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SeXXist Reason for More Women with Autoimmune Disease
Somewhere between 24 and 50 million Americans have an autoimmune disease, a condition in which the immune system attacks our own tissues. As many as 4 out of 5 of those people are women.
Read ArticlePre-Treatment Testing with Biologics Falls Short
US commercial insurance claim analysis of laboratory screening and monitoring practices in chronic inflammatory skin disease (CISD) patients shows that < 60% received the recommended pretreatment testing when starting systemic immunomodulatory treatment.
Read ArticleHalf of Subclinical Synovitis Patients May Remit
Ultrasound subclinical synovitis is found in a third of individuals at risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients; in half of these, subclinical synovitis resolves with a favorable outcome.
Read ArticleAnti-Drug Antibodies and Biologic Drug Responses
A prospective cohort study suggests the presence of antidrug antibodies may be associated with bDMARDs nonresponse in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Should we be monitoring ADAbs (especially in nonresponders)?
Read ArticleSevere Hypocalcemia Risk with Denosumab and CKD Patients
On 1-19-2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Drug Safety Communication about the risk of severe hypocalcemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients taking denosumab for osteoporosis, with an accentuated risk in older women who are dialysis-dependent.
This report is an update to their November 2022 investigation, the results of a related study being recently reported in JAMA.
Methotrexate Nodulosis (1.19.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com. How good (or not) are rheumatologists and what to do about MTX nodulosis?
Read ArticleRheumatologists and the Early Diagnosis of Spondyloarthritis
SPACE study of adults referred to rheumatology with less than 2 years of chronic back pain (CBP), shows that only one-third can be reliably diagnosed with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).
Read ArticleRituximab Efficacy in MAINRITSAN Long-Term Studies
The original randomized controlled, prospective MAINRITSAN study of 115 patients (87 with granulomatosis with polyangiitis, 23 with microscopic polyangiitis, and 5 with renal-limited ANCA-associated vasculitis [AAV]) demonstrated superiority of rituximab (RTX) over azathioprine (AZA) for maintenance of remission at 22 months in ANCA-associated vasculitis patients after CYC remission induction.
Read ArticleTic-Borne Disorders Causing Chronic Arthritis?
Findings from a population based cross-sectional study suggests that while up to 20% of patients have antibodies to tick-borne exposures, only a minority reported musculoskeletal symptoms.
Read ArticleEnthesitis, Synovitis, and Tenosynovitis in Psoriatic Arthritis
An ultrasound study suggests that enthesitis is associated with both synovitis and tenosynovitis in patients with Psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Read ArticleBiomarker Predicts Survival in Autoimmune Lung Disease
One major subgroup of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) arising from polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) survived significantly longer when serum levels of interferon-λ3 were relatively low, researchers found.
Read ArticleStillsNow Podcast December 2023 - ACR23 Highlights
Dr. Jack Cush reviews selected AOSD & systemic JIA abstracts from the ACR 2023 Annual meeting held in San Diego, November 12th thru 16th.
Read ArticleBest of 2023: ACR Guidelines for Interstitial Lung Disease in Patients with Rheumatic Conditions
The American College of Rheumatology released summaries of two new guidelines for the Screening and Monitoring of Interstitial Lung Disease in People with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease and for the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease in People with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases.
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