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Pre-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 ArticleOne-Third of Physicians Intend to Leave Academia
A cross-sectional survey of academic physicians shows that approximately one-third intend to leave their institutions in the next two years. Burnout, lack of professional fulfillment, and other personal and organizational factors were associated with intention to leave.
Read ArticleAging Brain Increases Pain in Older Women
A new study has found that the brain system enabling us to inhibit our own pain changes with age, and that gender-based differences in those changes may lead females to be more sensitive to moderate pain than males as older adults.
Read ArticleOutcomes of Acute, Subacute and Persistent Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a major cause of disability around the globe, with more than 570 million people affected. In the United States alone, health care spending on low back pain was $134.5 billion between 1996 and 2016, and costs are increasing.
Read ArticleDiet and Osteoarthritis Pain
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain was worse with a pro-inflammatory diet, an observational study suggested.
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 ArticlePrevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis
A prospective study of the BioSTAR registry estimates the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to be 4.6%.
Read ArticleBest Treatments for COVID-Related MIS-C
The RECOVERY trial focused on pediatric MIS-C patients treated with immunomodulators and anti-cytokine therapy demonstrated the benefits of first-line therapy with intravenous methylprednisolone or second-line tocilizumab in children refractory to initial treatment.
Read ArticleACR Applauds Prior Authorization Rule
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR), on behalf of over 9,100 rheumatologists and rheumatology professional team members, applauds the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for finalizing its Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes for Medicare Adva
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 ArticleCMS Final Rule on Prior Authorization Reforms
Prior authorizations and paperwork are killing medical providers; the good news is that a new CMS rule may lessen the burden.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that they have finalized the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule, designed to improve prior authorization processes and reduce burden on patients, providers, and payers, with a resultant $15 billion of estimated savings over ten years.
Fertility and Rheumatoid Onset
British women whose capability of bearing children either started late or ended early -- naturally or otherwise -- were at increased risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), compared with women with earlier menarche or later menopause, researchers found.
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 Article2023 EULAR Non-pharmacological Management of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: 2023 update
EULAR has published the 2023 updated recommendations for the optimal non-pharmacological management of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Read ArticleSodium Channels, Carbemazepine and Osteoarthritis Progression
A study published in Nature suggests that therapies affecting sodium channels could be employed to treat osteoarthritis.
Read ArticleSLE: A Mutated Gene and TLR7 Overexpression
A group of researchers lead by Min Ae Lee-Kirsch from the Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Germany), studied four patients from two families who developed symptoms of SLE in the first years of life.
Read Article2023 Rheumatology Year in Review
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, advances and hot topics in rheumatology from 2023 and the RheumNow website.
2023 was a year of growth and new horizons while returning to operational and practice standards (in care and education) established before the pandemic.
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