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"Don't You Know Who I am?" (5.17.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past 2 weeks. This week's question: can we prevent gout, ILD or psoriasis?
Read ArticleLegal (Not So) Merry-Go-Round of Alendronate Atypical Fractures
Dr. Gregory Curfman, MD (Executive editor of JAMA) writes on the chronological legal progress of a lawsuit stemming from rare instances of atypical femoral fractures associated with bisphosphonate (alendronate) use.
Read ArticleAntacids can Diminish Bone Density
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), a specific class of antacid drugs, are among the most widely used medications of all. They are frequently prescribed to many groups of patients, including those with rheumatism.
Read ArticleConsensus Statements on Vitamin D
The “Controversies in Vitamin D” International Conference has published their proceedings on vitamin D metabolism, assessment, actions, and supplementation. Interestingly, optimal levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) are still being debated.
Read ArticleInfectious Mortality in Autoimmune Rheumatic Disorders
Infectious conditions are a significant cause of mortality in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD). Among patients hospitalized with an infection, we compared in-hospital and long-term (3-year) mortality between those with and without ARD.
Small-molecule Drugs to Treat Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
A metanalysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on treatments of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), confirm the efficacy of several targeted small-molecule drugs.
Interferons and Lupus Subsets
In a new study, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have uncovered insights as to the relationship between interferons and lupus, which affects up to 1.5 million Americans.
Read ArticleRisk Factors for Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy
A long-term hydroxychloroquine users study found that 2.7% developed retinopathy, and identified risk factors as increasing age, female sex, chronic kidney disease stage 3+ and tamoxifen use.
Read ArticleRECIPE Study: Non-opioid Analgesics following Total Hip Arthroplasty
Patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty using a combination of paracetamol, ibuprofen, and dexamethasone, had optimal responses with the lowest morphine consumption, and fewer adverse events.
Read ArticleRheum Leaders on Capitol Hill Advocating for Medicare Payment Reform
On May 7th, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) hosted its annual Capitol Hill fly-in with rheumatology leaders nationwide to champion the need for crucial reforms to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).
Read ArticleDoes Good Sleep Prevent Osteoporosis
As part of the University of Colorado Department of Medicine’s annual Research Day, held on April 23, faculty member Christine Swanson, MD, MCR, described her National Institutes of Health-funded clinical research on whether adequate sleep can help prevent osteoporosis.
Read ArticlePharmacologic Efficacy in Still's Disease
A systematic review of the effectiveness and safety of pharmacological treatments for adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) supports the use of either IL-1 or IL-6 inhibitors.
Cutoffs for Systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score
An international cohort of children with systemic Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (Still's disease) validated the systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 10 (sJADAS10), a disease activity measure distinguish patients with inactive disease, minimal disease activity, moderate disease activity, and high disease activity.
Read ArticleMultiplicative Adverse Effects of Social Determinants of Health in Lupus Nephritis: A Meta-analysis and Systematic Review
A metanalysis shows that social determinants of health adversely impacts patients with lupus nephritis. Lupus nephritis is a significant complication of SLE, often with dramatic increases in morbid and mortal risks. Outcomes are likely to be augmented by social determinants of health, including socio-economic status, and social risk factors.
Read ArticleImaging-Only Diagnosis of Giant Cell Arteritis Is Feasible
Positive findings with color Doppler ultrasound were enough to diagnose giant cell arteritis (GCA) accurately without need for confirmation with temporal artery biopsy (TAB), a prospective study indicated.
Read ArticleFeatured BSR Abstracts (5.2.2024)
Dr. Jack Cush muses on the news, journal reports, FDA announcements and the 2024 BSR abstracts just released.
Read ArticleLower Limb Muscle Mass Influences Osteoarthritis Risk
The Rotterdam study shows that weight-bearing recreational physical activity caused more incident knee osteoarthritis (KOA), but mainly when there was low muscle mass. KOA risk is traditionally linked to either obesity or injury. This study assesses whether muscle mass may influence osteoarthritis risk.
Read ArticleMethotrexate Does Not Increase ILD Risk in Dermatomyositis
A cohort analysis of dermatomyositis (DM) patients starting immunomodulators finds that methotrexate use was not associated with an increased risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD).
Read ArticleSystemic Inflammation and Mortality in RA-ILD
Analysis of the German RABBIT registry shows that systemic inflammation, more so than disease activity, strongly influences all-cause mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and prevalent interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).
Read ArticleARCTIC Rewind: Can You Taper DMARDs with Remission?
In an open-label, randomized, non-inferiority trial, rheumatoid arthritis patients in remission were subject to tapering of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and while maintenance of remission was seen in some, many DMARD tapering patients did flare and were unable to maintain flare-free survival compared to those on stable conventional synthetic DMARDs.
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