radiographic resolution on follow-up. This case underscores practical diagnostic discriminators and a stepwise approach to temporarily withholding and safely reintroducing immunosuppression in HRV-ARDS complicating RA treatment."

Journal • Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Inflammation • Inflammatory Arthritis • Interstitial Lung Disease • Pneumonia • Pulmonary Disease • Respiratory Diseases • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Rheumatology

Emerging biological therapies for psoriatic arthritis: A systematic review. (PubMed, Medicine (Baltimore)) - "Emerging biologics have significantly advanced the management of PsA, offering greater efficacy and safety compared to conventional DMARDs. IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors, along with newer agents like bimekizumab, present promising treatment options for patients with inadequate responses to TNF inhibitors. Personalized treatment strategies, based on disease phenotype and individual patient needs, are essential for optimizing outcomes in PsA management. Further research into long-term efficacy and safety is required to refine treatment protocols and improve patient outcomes."

Journal • Review • Dermatology • Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Oncology • Psoriasis • Psoriatic Arthritis • Rheumatology • Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies • IL17A • IL23A

Multicenter Clinical Study of Leflunomide Combined with Temozolomide in the Treatment of Recurrent Glioma (ChiCTR) - P1 | N=20 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University; The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University

New P1 trial • Brain Cancer • Glioma • Oncology • Solid Tumor

Proteins linked to type II interferon response in Sjögren's disease: novel indicators for disease monitoring and predicting treatment response to leflunomide and hydroxychloroquine combination therapy. (PubMed, Front Immunol) - "These data support a significant role for a type II IFN-associated immune response in SjD pathogenesis, which is targeted by LEF/HCQ. Proteins associated with type II IFN-driven immune responses hold potential to monitor disease activity and predict treatment response."

Biomarker • Clinical • IO biomarker • Journal • Oncology • Sjogren's Syndrome • CD70 • CXCL10 • CXCL11 • IFNG