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  • Year in Review
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CONNECTIVE TISSUE DISEASES IN 2020

New insights into the treatment of CTD-ILD

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 17, pages 79–80 (2021)Cite this article

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Interstitial lung disease (ILD) can arise in a variety of connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and various treatment interventions are being explored. In 2020, advances in the treatment of CTD-associated ILD have included the re-evaluation of methotrexate-induced lung injury and emerging insights on anti-IL-6 therapy and anti-fibrotic therapy in this condition.

Key advances

  • Methotrexate use is probably not a notable cause of chronic fibrotic lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and this drug might even delay the presentation of interstitial lung disease (ILD)1.

  • The efficacy of the anti-fibrotic agent nintedanib in the treatment of progressive fibrosing ILDs extends to the treatment of progressive connective tissue disease-associated ILD2.

  • Anti-IL-6 therapy is emerging as a potential new treatment option for systemic sclerosis-associated ILD3.

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References

  1. Juge, P. A. et al. Methotrexate and rheumatoid arthritis associated interstitial lung disease. Eur. Respir. J. 2000337 (2020).

  2. Wells, A. U. et al. Nintedanib in patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases-subgroup analyses by interstitial lung disease diagnosis in the INBUILD trial: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial. Lancet Respir. Med. 8, 453–460 (2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Imperial College, London, UK

    Athol U. Wells

  2. Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK

    Athol U. Wells

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  1. Athol U. Wells
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Correspondence to Athol U. Wells.

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Competing interests

A.U.W. declares that he has received speaker fees and consulting honouraria from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche.

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Wells, A.U. New insights into the treatment of CTD-ILD. Nat Rev Rheumatol 17, 79–80 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-020-00567-x

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